Top 5 Blogging Musts
View PDF | Print View
by: RandyTheHermit
Total views: 28
Word Count: 532
If you want a blog that will be popular and have loyal followers you need to keep in mind the following things.
1.) What type of hosting service should you use - I am not talking about specific hosting services I am referring to whether you should be using a free service like WordPress.com or whether you should purchase your own domain name and hosting.
The simple rule of thumb that I use is if your blog is for your business or for profit have it set up on its own domain name. If it isn't for either of these purposes then you should be fine on a free blogging service.
If you are running your blog as a business having your own domain name and site will make your blog appear much more professional. Plus it is much easier to optimize your site for the search engines and drive traffic to your site.
2.) Make sure you use the right blogging software - software like Joomla, TypePad and Concrete will all make blogs but I recommend that you use WordPress. The main reason for this is because WordPress has the most available plugins, themes and support.
3.) Stay in your niche - when you create a blog you should know what niche you are going to be working in. Make sure you stay in this niche. If you stray too far you will loose readers because no one wants to go to a blog about fitness and read about the new triple chocolate supreme delight being offered around the corner.
Staying on topic for your specific niche will make you the obvious expert and will help on conversions whether you are selling your own product or are referring your readers to affiliate products. You will become known for your niche.
You should also make sure that your niche is a topic you like. You don't have to know everything there is to know about it but you must be interested in it enough that you will put in the time that it takes to make your site popular.
4.) Know your keywords - every blog relies on keywords to get search engine traffic. The keywords you choose to use should be researched and you should know that people are actually searching for these keywords.
You can do some quick keyword research using the Google Keyword tool. This will at least tell you if you are working with keywords that get searched.
5.) Make your blog reflect you - this simply means that your blog should be something that reflects your personality or the personality of your business. This can be the tone of voice you use in your posts or it can be something as simple as putting your name and picture on the blog. Let people know who is doing the talking, let them see you, let them put a face to the voice and you will find that you will get a better following than trying to be the anonymous expert.
These steps will get you started with blogging, review them before you start your blog or if you already have a blog going see if they apply to your blog. They are the backbone of almost all successful blogs.
About the Author
About The Author: Randy The Hermit Baustert has been working online since 1994 and is the top rated SEO expert according to ExpertRating.com the industry testing services. You can find more free blogging instructions at his newest blog How To Blog Site
Rating: Not yet rated
