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Today I am going to share Best Blogging tips for beginners and new bloggers in India (These would work for you even if you are outside India).
This article covers commonly asked questions like how should a beginner create a blog, my best advice on how blogging can help you earn money, I will link to a book that teaches profitable blogging. I will also cover lesser known facts and mistakes that beginners make so I would guide you on what you should not do when starting a blog and lot more.
So let us start.
These have been my learning for past few years. So if someone asks me today what I wish I knew when I started blogging and what advice will I give to new bloggers and beginners , it will be a list of these tips for new bloggers.
Use WordPress as your blogging platform
There are multiple platforms out there which I explored in the beginning – Blogger, Wix and may be more. Do not go with them.
Also there is a difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org. I definitely recommend WordPress.org.
What I learnt is to get a self hosted version of WordPress from an external hosting provider (and not WordPress.com paid plans and a domain as soon as you realize that you want to take blogging seriously.
Using WordPress, I have been able to create a blog, a store and a directory and have now helped multiple bloggers move to their self-hosted sites via my article on how to start a blog.
WordPress is a software (think of like MS word, in layman terms)
WordPress.com – gives you hosting plus WordPress software
What I am asking you to do is – Use WordPress as a software and get domain and hosting from a reliable service provider like Chemicloud (Not from Godaddy please). Other popular hosting providers are Bluehost and in India Hostinger. Though my first preference would always be this one
Note – review on internet are not always reliable so I am suggesting you from my personal experience and based on what I have chosen for clients whose hosting I have handled
How should a beginner create a blog?
- Decide on your your niche
- Decide on a blog name
- Get Domain Name and buy Hosting from my preferred hosting provider
- Install WordPress software (not WordPress.com)
- Choose a theme (You may find this article on how to choose a theme useful)
- Set up your website (Important pages, plugins and widgets)
- Learn content writing and SEO
- Decide your content strategy
- Start publishing a post
There is a difference berween starting a blog and starting a profitable blog (one that earns you money) – For that start with this book – I am sure you won’t be disappointed.
Coming back to the point – With WordPress anything can be done. Avoid Blogger, Wix and any other things that comes up next 🙂.
Create Social presence
Again something I learnt very late and am still learning; start creating an online presence for yourself and your blog. There are multiple platforms out there – Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram and many more. Create profiles and be active on these.
Tip – Before you buy a domain see if the name you have chosen is available on these social platforms, you should be able to create a Facebook page with the same name as your blog.
Also you do not have to be EVERYWHERE.
You have to be where you readers or audience is. So create accounts and then post content and understand where your audience is.
And focus on maximum 3 social media where your readers are. Take time out to connect with them, understand them and more important know their problems.
I have created some Instagram highlights with multiple tips so if you have not seen them – Connect with me on Instagram here
Your blogs should solve your readers problems. So KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
Get a nice theme and Install these must have Free WordPress plug-in
YOAST SEO and a good image optimisation plugin is good to have on your site. Do not set up many plugins they are not good for your website.
Set up google analytics for your blog from day one as it helps you to know about your readers. And learn how to use Google analytics.
Have a reason for writing or blogging (also Identify your niche)
Find out why you are blogging. For me it is about sharing my experiences. I write about what I learn in life and with a desire to help others.
If you are only blogging to make money then find ways to keep you motivated. Everything takes time so always remember you will not make money overnight. Give it time and have patience.
I have talked about this in details in my Kindle book so do read it.
Also Read – 10 Profitable Blog Niche Ideas for Stay-at-Home Moms to Start Their Own Blogs
Do not write for free for others (What should you NOT DO when starting a blog)
If you are writing blogs for other magazines or websites then either ask for compensation or include a link back to your blog (commonly called as a backlink).
So either you should be compensated for your time and efforts via money, or in kind (barter) or via traffic redirection to your site (backlinks).
Tip – Backlinks are also good for Search Engine optimization (SEO)
Take quality photos and add watermark on them
Photography is an art. I am not a professional in it but yes what I have realized is taking good photos is very important for getting your blog noticed. Also watermark your images; you can do it via adding text watermark or adding your logo as a watermark.
Also you can get multiple good quality stock photos for FREE. I have covered a full list with a tip on how to get paid photos for free in my How to start a blog for profit ebook
Make following you easy
Do add a follow us button and give readers three or four way of following you.
Know your niche and be honest to your readers/followers
Before you start blogging, spend some time in understanding yourself. Know what you are good at and blog about it.
Write about your personal experiences, thoughts and/or skills. Your aim needs to be add value to your reader’s life, so that he or she gets something to take away after spending time on your blog.
When you are writing something you are touching someone’s life and at times influencing their decisions. So be mindful and be honest.
TRENDING >> How to write CATCHY HEADLINES (Do not miss this)
Be aware of alternate ways of making money from your blog (Know How do bloggers make money)
This is again something that I have learnt with time.
Many bloggers think that now I have started a blog or self hosted blog – money would start pouring in.
NO. It does not happen like that. You need to have a strategy for making money from blogging. And for creating a strategy – you need to know how do bloggers make money. Only when you have this information you can plan your strategy.
I do cover this in details in my course – How to bloggers earn money but in short people make money via affiliate marketing, ads, content writing for others, sponsored posts, selling products and services.
There are multiple ways to make money from your blog – advertising, affiliate marketing, getting paid for content writing, having a shop section on your blog. So look around and be aware of these methods.
Also Read – How can I join Amazon Affiliate Program
Connect with others
This is again a very important aspect.
Till few months back I used to live in my own shell (you can call it my website) and used to just concentrate on posting content (which again is a very important but not everything that is required).
Then I met an amazing group of people (who also blog) and realized what I had been missing.
So my advice to all new bloggers is find other bloggers, link to their content, read what they are writing, comment on their blogs – not only for SEO but as a genuine person. We are humans above all and so get to know each other as people and not just bloggers.
Identify your audience and write for your readers
Know your audience. Identify their pain points and then write articles or create content to help your readers. Help them genuinely
Also even though I ask you to learn SEO – do not stuff keywords or write for the bots. Always write good content that helps your reader and your audience.
Learn SEO
Invest in learning content writing and learning search engine Optimisation. In layman words, SEO is what you can do to get your blog coming in search results. There are many aspects to it – on page SEO, Off page SEO, Competitors research and keywords research.
Getting a plugin Yoast signal green is NOT SEO. So invest time and money and learn these skills and you would be able to earn the money back in small period of time.
Also Check – Debbie’s Easy On-Page SEO eBook
Learn keywords research
Understand what are keywords. In simple term – words or phrases you write on search engines like Google when you searching for something.
If you are writing a blog – you want to be found for certain keywords. You need to be able to research for those keywords and use them effectively and correctly when writing your content
Spend time doing keywords research and then craft your perfect blog post that helps your readers or inspires them or solves their problem.
Be honest and trustworthy
Whatever you write on your blog or social media, Whatever products you recommend to your readers. Please do it with integrity and honestly.
Because trust once lost is very difficult to regain.
So be genuine and be trust worthy always 🙂
Create your email list and mail your readers
Try to capture email ids of your readers when they visit you and establish a relationship via emails. Send them information they can use and apply and which they find useful.
Learn to write catchy headlines
A good headline can actually drive people to click through and read your blog. Not only is this true for headlines but also social media captions and email subject lines.
So invest time and learn content writing, copywriting and how to write catchy headlines.
Also read – How to write Catchy headings
Focus on statistics that matter
Do not worry about how many likes you get. Focus on how many people actually engaged with your articles.
If you are sending emails focus on how many people replied to you saying Thanks for this amazing information. Ad believe me you do get such emails and heart warming comments.
In terms of earning money – focus on how much affiliate commissions you made from a blog post.
So decide your goals and focus on statistics that matter and do not worry about vain metrics.
Be aware of what your competitors are doing
Do not copy anyone but always keep an eye on what your competitors are doing. You can do it legally via free tools to see what posts they are getting traffic on or what keywords they are ranking for.
I have covered this details in my Keywords research and Competitor research using free tools e-book.
Knowing our environments helps us in making decisions, pivoting direction at times and helps in running our blog as a business.
And yes in case you want to make a profitable blog – you will need to run it as a business keeping an eye on your investment and your earning.
Stay consistent
The most important part of blogging is staying consistent.
We have an idea and we work on it and then after some point of time because of factors internal or external we are not able to do as much as we want to do.
Whatever you do – stay consistent and do not give up. Consistency pays off 🙂
Cite your reference
When you are writing an article – do your research well and cite these references. Give links to more established blogs, to researches and surveys.
It helps you add authority to what you are saying and helps your readers.
Write amazing Call to actions (CTA)
Each of your article or post should have a clear goal – what would you like your reader to do after reading it. And this should be effectively communicated when we are writing.
If you would like your reader to share the post – Ask them to share the post (CTA). If you would like your readers to drop a comment please do add a CTA.
In case if you would like you reader to buy something – do add it as a clear and catchy Call to action.
I am still practicing and learning these skills. That brings me to a very important point.
Keep learning
Blogging is like an ocean. The more you learn the more you realize – there is so much more to learn.
So keep learning and do not stop experimenting and applying what you learn. Keep on updating old blog posts with your learning.
With time create your own products, use your knowledge to add more value to your readers.
What is the best advice for blogging for beginners in India?
Consider your blog as a business. Invest in yourself and learn things so that you can START CORRECTLY and GROW FAST
