Hey all, I'm thinking of starting a blog. I like to write and I plan on it being enjoyable in and of itself, but I'd, of course, like to plan for an eventual increase in traffic and monetization. That said, does anyone have any advice on starting my first blog? The topic, how to go about starting it, how to publicize it, how to monetize, etc. Any and all advice is welcome. Thanks! Sam
Topic - a few years ago, I would have said try to find a unique niche, but I guess that these days that's almost impossible. But at least find a topic that (a) interests you and (b) isn't massively crowded already in the blogosphere. As far as making money goes, I think you have the right attitude - you have to enjoy your blogging or else it will become a chore. The best way to attract an audience (and hence make money) is to have good, relevant and interesting content. I'm sure that, at first, you'll just about be covering your hosting costs, and many blogs never get beyond this. But from acorns mighty oak trees may grow...
My advice would be to write about something you really really like, nevermind that there's other bloggers around the world that writes about the same thing, if you cant attract the viewers (they'll notice if you dont know what you are talking about) the blog will just die! If you write about something you like, people will notice that and come back if they find it intresting!
Thanks! Rather than ask for a specific topic, can you tell me some topics that are plenty overcrowded and I should definitely stay away from? Also, I was wondering, regardless of topic, would it be best to have a blog based on satire/humor/parody of whatever topic I choose, or is it easier to grow one that is serious and reflective on issues? Thanks, Sam
I have two blogs, one personal with no humor in it: 15 visitors/day And one humor-blog with funny videos and pictures: 5000 visitors/day It's probably easier to have a non serious blog i guess..
Starting a blog can be a very enjoyable experience , of course you'll need a topic that you know a lot about or you can research your topic. I would monetize my blog by seeing how other professional bloggers are doing it, for tips you can go to http://www.johnchow.com or read problogger.com , and visit Alvin Fang of atomic blogging to get ideas on how to really get the most advertising from your blog online. There are thousands if not millions of web 2.0 directories geared to listing both blogs and blog articles which is a source for good traffic. Commenting on other peoples blogs builds backlinks, having them comment on yours builds reciprocal links. Try to join blog communities and announce your blog to the bloggers there which will generate more traffic. There are countless ways to generate traffic with a blog.
Oh, I totally agree - interest is the key, and that's a difficult thing to fake. It's just that some subjects have either (a) been done to death or (b) already have a 'category killer' blog in that field which you'll never be able to compete with.
It depends on what your natural style is, but humour can make a blog much more 'sticky' with its audience, if you can pull it off. Some of the most effective blogs, for me, take a normally serious subject and blog about it in a funny or off-beat way.
if you write about a subject that you like and keep posting new, quality and unique articles... traffic and money will come one day.
Start with a free blogspot blog and choose a good domain related to your site... Add some decent content,publicize it by using social bookmarking sites,etc and optimize the site to get more traffic from search engines.... and finally, monetize your site with adsense.
Your topic should be a subject that you are knowledgeable about, if you provide great content your blog will be successful.
Usually topics related to finance, insurance, real estate, credit card, forex all are pretty overcrowded but it doesn't hurt to go into it, if you can write well and have good knowledge about those. I believe one of the key to success is creating a blog that tries to communicate and get close to the visitors. Write about what they want, so that they have interest to follow on the subject. This way you can establish your base of loyal readers.
The main key to starting a great blog is to not get bored with the topic you are writing. Nothing sucks more when you blog and you don't like the topic. Blogging should be fun.. not like "WORK" Good luck.
For starting a goog blog just you think on which topic you are interested and then you prepare blog for that topics only. Also make some good design and also update daily to your blog so your blog will become more popular.