You’ve probably heard a thousand stories about blogs because, to be honest, creating a blog can be easy and simple to set up. But it’s quite another thing if that blog offers original and relevant content and attracts the right audience. Whatever type of blog you have, you must make sure you set it up up to successfully attract visitors and fulfill the purpose for which you created it.
As you might know, I started my career working in New York’s top ad and marketing agencies – rising up quickly to Senior VP.
But then I quit in my late twenties (to my parent’s horror) to pursue becoming a (hoped for) bestselling author.
Plus I wanted to help people – in a more personal way – as a branding, writing and/or marketing consultant.
Thankfully, my career plan/dream worked out! Now I love to help people to create successful online businesses, websites and blogs.
As a bestselling author and successful blog founder, I decided to put together this simple guide for creating a popular blog – and give you some key easy and simply tips.
What is a blog?
A blog is a website in which content is published, more or less regularly, through articles (which we call post), which are ordered by date of publication. The fact that chronological order is followed is no coincidence since this is the essence of blogs.
On an interesting note, Jorn Barger first used the term weblog in 1997 to refer to ‘logging the web.’
From then on, the term evolved to become a blog, that kind of logbook or digital diary in which we can record/publish content chronologically.
What should a blog have?
It is important to be smart about the content you publish as well as the structure you give your content. Here’s some tips below.
User-friendly design
The dimensions of your blog’s content must adapt to the device’s screen on which it is displayed. This responsiveness is key for a good user experience and the efficiency of your digital marketing strategy.
Landing page
You must create a landing page that allows you to ‘get to the point’ quickly. Basically, you lead the visitor to your blog to perform a specific action.
You can achieve your goal in a few ways: promote a particular product, get your user to fill out a contact form, get subscribers, etc.
Search bar
Putting in a search bar can improve the user experience on your blog. You will want to include a search bar that complements the navigation menu. Your goal: Make the search process simple and easy.
FAQ page
You might want to put up a page of frequently asked questions about your blog, your products… or any related aspect. This will save you and the visitor a lot of time. Your visitor can learn the info they need quickly and without obligation. Plus, you don’t have to answer a lot of emails with a lot of questions.
Social media sharing buttons and subscription forms
You should make it easy for your visitors to share your content with a simple click. It is a great way to expand your reach. Add like and follow buttons to boost your reach and visibility. In addition, make those people who liked you continue to have you present through an email subscription.
The purpose of a blog
This depends on how you want to approach your blog.
A personal blog
In this kind of blog, the author talks about any aspect related to themselves or any topic that interests them (to tell an experience, deal with some specific part). Always from their perspective. That’s why it is personal. In this case, blogs are usually kept as a hobby and help create a community around specific topics that generate a common interest between the author and his visitors.
A company or corporate blog
In this kind of blog, a company or any professional tries to warmly showcase their work and the products or services they offer. It is essential to get the contents right. The articles must be relevant for readers (besides keeping them updated and publishing them regularly) and taking great care in customer service and treatment.
A niche blog
In this kind of blog, you aim at creating content with a specific interest – and offers a lot of value for this issue. You have the potential to go viral among your target audience if you do this right. In this case, knowing about long tail keywords can become a great SEO tool.
A professional and personal branding blog
In this kind of blog, you will go deeper into what you offer as a professional or a personal brand. With it you can show your experience, skills or share your knowledge with the world with just one click.
How does it work?
To create a blog, we need to understand how it works and the types of blogging platforms we can count on to make it: we will look at whether we opt for a hosting service (blog and software work through the hosting platform’s server) or if we opt for a self-hosted blog (we control the blog through a CMS).
Depending on the option we choose and the plugins we use, we will be able to check how far we can go and what functionalities they offer us.
You may already know what you want to do or achieve with your blog but, when it comes to ‘putting it to work,’ there are a series of aspects or steps that we must take into account:
Analyze other blogs
If your blog has commercial purposes, analyze what the competition is doing. It will allow you to find your added value, differentiate you from others, and enhance your brand.
Create your blog and define a promotion strategy
Once you know what is going on out there, what you want to tell or offer, and to whom, it will be time to create that space to carry out your idea. A well-defined digital marketing strategy will be key to create quality content and make your blog visually attractive.
Make a content calendar
Correct planning when managing your blog is key, and when deciding how and when to launch your posts, not just any time will do, and your content (even if it is programmed) will have to be updated.
At first, you may feel difficulties creating content on your own. So, you can seek the help of hire a copywriter. I also help people to write blogs.
Analyze the keywords
You must take time to understand keywords – what they are and how to use them in your SEO positioning strategy. Your goal: Use keywords to attract visits from google searches to your blog.
Create and implement your dissemination plan
You should promote your blog on social networks, practice guest posting and make a guest post on another blog (it is a way of networking), make campaigns and invest in ads on social media, link to external content (you favor that other person to share it), create a YouTube channel…
Platforms to create a blog
There are many options when it comes to free blog sites. Depending on the style or functionality you want to give it, you will find exciting options such as, for example:
WORDPRESS
When you consider creating a free blog, this is undoubtedly one of the first options that will come to mind. WordPress.com offers the option of purchasing a Premium package, but you can create your free blog quickly with the free version.
Of course, you can only use the themes offered by the WordPress library, and you will not have the facilities of the .org version, which would allow you to add any functionality or plugin to enhance your CMS. But don’t worry, because if the experience with WordPress.com doesn’t convince you, you can always migrate to WordPress.org.
TUMBLR
It is straightforward to use, Tumblr is a microblogging platform with a social network format, so it gathers a large community of very participative users. It gives the option to share content published by other users (reblogging) and explore profiles. It allows you to share practically all types of content and is an optimal solution for beginners as it does not require significant technical knowledge.
MEDIUM
It can be a perfect option for writers, journalists… in short, for users who are interested in sharing their texts without the pretensions of hooking through design or visuals. Its design is both elegant and intuitive, and you will only have to focus on creating content.
BLOGGER
You probably know it because it is Google’s blogging platform. It is an excellent option for beginners who want to create a free blog without too many complications. Despite being free, it offers more customizability than most hosting options. Once you sign up, it’s super easy to get up and running by publishing your first post and editing the themes (you have a wide variety) to your liking.
WIX
Wix can be the ideal choice if you are thinking, for example, of creating a creative portfolio. As soon as you register, you will find a tutorial, and you will have the option to be guided: if you don’t have much experience, it will allow you to let ADI start creating the site for you. It’s easy to use and intuitive, so you can set everything up as you like, but be careful because it’s easy to get caught up (especially if you’re creative) in perfecting the design and neglect the content.
JIMDO
In addition to creating websites or e-shops, with Jimdo, you can also make blogs in a super simple way. Jimdo Creator gives you all the tips on how to create your blog for free. It invites you to start with a free version with which you can add all kinds of content, and then if you feel like it, upgrade to a higher understanding that offers you interesting advanced features. Its editor is very intuitive and easy to use, so it is a good choice if you are starting from scratch in the world of blogging.
WEBNODE
It is another web builder with which you can also make a free blog easily and in just a few clicks. Its online editor is very intuitive, it also offers SEO tools, and you can enrich your content with photos or videos. It gives you the option to connect it with Google Analytics and add widgets super easily. Moreover, from there, you can create a professional website or even an online store.
Let’s sum up…
It is essential that you find your tone and define what you want to show to the world. In your eagerness not to leave anything out, don’t be obsessed either.
- Go for simplicity and clarity.
- You have to seem attractive (because you are) but not too enigmatic either.
- Transmit clarity, both in content and form.
- Try to be original and creative.
- Do your research.
- Get inspired by what others are doing.
- Above all, experiment.
Today there are thousands of ways to create visually attractive content with very few resources.
Have you ever thought of including a video resume in which you introduce yourself or a photo gallery with samples of your work, your designs, or products? We advise you to create quality visual content since it is almost always true that a picture is worth a thousand words. Explore the visual posts I create on Instagram here.
Learn more about successful blogging
Work with me 1-on-1
Work with me in a personal way – as your branding, writing and/or marketing consultant.
P.S. Before you wander off to whatever’s next, here are 2 things that will help you get more out of this wild ride called life:
1. Explore My Book: "Your To Die For Life: How to Maximize Joy and Minimize Regret Before Your Time Runs Out." It's just the tool you need to pry more joy, love, meaning and fulfillment out of your life. Curious? Learn more and snag a copy here.
2. Life Review Therapy - This is a coaching session where we get real about where you are, where you want to be, and why you haven’t gotten there yet. We’ll dig deep into what’s working, what’s holding you back, and how to create more joy, love and fulfillment moving forward. If you’re ready for actionable steps and real results, book a free consult call here.
Think happier. Think calmer.
Think about subscribing for free weekly tools here.
No SPAM, ever! Read the Privacy Policy for more information.
One last step!
Please go to your inbox and click the confirmation link we just emailed you so you can start to get your free weekly NotSalmon Happiness Tools! Plus, you’ll immediately receive a chunklette of Karen’s bestselling Bounce Back Book!