Blogging gives you the power to express your independent views and opinions, or write on just about anything that you are passionate about, and reach out to the Internet community at large.
But more importantly, it is a great way to make money online.
If you are new to making money online, then getting started might be a bit intimidating. Luckily, the following tips can help you out:
Decide what your blog is going to be about
You are free to blog randomly on anything and everything, but that may not be the best way to succeed in the blogging world. Choose a subject that appeals very strongly to you, and which can captivate the attention of your readers or potential ones. You will be able to add value to your blog, and create a niche for yourself in a crowded world of blogging by focusing on a specific theme that establishes a clear identity for your blog. You can read more about picking a niche here.Choose free or paid hosting
You will have the choice to host the blog yourself for a small annual fee, or opt for a free blogging service such as blogspot.com. You need to decide which option suits you better, and start your blog accordingly. With a free blogging service, you do not have to pay a penny, but you will not obtain an exclusive domain name. It will always include the name of the hosting service.Secondly, if later you choose to shift to your own private domain, you will not be able to take your readers with you. You will always be dependent on the host service, and will have no control over your site. Paid hosting at a cheap price is possible with several service providers. You can acquire free blog software from reliable sources such as WordPress, which will give you the flexibility and the room to grow. You can acquire your own domain name for a small annual fee, and develop your own blog with an exclusive identity and total control over your website.
Decide on a blog design and layout
The value of your blog content will be enhanced if you can showcase it attractively with a good design. The free blog hosting service providers will offer you a gallery of ready templates to choose from. You can pick your own layout and color scheme for your blog. Try to personalize your blog design to give it a unique identity, so that readers can differentiate it from other blogs quickly.You can also add images and a profile of yourself. This will help because most readers are curious to know about the blogger, so you can provide them a glimpse of your life. Add other blogging freebies such as blog chalks, buttons, tagboards, imoods, guest book, guest maps, and comment box for readers’ feedback. These will allow for better reader engagement levels at your blog.
Promote your blog
Visit other blogs and interact with other bloggers for mutual promotion of blogs. Create a network of like-minded bloggers to build a larger collective readership. Send the URL of your blog to your friends and acquaintances. Promote your blog over social media networking sites. If you write a blog post on a current issue, it can circulate fast over social media sites, giving wide exposure to your blog. Your blog’s success does correlate with your social media skills. Do not become discouraged if you do not see interesting results if you are just starting out in this arena.
