How To Create a Blog That Will Change Your Life
Many people believe that writing a blog only serves to make
- Friendships. Thanks to my blog, I have met dozens of incredible people all over the world. Some of them are now close friends with whom I am in regular contact.
- Help. Having readers in USA, UK, Australia and several countries in Europe and the world gives me the peace of mind knowing that wherever I go, I will always have someone willing to lend a hand.
- Collaborations. I have had the opportunity to collaborate with several readers and with some top bloggers in different projects.
- Opportunities. Through the blog I have received offers to give courses, act as a consultant or write a book that is used in some universities.
- Master in human psychology. Reading thousands of comments and e-mails has helped me better understand how people work. And believe me: I’ve seen everything, from marriage proposals to the most ruthless insults.
- Launch pad. If I launch any project, I know I can count on my readers to give me a hand, give me feedback and help me promote it.
- Skills. Writing more than 1800 posts (!!) in L’Essenziale has helped me grow as a writer and communicator.
As you can see, it is possible to create a successful blog that does not generate a hard blog. Succeeding is much more than making money.
Surely at some point you have thought about starting your own blog, so for today’s article we will cover the basics.
I hope this article encourages you to take the step if you have been wanting to open a blog for some time. And if you want to train more in depth in the subject, do not forget to sign up for my free training «How to create a blog that will change your life to you and your readers» by leaving a comment on this Instagram post.
Myths about blogs
Here are some of the most popular myths you can read on the web about blogging:
- Personal blogs do not interest anyone. Seriously? Thousands of blogs, including mine, were born as a personal project to share some thoughts about Interior Design.
- The important thing is the design and the brand image. Really? Some award-winning blogs include a horrible black background and animated gifs. It’s all about the message, and with easy tools as WordPress, you can’t fail at design.
- I must have done something important to show it to the world. You don’t have to be someone knew to start a blog. Your blog and constant work will bring you there!
- I must have a clear niche. Leo Babauta writes on his blog about subjects as diverse as nutrition, meditation, productivity or how to floss. It has not gone badly: it already has more than one million subscribers and one of the most successful Internet platforms.
We could analyze the secret of success on every case, but for the moment, stay with the idea that for every sacrosanct instruction given by an online marketing expert there is a blogger who has triumphed by jumping to the empty pool.
Where To Start? Make it Easy!
Do not get complicated: use WordPress. It is versatile, intuitive and allows you to use your own domain if in the future you want to buy one. I had zero experience creating L’Essenziale, and WordPress was really easy. The last thing you need if you want to start is already a barrier to entry.
About the design: use a clear background, a simple and well-known font (For example, Helvetica or Arial, avoid Comic Sans, for God’s sake!) And do not overload the sidebar of bullshit. For now, you should be enough with that.
Now I want you to go to WordPress and open a blog, and then tell me here or through my Instagram account (@anna_Kovalchenko). If you tell me when you post your first post, I will promote it in my Instagram Stories.
What About Hosting? Do I need my own domain?
If your blog is not a simple toy to entangle, but a “serious” project that you are going to devote a regular time, whether purely personal, as a hobby, or professional, for the reasons above mentioned, I strongly recommend that you acquire your own domain, which is also a very cheap thing to do.
We personally recommend you to use some Hosting that will already make easy integration with WordPress. For that, you should consider use this offer and Get 3 months free when you sign up for WP Engine.
The simplest option is to contract the domain along with the hosting, although if you manage many websites it may be more interesting not to hire it together with the hosting because the specialized providers in domains usually have somewhat more complete management tools, somewhat better prices and it is more comfortable if you change hosting.
How to build the habit and persevere in the attempt
If you do not write to your blog often, you will not achieve anything, it’s that simple. The first months are the most complicated: it is when it costs more to attract readers, and we think that what we write does not matter to anyone. To overcome them, commit to continue with or without audience and follow these steps:
- Choose a defined goal, even if it is small. Can be posts of 400 words: an easy number to reach, but wide enough to allow you to say something interesting.
- Complete it every day. Establishing a habit on irregular days is very complicated. Better to write 200 words every day than 2000 once in a while.
- Choose a moment of the day. The morning, before starting with the daily tasks, or the end of the day, when the house is quiet, are good times to write.
- Decide what you are going to renounce. If you want to establish a new habit, you will have to take time away from something: it could be Twitter, TV or ten more minutes of morning lazy.
- Commit yourself to fail. Be aware that sooner or later you will skip one day, and commit to resuming your habit as soon as possible.
How to get your first readers?
The fundamental requirement to get readers is good content. It does not help at all to achieve a peak of traffic with a powerful link and take your readers to a mediocre blog.
Once you have that content, you can use these ideas (I recognize that this marketing strategies are not advanced, but they will help you starting):
- Promote your blog on social networks. How you do it depends, of course, on whether or not you want your friends to read your blog. If you do not want to, you can always create a separate page on Facebook for your readers to subscribe to, or an additional Twitter account with a pseudonym.
- Comment frequently on other blogs that you like and add a link to your website in your sidebar. This will encourage the author’s curiosity and reciprocity. Do not put links to your blog in your comments unless they are relevant, and never the first time: it can be considered impolite spam.
- Create a mailing list to which your readers can subscribe (here you can learn how to do it). In this way, you will convert casual readers into regular visitors.
- Answer the comments that you leave (and, of course, the emails that you send) to reinforce and encourage interaction with your audience.
Never forget, though, that your readers are people. They are not stickers to collect. Avoid considering them a statistic and relate to them from mutual enjoyment, listening and learning.
Let me know your thoughts and questions on the open conversation on Instagram here!
