In 2019, there are numerous resources available for bloggers, and numerous great reasons you’d want to start a blog. A blog is ideal for branding, attracting leads to an existing business, or becoming a standalone business on its own. Here are the 6 basic steps to follow if you want to launch a new business blog:
1. Find a Profitable Blog Content Niche
If you’re already running a business, the chances are good that you know your niche. In that case, all you have to do is get busy creating your blog. If you don’t already have a business established, and you want your blog to be your business, you’ll have to choose a niche — a specific topic that will be the theme of the blog content you create.
You’ll want to pick a topic that’s broad enough to allow your blog to grow, but narrow enough to allow you to compete with all the other established bloggers out there. For example, “business” may be too broad a topic for a single blogger to successfully cover — but “business software” or “business careers” or “small business ideas” could all be workable blog niches for a blogger who’s interested in those topics.
2. Create Delightful, Useful Blog Content
Before you launch your blog, you’ll want to have multiple blog posts, articles, videos, infographics or other pieces of content ready to go. That way, visitors who find their way to your blog will have more than one piece of content available to engage with. So, consider what you’d want to communicate with your readers about; then create the corresponding posts, articles, videos, photos, charts and graphs that will convey the concepts you want your readers to learn when they visit your blog.
3. Choose and Register a Suitable Domain Name
There are multiple approaches to choosing a domain name. You could register your own name, or part of it. Or you could choose a phrase that describes your blog content. You’ll also have to choose an extension. Many people think .com is best, but if you’re outside the USA, you may prefer to register a top level domain specific to your country such as .com.au or .co.uk. You also have countless other options available such as .blog, .biz and .careers.
4. Get Set Up With a Hosting Plan
If you’re serious about blogging, paying for a hosting plan and hosting your own content is far preferable to using one of the free blogging platforms. It gives you more control over your content and also your future blog monetization options.
If you’re in the USA, you have numerous options for hosting plans. If you’re in Australia, one of the new NBN plans will most likely be your best option if the NBN has already been rolled out in your area. Even if other options are currently available in your area, they are likely to be phased out soon.
5. Install WordPress; Customize It With a Theme and Plugins
There are many blogging platforms, but WordPress is one we recommend — because it’s easy to use, well established and there’s an incredible amount of support for it. It’s a beginner friendly platform. Even as a beginner, you’ll be able to easily customize your WordPress blog with themes and plugins that developers in the WordPress community have already put effort into making available. You’ll more than likely be able to find exactly the themes and plugins you need for getting your new blog up and running fast.
6. Publish Your Content on Your Blog
Once WordPress is installed on your blog, simply publish the content you’ve created.
Congrats — after you’ve followed these 6 steps, you’re a blogger! Welcome to the blogging community. We wish you all the best with maintaining your new business blog in 2019 and beyond.
