Whether you are a novice blogger just starting out, or a business looking to start a blog to support your marketing efforts, here’s all you need to know about setting up your blog. These few simple steps will help you to grow your audience and establish your brand, no matter what the purpose.
Why start a blog?
Blogging can provide a whole range of benefits for individuals and businesses. Here are just some of them:
- Build a brand. For businesses, a blog can help to tell your brand’s story and connect further with your audience. For individuals wanting to start a blog, it allows you to build a personal brand with your content.
- Practice your writing. You can flex your writing muscles with a blog and really hone your skills as a writer, whether you’re part of a company or an individual getting into blogging.
- Get your message out there. For both businesses and writers, a blog allows you to get your message out. So whether you’re trying to raise awareness of a new product or a social issue, a blog gives you the platform to connect with others.
Choosing the right host
Whenstarting your blog, you need to choose the right host. You have a lot of choices when it comes to where you decide to host your blog. Each site provides different features and benefits, and you can choose which one best suits your needs.
Some blog hosting options:
- WordPress
- Squarespace
- Wix
- Weebly
- Blogspot
You can set up a free blog on any of these sites, but you won’t own the domain. This means that your site URL would read “yourblog.wordpress.com” as opposed to “yourblog.com”. If you want to start your blog for a hobby, then this may be okay, but if it’s for professional purposes, owning the domain is recommended.
Brand your blog
Whatever reason you have for wanting to start a blog, it will need a brand. Regardless of whether it is for a business or personal use, you want to have a consistent look and feel so that readers can connect with your site and content. There are a range of things to take into account when thinking about branding, and these include:
- Colours
- Design
- Images
- Fonts
Consistency is key to creating synergy across your blog, and if its aim is to support a business, then it must be in line with your businesses branding. If it isn’t, then your consumers will not be able to connect your blog content.
The good thing here is that you can have fun with your branding, and make it creative and representative of your brand. Having a clear message across platforms, including your blog, is needed to create a strong brand identity.
Social media
The last thing you need to know about starting a blog is that you need to be prepared to be social. Once you’ve designed your blog and published your content, you need to spread your content. And the best way to do this is through social media.