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7 Steps How to Start a Blog + Beginners Best Practices

How to start a blog

To start a blog in 2024, follow these simple steps: Choose a niche, select a domain name, and set up hosting. Install WordPress or another CMS, customize your design, and create valuable content. Focus on SEO to drive traffic and monetize your blog with ads, affiliate marketing, or products.

Looking to start a blog with proven tips for success? If you’re planning to launch a blog in 2024, we’re here to guide you. We’ve outlined the most straightforward, practical tips to help you get started right away.

Blogging is not about publishing as much as you can. It’s about publishing as smart as you can – Jon Morrow.

Blogging isn’t a smooth path free of challenges. Since 2015, the blogging landscape has increased by 12%, with over 600 million blogs and 2 billion web pages as of 2024. Proper planning is essential when starting a blog. You must ask yourself key questions to guide you toward building a successful one.

What’s your blogging plan? What do you hope to achieve through blogging? Have you adequately prepared to create a successful blog? The real question isn’t just about starting a blog; it’s whether you can sustain it over the long term.

A recent report indicates that 80% of blogs will fail within six months due to issues like lack of quality content, consistency, effective SEO, long-term sustainability, and genuine passion.

How to star a blog
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We’re here to ensure your blog isn’t among the 80% that fail within six months of launch. The first step is to understand your motivation for starting a blog.

Are you driven by a genuine passion for blogging, or are you primarily in it for the money? Blogging with passion will help you rank better in search results.

By now, it’s clear that planning is crucial for successful blogging. Since you’re still reading this post, you’re ready to begin your blogging journey. Let’s dive into the complete tutorial.

How to start a blog in 2024

If you’re looking to start a blog in 2024, there are important things to consider. These tips are essential for helping your blog grow quickly. Follow our step-by-step guide to ensure you have everything you need for a successful blogging journey.

Let’s dive in.

Ideal blogging platforms.

This is the ideal path to success in blogging. You need to select the best blogging platform that matches your interests. There are several options to explore if you want to create the perfect blog.

  • SEO
  • Theme
  • Support
  • Hosting Providers
  • Analytics
  • User-friendly

SEO: The best thing that can happen to your blog is effective SEO. Select a platform with built-in SEO tools to boost traffic to your blog.
 
Select Theme: Many blogs fail due to poor design. A visually appealing blog encourages your audience to keep coming back.
 
Support: Everyone needs support at some point in life. No matter how seasoned you are in blogging, you’ll still need a helping hand. Pick a platform that offers support when you need it most.
 
Hosting Providers: Some blogging platforms struggle with handling high traffic and engagement. It’s important to do your research and choose a hosting platform that fits your needs.
 
Analytics: How can you tell if your blog is performing well? Opt for platforms that provide analytics. To start a blog is not easy. Simply apply these proven tips to get a better result on your new blog.
 
User-friendliness: Google favours mobile-friendly and user-friendly websites, rewarding them in search rankings. Select a platform that provides these features.

Choose Blogging Platforms with Free vs Paid versions.

Did you know you can start a blog without spending a dime? There are well-known blogging platforms that allow you to blog for free. We’ve compiled a list of the best and most popular options for you to choose from.

  • WordPress.com
  • Medium.com:
  • Blogger.com
  • Squarespace.com
  • Wix.com:

WordPress.com:
 
If you are a newbie in the blogging world, WordPress.com offers you a free version where you can test your blogging passion. They have a paid version too.
 
I always recommend my audience to start with a free version like 2 weeks. It will help you understand blogging and how to create a perfect blog post. You can use the free version to learn a lot before investing money.

However, there are limitations to the free version. WordPress.com has control over your blog with no access to plugins and customization.
 
Medium.com:
 
Medium is one of my best blogging platforms. My blog post on Medium ranks higher on search results. It’s a reputable site where you can start a free blog. You can monetize your blog post on Medium and earn some cool cash. How do you see that? That’s cool.
 
Blogger.com:
 
People always ask this question. Can I make money using Blogger? The answer is yes. You can make cool cash using a blogger. You don’t need to be a professional before you can make money, start writing.
 
Blogger is a free blogging platform if you want to start a blog in 2024 with little or no capital. However, there are limitations to using a blogger. It only offers subdomains. Your blog name must have Blogspot.
 
Squarespace.com:
 
You’ve not heard of Squarespace. It’s a popular blogging platform with a paid version that helps you take control of your blog. If you are serious about blogging, you can create with them and pay monthly or yearly subscriptions. However, you choose your desired domain name and begin your blogging journey immediately.
 
Wix.com:
 
Wix is another popular platform where you can start a new blog. However, it offers a paid version with a yearly or monthly subscription. It depends on your choice.
 
WordPress.org:
 
This open-source publishing platform offers a paid version. Millions of bloggers around the world choose them. They are one of the best blogging platforms. More than 400 million blogs on the internet choose WordPress. They have everything you want in a blog.

However, choosing blogging platforms depends on choice. If you are just a beginner who wants to understand blogging, I recommend a free version. But if you are serious about blogging then go for a paid version and have everything in one piece.

Choose Your Domain Name and Hosting Platform

Choose the perfect domain name for your blog. Many bloggers think that domain names do not matter.

It matters. I am telling you. An ideal domain name should be 6-14 characters.

Keep your domain name short. Your audience will remember it easily. It will benefit you in the long run.

Search engines practically reward bloggers with short domain names. Before selecting a domain name, consider your target audience and search engines.

There are lots of hosting platforms out there with high discount rates. You can get a free domain with some hosting companies. I hosted my site on Hostinger since 2020 and have been with them since then.

Popular Hosting Platforms for your new blog

    • Bluehost: Offers high-quality customer service.
    • Hostinger: Best known for domain registration and hosting services.
    • Godaddy: Popular hosting service for quality performance and customer services.
    • Namecheap: Great for website performance and customer service. Domain parking, auction and selling.
    • Siteground: Reliable performance, customer service and affordable price.
    • Dreamhost: Best known for its high-speed hosting platform. 24/7 customer service support.
    • Hostigator: WordPress-friendly platform for beginners. Offers the best customer service.
    • A2hosting: Popular for domain auction, registration and hosting services. It offers reliable customer service.
    • DomainKing: Offers domain registration and web hosting services with a focus on the Nigerian market.

    Choose Themes:

    WordPress offers one of the best free themes in the world. You can opt for a paid version depending on your budget. I started my first blogging with a free version theme. And, it is great. It performs perfectly in search engines.

    Here are the top 10 Free WordPress themes

    Zakra:

    Zakra is a powerful WordPress theme that offers free and paid versions. It is a lightweight theme with multi-purpose for blog, News, Education, Entertainment etc.  It makes a website look professional. To start a blog with a professional design, Zakra might be your best option.

    GeneratePress:

    GeneratePress is a powerful WordPress lightweight theme built with a focus on speed and usability. It is compatible with all major page builders including Elementor and Beaver builder.

    This theme is incredibly great for a professional website. It is fully responsive and uses HTML/CSS. Some of the features include 9 widget areas, dynamic typography, control control, 5 sidebar layout, navigation menu, and dropdown menus. Active installation with more than 500k users.

    Astral:

    Astral is one of my best free WordPress themes. It is a free version of WordPress theme with multipurpose for Education, News, blog entertainment etc. You can create a beautiful contact section, blogs, services, callouts, and a homepage containing sliders. It has perfect customization. Demo link – https://mywebapp.in/wordpress-free-themes/.

    Sydney:

    Sydney is a powerful WordPress theme that increases website speed and performance. It provides a fast way for businesses, freelancers and companies to create an awesome online presence. With the Sydney theme, you will access Google fonts, colour control, logo upload, sticky navigation, header image, layout control and full-screen slider. 

    Newspaper:

    Newspaper is a WordPress free theme for your new blog. Do you want to start a news/magazine website? This theme has custom social icons and a beautiful blog layout. It is great when you use WordPress customizer.

    Storefront:

    The storefront theme is designed by WooCommerce developers. It is a perfect WordPress theme for a WooCommerce project. If you want to start selling digital products or offer services, Storefront might be what you are looking for. It has several features like colour options, layout, multiple widget regions, responsiveness and an option to personalise your shop.

    OceanWP:

    OceanWP enables you to create any kind of website such as a business website, education, blog, news, entertainment, or portfolio and provides an option to personalise your site. It is fully responsive, fast, SEO-friendly, RTL & translation-ready ready and customizable. You can use Elementor Beaver Builder, Visual Composer, SiteOrigin, Divi and Brizy for customization. Visit https://oceanwp.org/demos/ to get the demo.

    The Hello Elementor:

    An inexperienced person can manage this beautiful theme. It is one of the best and easiest page builders.

    Design Your Blog:

    Your blog design determines your long-term success. Your audience wants to access your website freely.
    Poor design can affect your website in a very negative way. It includes losing your audience, wasting resources, having a low conversion rate, and particularly affecting your SEO.

    Whether it’s functionality, readability, complex navigation, or poor mobile-friendly user settings do not overcrowd your site with too many elements. Recent search shows, that 60% of customers abandon websites due to poor design.

    Adding Essential Pages.

    The most important pages your audience wants to visit on your website are About Us, Contact Us, Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions pages. Providing these pages will improve your blog.

    Create Quality Content

    Do you want to rank your website on search engines? If yes, then quality over quantity should be your priority. Google believes that Content Is King. You can have a beautiful blog without traffic due to low-quality content.

    You can hire a professional writer on a freelancer platform or go to YouTube and learn how to create perfect content for your audience.

    However, when writing any blog post, always think about your audience. You are writing for someone to read not otherwise. Know what they need.

    Use Google Trends, Ahrefs and MOZ to identify what your ideal audiences are searching online. Optimize the opportunity and create a perfect post for them.

    Write an engaging blog post.

    Always write engaging content if you want your audience to return. Engaging blog posts will hook your audience to read more.

    With unique content, less than 30% of blogs have 1000 or fewer visitors per month while 20% get between 1,0001 and 5000 visits. Only 3.7% get more than 500,000 monthly visitors. So, writing quality content will increase your chances of getting quality traffic monthly.

    Promote Your Blog.

    The best way to get your blog to notice a larger audience is by using social media to promote it. It is a perfect way to increase traffic, and visibility and engage with potential audiences.

    Here are the best ways to promote your blog on social media.

    Identify a Platform suitable for your blog.

    There are a bunch of social media platforms where you can promote your blog freely. However, you need to identify the perfect platform suitable for your blog niche.

    Don’t just use every social media out there for promotion. For Instance, Instagram is a platform for blogs focused on lifestyle, and fashion while Facebook is mainly for content sharing and building communities.

    Twitter is also for engaging conversation, blog updates, and news and LinkedIn is strictly for professional business. You need to identify where your audience spends most of their time.

    Write an engaging post.

    People want to read engaging posts. Social media is where people in your blog get direct feedback immediately. Write an engaging post that will hook your audience to read more of your blog post.

    • write an engaging Headlines.
    • Use infographics, images, videos and other visual element to increase engagement. Use Hashtags to draw more audience.

    Consistent Posting:

    Your audience will take you seriously when you take your business seriously. You need to post regularly on your social media page. However, you can use third-party tools to schedule a post. Use tools like Hootsuite, and Buffer or schedule posts manually.

    Learn when your audience is active on social media. You get quality engagement with that.

    Engage With Your Audience

    Do you want your audience to love your brand? Engage with them. The audience loves it when you respond to their comment. Also, join relevant communities related to your niche and participate in discussions.

    Live Streams

    This is one of the best methods influencers use to interact with their followers in real-time. Discuss your blog topic and answer questions. It’s a great way to promote your blog to a larger audience.

    Collaborate with Influencers

    Some influencers dominate your blog niche topic with larger communities. Communicate with them for promotion.

    Search engine optimization (SEO)

    Another premium way of promoting your blog is using search engine optimization techniques. Build quality backlinks for high authority profile creations.

    Network with Other Bloggers

    Partner with other bloggers in your niche for a successful blog. Experienced bloggers will help you to understand the system and what you need to do for a better result.

    Monetize Your Blog

    Monetization is one of the reasons people create blogs. Find a way to monetize your blog and earn cash cool. When I created my first blog in 2020, I monetized it with Google AdSense.

    Google AdSense is one the best advertising networks suitable for all kinds of blogs except gambling and adult blogs.

    Here are Google AdSense alternatives:

    • Ezoic
    • Media.Net
    • PropellerAds
    • AdThrive
    • Monumetric
    • Amazon Native Shopping Ads

    All these advertising platforms have their requirements before they can accept your blog. Make your requirements and choose the best ad network that suits your blog.

    Affiliate Marketing Options

    Some popular blog niches use affiliate marketing ads or commissions to increase their earning. You can monetize your blog with affiliate marketing ads and earn cool cash. In the next blog post, we will teach you about affiliate marketing and how you can be successful. Just bookmark our site to get the latest topic when released.

    Selling Products or Services

    Some blogs are specifically created for products or services. Some blog sell their product or services and make cool cash. This is a great way to monetize your blog.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    When it comes to starting a blog, here are the frequently asked questions (FAQs) that get people confused. We’re here to get you to answer it.

    How do I Choose a niche for my blog?

    Choose the niche you are comfortable with. You must be passionate about it to ensure success. Always use Google trends or keywords and research for demand in your niche before you start.

    What is the best platform to start a blog?

    WordPress.org is one of the best and most popular platforms to start a blog. It offers flexibility and customization. You can also start a blog on Medium, Wix or Squarespace. They offer more beginner-friendly options.

    How much does it cost to start a blog?

    To start a blog, it can range from $50 to $200 per year for a basic blog. Premium themes, marketing tools, and plugins may increase your cost depending on your goal.

    How do I drive traffic to my blog?

    Social media, Search engine optimization (SEO), email newsletters, networking with influence, and creating valuable high-quality helps to drive traffic to your blog. To start a blog, driving traffic is your major concern and all the above-mentioned tips will help you out.

    How can I Make money from blogging?

    There are many ways you can monetize your blog and make cool money. You can go through Google AdSense, paid subscriptions, offering services, sponsored posts, selling digital or physical products and affiliate marketing options.

    In conclusion,

    To start a blog in 2024 is easy if you have the resources. Buy a domain name and hosting and start blogging. Connect with other bloggers in your niche and promote your blog. These success tips will earn some bulk while blogging. 

    We help bloggers and businesses increase traffic on their websites by creating free tutorials on dofollow backlinks, profile creation sites and guest posting tips. Bookmark our site and drop your comment if you have the next topic you want to cover.

     

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    7 Steps How to Start a Blog + Beginners Best Practices

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