What is a blog or blogging?
Blog– (definition from Cambridge dictionary) a website on which one person or group puts new information regularly, often every day; weblog.
- a regular record of your thoughts, opinions, or experiences that you put on the internet for other people to read.
Blogging has been popular because it can be a good source of information, business companies and personal brand owners keep their customers or clients up to date about their offers and promotions, it is a good source of traffic and income stream, and last but not the least people can interact and exchange opinions through blog comments.
There are some free and paid tools that you need to have when starting a blog. This will be discuss below.
What are the purposes of blogs
There are many reasons for blogging. The purpose of writing a blog is also connected with what you are going to write on your blog.
- School projects
- business
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- promote or sell products and or services (income generation). Bloggers can put ads on their site like cost per click (CPC) or pay per click (PPC) banners.
- brand awareness- business owners makes use of blogging to let their brand be known to the market they are in. It is either a company or a personal brand itself. Many business online experts use blogging to establish their expertise in different niches.
- email list marketing or lead generation- bloggers use newsletter sign-ups or pop-ups to capture leads and sales
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- express your thought and opinions about certain topics that you are passionate about like, history, politics, environment and many more
- solve a problem and or help people – some bloggers write about “how to” topics that is related to their expertise to help people solve or find a solution to their problems
How to structure a blog?
- Make a catchy headline (add some keywords)
- Introduction
- Main point 1
- Main point 2
- Main point 3
- Conclusion
Depending on where you want to insert a photo that supports your main point then you can do so. At least insert or provide an eye-catching photo that is related to your topic. You can as well insert your brand logo if you want to
If it’s necessary then you make a link at the bottom to the original blog or to credit original authors.
Refer to the photos below for another example of blog structure.
What to write about in a blog?
What you are going to write in a blog is almost the same as to what is your reason on why you are starting a weblog.
- What are you passionate about?
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- Think of a niche or topic you are passionate about. What are your strong points that you are comfortable to write about and share it with your readers.
- Or an experience or story you want to share where readers can relate and or learn from it.
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2. Solution to a problem
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- What problems have you encountered and found a solution to it. You can write and share about these things.
- What does people often asks online? (Do a keyword search)
- Make a goal to provide helpful articles to your readers.
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3. Blog for business
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- Business owners, personal brand owners and affiliate marketers use blogging to generate income.
- You can write a blog about the affiliate programs you are affiliated with and insert your affiliate links on it.
- Write about a product review.
- Write about the products you are selling if you are in ecommerce.
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What are the best website builders?
Website is a must in blogging and is one of the most needed tool or platform. You can choose from these website builders.
- WordPress
- WordPress as a software is free to download and use. However, to use WordPress on the web, you will need WordPress Hosting
- thousands of plug-ins
- numerous pre-build templates to choose from
- more of a content management system
2. Bluehost
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- one of the largest website hosting providers
- FREE Domain Name for 1st Year
- FREE SSL Certificate Included
- 1-Click WordPress Install
- 24/7 Support
- *they have special intro offer and 30-day money back guarantee (conditions applies)
- shared web hosting
- wordpress hosting
3. Wix
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- by using drag and drop tools, Wix allows users to create HTML5 websites and mobile sites
- has a variety of Wix-developed third party application
- with functions such as social plug-ins, e-commerce, online marketing, contact forms, e-mail marketing, and community forums
- has a Wix store where you can sell your products and get paid online
- has a Wix logo maker
- has a Wix SEO Wiz
- has a Wix video maker that you can create and share to your readers
WIX Website Plan
WIX Business and e-commerce plan
4. Wealthy Affiliate– Although Wealthy affiliate is an online training platform, they can also serve the purpose of website builders.
- Wealthy Affiliate is different with Wix and bluehost but bloggers can do almost everything inside wealthy affiliate.
- You can buy and host your domain inside Wealthy affiliate
- Has WordPress integration to customize your website
- Integrated with grammar checker
- Has Jaaxy keyword research
- Responsive community and very good customer’s service
Keyword research tools for your blog content
Keyword research tools is very important to rank your blog on search engines. With keyword tools, you will know what words to add as keywords to your blogs in order to rank on SEO (search engine optimization). Listed below is one of the best keyword tools recommendation that you can choose from.
Optimize your site with keyword research tools to rank and gain more visitors.
SEMrush
Features:
- Advertising research
- Display advertising tools
- Backlinks
- Keywords research
- Product listing ads
- Traffic analytics
Get your FREE TRIAL here.
Jaaxy
Features:
- Keyword research
- Site rank
- Alphabet Soup (by utilizing the alphabet letters, you can find additional keywords under your niche)
- Brainstorm
- Trainings
Click here to learn how Dave, a broke laborer turned himself into a successful online millionaire
I have been hearing about a lot of people earning money through blogs lately and I was thinking about creating my own blog to try things out.
I have heard about Wix before, on ads appearing in my YouTube videos so I think I’ll go for them because I don’t know what everything else you mentioned is 😛
Do they offer any videos on how to set everything up?
Hi Harry yes they have tutorials and support for you to start with. Just like any other web builders they have FAQ and a good customers service when you have some questions or in need of help.
Well I’ve been toying with the idea of starting up my own blog on music production and audio engineering, and I had no real idea how I was supposed to start everything off. This article has gone a long way to pointing me in the right direction.
I’m interested by this Wealthy Affiliate option that you cover here – would they suit a newbie blogger like myself?
Hi Chris, Yes Wealthy affiliate is user friendly especially for beginners. I have some of my domains hosted at wealthy affiliates and I can say that I am doing well with my blogs.
You have packed a lot into this article on the basics of blogging including how to set one up, make posts that will get traffic to your content, and even where to get hosting for the blog. Overall, a very complete and useful guide on blogs. This is a good start for anyone that wants to establish a presence online.
I think every person that operates any kind of business online needs a blog, as it provides a base from which to promote products, build your authority, and to increase your credibility. You can add subscribers to your email lists from a blog site and do further marketing using email campaigns.
Most certainly one key tool that you will need is a keyword research software that will help you see what kinds of content that you can compete for easier. The ones you mention will work well and I use them both (and others as well, actually). Blogging seems easy and it is, but to do it smartly and be able to build a business using the method, you have to plan a bit and then execute that plan.
Thanks for the guide, I have bookmarked it for questions I get from people that ask what I am doing and how to get started themselves (I do get this a few times a week in my travels and meetings). Rather than go through the details, I can just send them here (and get you some more traffic too!).
Thanks Dave. Very well said. Am glad you liked and bookmarked it, definitely you can share this article.
I’ve been to Wix, I’ve been to Bluehost, and also to Wealthy Affiliate. I can say that among these three, it’s WA that won my heart. I’m a blogger, I blog on many topics, from hair loss prevention to making money online, and I can say that it is only in WA that I found a community of helpful bloggers like me. Yes, the other two have online forums to support their users, but most of them are not that responsive as compared to what we have in WA. With its supportive community and excellent online tools like Jaaxy, combined with excellent hosting, what more can you ask?
Hi Gomer, I have been using all these 3, and yes, WA has a great support from the community which I like the most. It’s just nice to give some options for others to choose from whatever they think is best for them.
It is going to be nearly impossible without making use of at least one of these tools when building a blog. To see success these tools would have to be used simultaneously. I personally make use of jaxxy and wealthyaffiliate platform. These are the two main tools I make use of in running my website.
I have not really entered into the more sophisticated tools but these are what I regularly make use of and they work for me perfectly.
Hi Jay, I use Jaaxy and Wealthy affiliate as well, but I also use other platforms aside from these two.
As I was reading over your review, I went over to the Blue Host Web Hosting website, and was surprised at all of the add- ons! They make the price seem so reasonable, yet essential tools are not included in the monthly cost. What looks affordable right off the bat, can end up being quite a sum to pay monthly.
I was wondering if Wix and Bluehost offer anything in terms of training like Wealthy Affiliate? I also wanted to add, that I appreciate the monthly reports that I get with my free membership to SEM Rush. I am still relatively new, but wow, do they give you some valuable information when it comes to the health of your website.
Hi, I agree with you that Bluehost have add-on but those are not necessary for beginners who are just starting up. Add-on depends on your needs in your website/ business, You can add the add-on as your business grow.
The web builders offers training and support to start building your site.
This is just what I’ve been looking for, an easy to follow tutorial on how blogging works as I have a few friends that have just started their own blogs so I thought I would give it a try myself
They are using godaddy to build a blog and they said it’s super easy, do you know anything about this company? If so, would you recommend me using them for my blog?
Hi, I did use godaddy in one of my domain, I bought it from godaddy but for some reason I did not like their web builder so I have waited 60 days!( yea 60 days locked in period of domain) before I transfered it to Wealthy affiliate:)
I like blogging because it has always been the best way for me to be creative. To exteriorize my thought and feelings. Now I am learning to associate a monetization option to my blogging activities.
I like the blog structure you have given, it is very effective. Back in the days when I was blogging as a hobby, I never really pay attention to the structure because it was just like telling a story. But now that I am learning to apply such a structure my post is doing better even in my hobby blog. So, yes that is the best way to write a blog post because it gives a better sense of the content to the visitors.
Thanks
Hello fellow bligher:), yeah I like blogging because I can express my thoughts and feelings just like what you have said. Blogging structure is important because of it’s better readability that can help your audience to be more engaged on your blog.
Excellent article you have written up here and I’m not sure anyone could demand for anything more better than this article when it cones to getting started with blogging. Website hosting is one of the integral part of blogging and all the options you outlined are great in their respective ranks just that, I will tip wordpress over others since it hosts most of the current websites online. Also, the other various sections such as keyword research and others are just simply great. O think both rookie and advanced marketers will find this very interesting to read about. Great post
Hi Rodarrick, Thank you and welcome!
Really enjoyed this breakdown of the basics of blogging, website building tools and keyword research tools.
Blogging is an art form and something that takes time but can be picked up very quickly as you go, research, read and review more blogs across a multitude of topics.
WordPress is great, and I enjoy the way it falls under the Wealthy Affiliate programs website creation and building guidelines, which has allowed me to learn and grow websites and business accordingly.
For keywords, I have been a Jaaxy man, but will definitely check SemRush out to see if there are any benefits that would see me look to make a change there.
Hi Shane, I use Jaaxy too but semrush is very good as well, check it out.
A blog is something that all folks should have today if they want to earn money online or share an opinion with others. I primarily use my blog to earn online income but also to educate people about something I know and have experience. Wix is a great platform as they really have stunning themes which can attract visitor attention, I also plan to start a blog with Bluehost as they are very affordable.
Hi Daniel, Good to hear you are considering Bluehost. You can sign-up here and take a look at it. It´s a very good website builder.