com, you need to do a little bit of planning first.
Here are 5 things you must figure out before you start your blog: 1.
What are you blogging for?- There are a lot of reasons why having a blog is a great idea.
You can use your blog to to drive traffic to your existing website, to create and/or expand your web presence, to get more customers or prospects, and much more.
Just deciding that you're going to start a blog because you've read or had been told that it's a good idea isn't good enough.
You need to come up with a tangible goal for your blog that you can work towards and measure.
So your first job is to ask, "Why do I want to have a blog? What's my goal?" Because how you answer will help you decide:
- What you write
- How you write
- Who you're writing for
Who are you blogging for?- All blogs have an audience...
who's going to be yours? Well, that really depends on the goals for your blog.
You see, if you're blogging to increase sales on your website, then that means you're blogging for your current and potential customers.
If you're a weaver that wants to expand into the interior design market, then your potential audience will be your current customers and the members of the market you hoping to expand into, such as interior designers.
Once you figure out who your potential audience will be, then it will be easier to figure out what you should be blogging about and who to promote your blog to.
3.
What are you going to blog about?- Most popular blogs have a main topic which most of the individual blog posts are based around, whether it's sports, television, or life as mommy blogger.
So what's going to be the main topic of your blog? Your main topic should be something that: a) Helps to accomplish the goal you set for your blog (the "why") b) Attracts the people you want to bring to your website (the "who") c) Something that you'll be able to write about long-term The third guideline, "Something that you'll be able to write about long-term" is actually the most important thing to consider, because effective blogging is a long term activity.
Just dropping in and blogging every couple months isn't going to be as effective blogging once or twice a week.
So it needs to be a topic that you can stand to write about on a regular basis.
4.
What are you going to name your blog?- Once you've figured out the why, who, and what of your blog, you need to come up with a great name for it.
Why is coming up with a name so important? Because a good name can attract potential readers.
One of the ways that people can find your blog is through search engines.
If the main topic of your blog is about ceramics, then it's a good idea to have something that has to do with ceramics in the name of your blog.
Having the name of your blog match your main topic will give you a small boost in the search engines.
Another way that people will find your blog is through blog directories which are websites that list and ranks blogs.
If you're skimming through a long list of blogs to read, a catchy name can help you stand out and can mean the difference between someone visiting your blog or passing it by.
5.
Get a domain name for your blog- Once you've come up with a couple of ideas for blog names, go to a domain name registrar and see if they're available for purchase.
Whether you're getting a free blog on Blogger or you're hosting your own blog, you should buy a domain name.
A domain name is a very important piece of branding.
Instead of having your blog address as myartblog.
blospot.
com, you can have your address as myartblog.
com.
That sets you apart from all the other blogs on Blogger and looks more professional on a business card.
Also, if your domain name contains some of your main keywords for your blog (i.
e.
"jewelry" if your main topic is jewelry, "painting" if your main topic is painting), your blog will get a slight boost with the search engines because of it.
Domain names are very inexpensive, usually $10 or less a year.
All in all it's a pretty cheap form of branding.
So don't scrimp in this area and don't wait.
So before you head over to Blogger or WordPress, take an hour or so and work out these five things.
You're new blog will be all that much better for it!