How to start a professional blog?

How to start a professional blog?
I started my professional blog in late 2006, picking things up and moving from Seattle to San Francisco. In the first month, I was pleasantly surprised when several colleges Two years later, I have a nice community of several thousand followers" I thought I'd share my thoughts on this.

Here is a quick overview for those who want quick skimming:

•    The carpet bombs the key area and brings mindshare into play
•    Take the time to find your voice
•    . be consistent regarding the format and theme of your blog
•    Show yourself.
•    Deepen your topic of knowledge
•    Meatspace and blogosphere are closely related
•    Apply universal strategies to engage readers in blogs
•    Offer new topics with brainstorming, news headlines, and notes for yourself
•    Watch your analysis every day
•    Don't exaggerate

The detailed discussion is below…

The carpet bombs the key area and brings mindshare into play
Like all products and markets, the blogosphere has its own set of existing products and channels. For example, if someone asks me for a "VC blog", I can direct it to Fredil If someone asks me for a "game blog", I usually recommend people like RAF Koster, Nabil H. The fact is that, as in business, blogs tend to reach an elevation state of 30 seconds, and it is logical to find a topic for everything you will write. Imho, as long as the space you're writing about grows, you can never be "too direct" because you'll easily attract several thousand super intelligent people who care passionately about your particular vertical.

Overall, I believe people describe this particular blog as a" viral Marketing blog " more than anything else. I write about many other things besides this, but people seem very interested in the topic, so I'll take what I can get; -)

Take the time to find your voice
As I said before, it's good to find a key area. However, it takes some time to do this, and I spent the first couple of months moving from one topic to another, whether it's personal stories, product design, and advertising. It's been almost a year since I started writing about viral Marketing for which this blog is probably the most widely read.

I found that as I wrote more consistently and learned from other bloggers, I began to change the tone and voice of my articles. While some key elements were still there-essays, not references, some news topics, and more. - I added much better formatting for blog posts, photos, links to other blogs, and more.

Be consistent regarding the format and theme of your blog

When it comes to voice search, it turns out that the blog format is really important. To completely simplify, it seems that there are two completely different types of blogs that are doing well. Either you are the "curator" of the news or you are the main source of content.

A curator is someone who blogs often and all day with links and snippets, and I would think of someone like Robert Scoble(or o) be Michaelord The style is often more conversational and relaxed and includes many small updates on what they are doing, reading or trying. These guys can really "report news" and are widely read because they can give a first opinion on new things coming out.

The bad news is that the curator model requires you to be informed; -) for a guy like me, with a full-time job and blogs, like a dirty suit, be a clean content creator much more attractive. I'll never get traffic from news curators, but I can delve into a specific topic and attract a laser-oriented audience that only cares about the topics I'm writing about.

Of course, it's good to experiment and leave the door open to everything and
all the topics that interest you, but of course once you start to adapt
and you will find your voice worth focusing on because readers will be
know what to expect. There's nothing worse than that guy who
he writes an excellent essay on the industry and then leads
the rest is time to write about your dog!

Show yourself.
By far the hardest part of writing a blog is doing it regularly. Often, I simply do not have enough energy to write, and I have to see it as an integral part of my work to achieve this. This is especially true when you have passed the first two months and have reached 90% of the best items that you wanted to remove from your chest. So it is much more difficult to come up with new ideas.

Overall, it seems that you need to maintain a pace of at least 1 Attempt per week to be relevant. Less than that and people stop reading (or at least you will have all the subscriber traffic and no one will check your site). This blog contains on average about 1.5 articles a week that I will probably have to work on, but it seems enough that at least a group of people can follow it. If I wasn't so lazy, I would try to get at least 3-4 messages a week and maybe reduce them a little. (Or a long and 2-3 news related articles)
Deepen your topic of knowledge
Overall, I found that you can never go "too deep" when closing the riser. Some of the things I consider more esoteric, such as viral cycles and sharkfin graphics, have become the most readable and related publications. At first, I was even reluctant to publish them because I thought they would be too vague, but instead, I found that people liked them more. I guess it's because they're learning something completely new that they think is interesting, or at least you're creating a "street loan" without being a typical analyst at a very high level.

The space for meat and the blogosphere are closely related
Surprising (or surprising?) the world of conferences in San Francisco, activities, travel, etc. Many readers of my blog know me personally or know me through a mutual friend-I feel that many incoming emails I receive begin with the words "Hello, I read your blog and I am friends with X I think the goal is to, to say, that you can expand its audience of readers participating in the conference circuit-whether it's an organization, speech or something else-and that the readers of your blog will allow you to get more attention in meatspace. Everything is useful, so embrace this. And switch to SF if you haven't already; -)

Apply universal strategies to engage readers in blogs

When it comes to blogging, engaging users is pretty annoying. Basically, you have the following traffic sources by importance:

SEO, in particular
Google blog aggregators (such as Delicious, Digg, etc.)
•    social platforms (such as titter
•    separate links to blogs
Since most of the blog traffic will come from SEO, it's a good idea to choose keywords for the topic, if you can. He receives a lot of research on viral cycles and other viral Marketing terms. It's a good idea to add any keyword to your blog titles, blog topics, and more. I sometimes use blog titles like " Facebook Marketing: X

Similarly, regardless of your experience, you can find vertical aggregators that generate a lot of traffic. For me, this is news about hackers, technology, and the like. Identifying these key aggregators and submitting articles is critical.

Offer new topics with brainstorming, news headlines, and notes for yourself
As mentioned above, it is very easy to miss new topics to write. Writer's block, it seems to bother me almost every week; -) this is especially true if you have reached a character of 2-3 months, because many topics that you might want to write about are already raised from a particular point of view.

My usual means of doing this is to use a number of tactics that generate a healthy list of blog topics in my inbox that you should write every day. The first tactic is that when I'm in a good creative mood, I often brainstorm a lot of potential topics and ideas. Some of these can be plain and simple, such as "how to do X Similarly, I will also browse sites like Techmeme and look for titles that catch my eye. In particular, I often look for things that I think are wrong, that need explanation, or that make me diverge if someone tells me in person. All these ideas I will write in very short outlines and email myself. A summary or the beginning of a paragraph or two posts help me formulate an idea sufficiently that it can be easily executed later. Otherwise, if you only have a funny name but don't have a body, going from 0 to 60 can be quite tricky.

Watch your analysis every day
I often look at a small amount of analysis on my blog to see what's going on. Actually, it's not something unusual, and it definitely looks like a set of tools I'd use in a real Progetto More importantly, it helps to interact with passive users who leave no comments and helps them serve them better.

Overall, I start with daily viewing of my reviews and daily visitor/page views. I added a site meter bookmark to my phone so I can view it continuously. I'm going to see what studies people conduct through Limit Another thing is to look at my Feedburner numbers and Follo Every week I also get my best reviews and best email content from Google Analytics

Overall, looking at this information, I'm trying to appreciate a few things:

•    Are there specific topics that people enter the site about that I should write more about?
•    Are there some traffic sources that I should try to "expand" further? (A good example of this is titter
•    What messaging areas and businesses visit this blog and how can I better serve these readers?
•    What studies do people conduct on the site and are there any that do not produce any results?
The purpose of all this is to look at your blog not as a "diary" as many people do instead of focusing on yourself and what you want to write, you can think of your readers as a customer base, and you are trying to gather all the necessary knowledge. that you can meet their needs. Of course, it's important for part-time bloggers like me to balance their interests with those of the public, but in general, I believe the philosophy is right.

Don't exaggerate
Finally, have fun; -) in the end, you can always stop! I often don't blog for a week or two just because I don't like it. I think it's ok because it's not my full-time job and I do it for fun. I think if I felt a lot more pressure to do it consistently no matter what I like, I'd probably stop because it wouldn't be fun anymore.
Frequently asked questions about blogs
Still, have unanswered questions about blogs?  Here are the most common questions I get when starting a new blog.  If you can't find the answer to your question here, send me an email via my contact page or leave a comment below.

Click on the question to read the answer:

What makes a blog a success?

You. It is your passion, creativity, knowledge, experience, and what you bring to the community that makes blogging a success. As long as you provide interesting, informative, and interesting content to the readers you want to connect with, your success is limited only to the number of posts you can publish.
Keep writing, interacting, interacting and your blog will succeed quickly. As long as you are passionate about this topic, the sky is the limit.

What do you need to start a blog?
Time, passion, and clear purpose.

Blogging is almost full time. A successful blogger is committed to posting long, detailed content at least once a week. Blog promotion should also be conducted regularly on social media and through interaction with peers.

Passion for your blog is just as important. To regularly deliver great content, your blog needs to be based on a topic that loops you. You do not have to be the main authority in this matter. You just need to have passion, excitement, commitment, and deeply rooted opinions.

You also need a clear goal. What is the main purpose of your blog? Should this inform the public? To finally save paid subscribers? With a clear end goal, you can create a blog that fits these long-term goals.

What should my blog be written about?
Answer these questions: What are you passionate about? What do you think about every day? What topic Do you regularly annoy all your friends, family, and colleagues? What dreams? What are you still looking for? What are you reading about?

If your answers to these questions have a common denominator, here's what your blog should look like.

Your blog should be dedicated to what interests you-what you are passionate about. And when you start creating your own blog, regardless of the topic, you will find a community of people interested in what you have to say.

How can I find a profitable niche for my blog?
If you know the general theme of your blog, an easy way to make your niche profitable is to limit it to eliminate competition.

For example, let's say you are passionate about food and want to start by creating a recipe blog. You will compete with a million revenue blogs. So let's limit this topic to something more manageable, but still important for many people. A more detailed topic of your blog will help eliminate more competition and Increase Your blog results in search engines for more specific queries.

How to call my blog?
Ultimately, it can be a fun exercise.

For example, let's say your blog focuses on personalized pet gift baskets. In this case, we list all the keywords of this blog.

Name Your blog
•    Now let's list some variants of the synonyms of these words. Use the thesaurus if necessary!
•    Now list the nouns and adjectives that concern you as a creator.
•    Now start collecting words, enter new words, and keep playing until you find the name you like!
•    If you still have problems, you can always try using the blog name generator to get more ideas.

What will you do if your domain name is loaded?
If you have chosen the domain name you want and the full Indirizzo This is a lengthy process that will involve lawyers and high fees, but as long as the name is a registered trademark, you will probably get a domain name.

If your name is not a registered trademark, do not try to purchase a domain option. information o. Biz. Instead, try changing the domain name a bit, for example by adding a hyphen between words or entering the word" Le " or other words in the name.

In some cases, the domain belongs but is not used. Try to find it in the bro If the URL is on another domain, it is not used, but only redirected. You can buy the domain at the right price from your current owner. If the domain is parked, you can also try to buy the domain.

Where is the best place to start a blog?
In the tutorial on this page, I will show you how to create your blog with BlueHost and WordPress.org. This is known as a Standalone blog  After registering with BlueHost, you will receive a free domain name, they will automatically install W WordPress.org ) on your BlueHost account. You can start blogging after setting up your account. You can easily customize your blog or

How much does it cost to start a blog?
You can create a blog absolutely free. It's not worth a red penny.

But let's be honest. If you want your blog to be taken seriously, you can't just get a subdomain of one of the free blogging sites like Blogspot. Instead, you'll want to choose your domain name and register it. Domain names cost about $ 15 a year on average. So now it costs a whopping $ 15 in the pit.

But the best way to start a blog is to go through one of the many hosting companies. The best hosting choice is a hosting WordPress hosting account through Bluehost, which is worth 2.75 people per month and includes domain name registration, so the total cost of 1 year is only 33 dollars.

These are the main costs of running a successful blog. Of course, you can incur other expenses with additional services such as email marketing. As with any business, the biggest expenses are often advertising, but it will be worth it later if you choose to go this route.

Do bloggers make money?
Bloggers have the opportunity to earn a full-time job blogging alone. Some bloggers earn hundreds of thousands of dollars. Although it is not easy to become a well-paid blogger, it is quite possible. As with any business, it takes a lot of work and a lot of time.

Many bloggers abandon their projects in a few months. They get nervous when money does not come right away, and it almost never happens without immediate and immediate monitoring, which is due to the fact that they are senior figures. Therefore, achieving an "influential" status requires time and patience. Those who make money online are the ones who stick to it.

There are several ways to make money blogger:

Advertising: because your blog is gaining popularity and attracts a large number of daily users, advertisers can pay a lot of money for well-present advertising on your blog.
Contextual advertising: with Google Adsense, you can insert a small piece of code into your blog that dynamically displays ads related to your content. When a reader clicks on an ad, the advertiser pays Google, and Google sends you a percentage.
Affiliate programs: affiliate advertising is a very popular way to monetize a blog. These ads lead visitors to a product or service on another site If sales occur as a result of a click on your blog, you will receive a commission, and some commissions may be very high. Affiliate programs can be found in some stores or on large platforms such as Amazon.
Sponsored posts: advertisers can pay less to sponsor individual posts rather than advertise the entire blog. This is a great way to make money on new blogs.
How do bloggers pay?
Bloggers most often receive a salary from advertisers. The salary of a blogger varies depending on the type of advertising used.
CPC: CPC or CPC ads only generate revenue through clicks. CPC ads tend to be very targeted and rotating. Ads appear in some blog posts and are related to the content of this article. The number of clicks generated, which increases with increasing traffic, will ultimately determine how much you earn.
Fixed fee: if blog traffic is high, advertisers can pay a flat monthly fee for ad space on the blog page. This advertising space can be displayed throughout the site, in a single section or on multiple pages. The money comes directly from the advertiser.
Commission: affiliate network advertising uses affiliate links. These links track your blog visitors to the advertiser's site. If the purchase is made by a visitor to your blog, you will receive a commission.
Should I start a blog on WordPress?
If you're new to blogging and don't have much experience with HTML or coding, then yes-a blog When it comes time to choose a blogging platform, professionals turn to WordPress  dashboard In fact, WordPress is the world's most popular content management system (CMS) with over 75 million blogs and sites w And there are several reasons why:

Easy to use: WordPress Theme settings help you easily create a blog, change colors and add images. Once the project is complete, just write the content. The internal blog editor saves your posts and displays them for you.
Blog everywhere: as long as you have access to the Internet, you can edit your blog in WordPress provides an admin server where you can access and work on your blog from anywhere in the world via PC, Mac, tablet, or smartphone.
You don't have to know how to write code: This makes WordPress a great option for those who don't want to face technical issues.
Integrated SEO: Google prefers blogs created with The out-of-the-box SEO (search engine optimization) that comes with W This means that there will be more readers in your blog.
Free themes: CMSORD Directly from the blog backend, you can browse through many themes with different styles and features. These are free templates.

Yeah! The blog Cordpress Standalone blog is a completely free open source blog. There are two different options of W  Choosing between the two is one of the most important decisions you will make.

WordPress.org - this option is completely 100% free.  WordPress.org is a blogging platform that I will show you how to use in a tutorial on this site.  Although it can be downloaded completely free of charge, it does not work on its own. You will need a hosting provider (see walkthrough), and you will also need to purchase a new domain name. Since you need your own hosting plan, this option is known as a standalone blog So while WordPress is technically free, there is a fee for launching a new standalone blog

WordPress.com: WordPress.com is another platform that allows the user to create a free blog on a subdomain WordPress.com. Although technically it allows you to blog for free, if you want to enable basic options or have your own domain, you need to upgrade your account to a paid plan.  For this and other reasons, I do not recommend it WordPress.com.

How often should I blog?
If your goal is to make money on your blog, you should start blogging as often as possible, at least once a week. Blogs can be random if your goal is just for personal fun. But if you are looking for a large audience and want to be a leader in your field, blogging every week is a must.

Although the frequency is important, it should not be done with quality damage.  Not all content must contain 2000 words, but all messages must be informative and valuable to the audience. It's not an easy feat. However, if you can keep your blog in line with your normal schedule, it will become easier! As with everything else, the more you do it– the more experienced you are.

Weekly blogs also help improve search traffic that you can track in your Google anal account When you start blogging, recent posts will take time to appear on search engines. Because you will be posting regularly, you will naturally have more blog posts appearing in search results, which means more traffic to your blog.

Why do blogs fail?
Almost all blogs can succeed, but most blogs fail. And there are several reasons. Here are the most common causes of a blog error:

Give up too quickly-the most common reason why a blog fails, is that the content creator gives up before his blog receives the opportunity for recognition. Before starting a blog, you need to understand that most blogs need months or even years to gain traction. It's all an investment. If you can not attract visitors or earn money within a month, do not stop!  Focus on creating quality content and spreading your name through social media and social media.
Intermittent blogging - when long "periods of silence" occur between publications, it is difficult to create a lasting sequel. People looking for information about you usually need a constant stream of new information to interest them. When a blog can't deliver fresh, up-to-date content, people get bored and look elsewhere.
Poor content-some bloggers believe they can outrun the system with automatically generated content or duplicate content that is reformulated. Readers know fluff when they read it. They know when an object has absolutely no value or when it's just bait. A blog with bad content will never succeed.
Too much advertising: blogs with dozens of ads that hide most of the content will prevent visitors from returning. People do not visit your blog to be visually haunted by inappropriate and flashing ads. They're looking for information. While advertising is a good option to monetize, don't overdo it.

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