With more focus on social media and content marketing in recent years, blogging has become a worldwide phenomenon and a mainstream way to connect to others. People use blogs to share their lives, businesses, products, information, advice and just about everything else you can think of. Blogs are especially useful for businesses who want to get in touch with their audience, using a wide range of topics to communicate and build connections with their readers.

However, starting a blog can feel challenging. There are basic fundamentals that should be considered to help ensure it’s successful and that your audience will get the most out of each post. Developing a blog and blog strategy takes time, patience and motivation. It won’t happen with the snap of your fingers, but our tips might help you make the process a little easier.

Five Tips for Starting a Blog:

  1. Find your passion. When starting a blog, you need to narrow down and specify what you want to write about. Think about the topics you already enjoy discussing with others. What do you want your readers to get out of your blog? Do you want them to learn more about a service or buy a product? Do you want them to understand more about a process you have or what makes you different from your competitors? Do you want to teach them something new or consider something they may not have thought about before?There are many reasons to write a blog and it may feel overwhelming if you don’t consider yourself an expert on a topic – you may even feel that you can’t write about it. Not true! When you start a blog, you will constantly be learning about your topic even if you know a lot about it already. Whether your specialty is books, cooking, traveling, etc., there’s always more to be learned and shared with others using your unique voice. Make a list of those topics you’re already passionate about and those you might want to develop further and go from there.
  1. Decide where you want your blog to live. Location, location, location! A blog doesn’t have to be just on a website domain now, it can ‘live’ on many different social media platforms like Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter, or Facebook. If you prefer one network over another, you can tailor your blog to that platform and audience. You’ll also want to think about whether you want a personal or business blog. This will help determine where you want your audience to find you and how you’re going to write your content.
  2. Choose your name. This is where your creativity can really shine. You may want your blog to reflect your name or your company’s name, but you can choose any title you want. If you want your blog to have a specific theme, you can create a unique name that goes with it. Be original, be witty – whatever sticks out to you will eventually stick out in the minds of others!
  3. Specify your topics. When thinking about writing a blog, get specific with your topics. Many writers and businesses do this through brainstorming sessions where they ‘spitball’ a bunch of ideas that come to mind and then filter through and narrow them down based on the ideas that truly speak to them. Consider this tactic for developing a content map and different areas of topics you want to cover. Remember that a well thought out topic has a better chance of keeping your audience or readership engaged than a bunch of random things you decide to write about last minute.
  4. Take your time. Don’t rush your blog; you want to write something that your readers become invested in and that they have something to look forward to each time they visit your blog. With that being said, creating a frequency schedule of how often you post makes a huge difference. Depending on your platform, you may want to post more frequently. For example, if your blog is on a website domain you may post one to three times a week. Alternatively, for active platforms like Twitter and Instagram, audiences tend to be more active on an hourly basis, so you’ll want to post one to three times a day. This will depend on the time you have to write and post, but it’s important to stay committed to it once you start and use tools and resources to help.

 

Looking for more advice and assistance starting your blog and developing a strategic content calendar or social schedule? Contact us today!

 

 

 

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