If you are looking for advice on how to start a blog for your business marketing and communication, read our easy, step by step guide. Blogging can be a great way to boost the online visibility of your business, raise your professional profile or simply connect with like-minded people.
Luckily, getting started with blogging has never been easier – today, anyone can start a blog for commercial reasons or as a hobby.
Here’s our step-by-step guide:
Choose your topic
You should blog about something you are highly knowledgeable or passionate about, whether it’s knitting, recruitment, saving money, films or whatever else is close to your heart. If you don’t choose a specific topic your blog can become very aimless. People won’t know what it’s really about and you will find it hard to target an audience.
Furthermore, the key to blogging is keeping it regular. This is much easier to do when you’re interested in the topic. People love to hear new ideas and opinions from thought leaders and experts.
Pick a platform
There are numerous platforms, free and paid for, to enable you to get your blogs on the internet and live for the world to see. Options include Blogger, Tumblr, WordPress.com, Wix, TypePad and more. Issues to consider when making your choice include whether you want a specific web address, how tech savvy you are, how much customisation you need, what you need to spend and more.
Ask other bloggers for their feedback, read reviews online and try a few versions yourself before you make a final decision.
If you want to future-proof your blog and you can see it turning into a website and an asset in its own right, you may want to give it it’s own name with a .com, .co.uk or similar extension, rather than being a subdomain of a free blogging platform like those mentioned above. The free solutions will look like ‘yourblogname’.blogspot.com for example – not as professional looking as a .com or .co.uk
If you choose to do this, it’s cheap and very easy to start a blog and host it with BlueHost, who have 1-click installation of WordPress with your own domain name, and you can be set up in a few minutes. I have a few sites at BlueHost and recommend them as an affiliate because of the excellent customer support I have received from them.
You can set up a BlueHost account and start blogging with WordPress within minutes by starting at www.bluehost.com.
Make a plan
You’ll often start off blogging with the best intentions, but like anything else; life gets in the way. And there’s nothing sadder than an unattended blog! If you want to make a connection, build up a following and generate revenue, you have to keep your blogging regular.
However basic, it will help you to set up a simple content calendar so you have an idea of what you’re going to write about and when. This will help you factor in key dates and events in advance and will help keep your efforts on track.
Spruce it up
Make sure your blog looks visually appealing and is easy to use. Customisation of colour, layout, theme and branding is easy on most platforms and it may be worth investing in some expert designer help if you are looking for your website to be a commercial success.
Join the community
The blogosphere is an online community and getting involved will help you quickly grow your network, make connections and more. Comment on other blogs, respond to activity on your own site and throw yourself into social media to make the most of online opportunities.
Blogging really has never been easier – what’s stopping you?
