The ultimate guide to creating a successful blog

  The ultimate guide to creating a successful blog

A blog has become more than just an outlet for personal expression, it has also become a valuable tool used by businesses to grow their reach and increase traffic to their website. Whether you’re using your blog as an extension of your existing business or simply using it as a creative outlet, you will find that it can be very useful in building your brand and growing your following. To help you get started, we’ve put together this comprehensive guide on how to create a successful blog.

Step 1 - Select a topic

Look at the blogs you already read, find one that's related to your topic, and take note of what you like about it. What would you change? How does the content make you feel? Is it funny or more serious? Whatever your answer is, follow those steps.

Step 2 - Research your topic

Decide on your niche and write about that subject. If you are not sure what would be best for your blog, then research what topics are trending in the blogosphere. Conduct an online search of bloggers and find out which areas they cover. Look at popular blogs and see what they write about. For example, if you want to start a lifestyle blog, then do some research on other lifestyle blogs like HGTV or Southern Living to determine whether those are the types of posts people enjoy reading most.

Step 3 - Brainstorm ideas

To start, think about what you want your blog to be about. Will it be fashion-based? Recipes? Reviews of books? Do you want it to be more personal or professional in nature? Does your niche appeal to different age groups or are you looking for something broad and accessible? Once you have an idea, consider some ideas for names that could work with your chosen topic. Choose one that suits both the content and what it will look like as far as design goes (think logos and colors). Write down some possible domain names that suit your needs. If any of them are available, register them now!

Step 4 - Write an outline

Now that you've settled on the focus of your blog, it's time to outline what the structure of your posts will be. Fill in the blank with what you plan on writing about: The following are common post types you can consider for your new blog.

You might choose to have a mix of different types of posts and not just one type. Below are a few suggestions for different types of posts: 

-Guest Post: People who might have an expertise related to yours (e.g., a guest post from an expert) 

-What I Eat In A Day: Ever wonder how someone makes their favorite meal? Write about your average day's diet or share pictures of it with us!

Step 5 - Create posts

You'll want your posts and topics to be in line with the niche or theme you established in step 3. I recommend coming up with seven posts before starting, at least as far as topic titles are concerned. When it comes time to write those posts, make sure that you have an engaging first sentence. You don't need an entire paragraph for this, just something interesting and noteworthy about the content you're going to write about. The goal is not only for people who are reading your blog post now, but also for others who will come across it later when they're browsing around online or offline media sources where your post appears. Write in present tense, even if you're talking about something that happened long ago. The words should all be spelled correctly. If there's a specific angle you want to take on a topic or issue, tell the reader why it's important for them to know about it. And remember: Use active voice whenever possible (so I rather than she and he). For inspiration, browse through other popular blogs like Mashable's Social Media Update blog or Huffington Post's We Are Family blog .

Step 6 - Promote your posts with social media and other blogs

Promoting your posts with social media can be really effective and easy. Share them on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest or Google+. When you share your post across multiple platforms, make sure to include the link in the description. And don't forget to be responsive! Respond as quickly as possible to comments and messages. Remember that the more responses you give, the better! Take some time each day to read through all of your messages, no matter how small they are. Write responses when you have something important to say - but if it's just a thank you or hey then consider not responding at all. 

Mentioning other blogs is another great way to promote yourself. Find blogs that are similar in topic and comment on their latest posts with links back to your blog so people will find out about it too. Or submit guest posts for websites that publish articles related to your topic. You'll often get credit for this by being mentioned within the post as well, which helps build up brand recognition and trustworthiness among readers who haven't heard of you before.

Finally, there are also ways to send your own posts into relevant magazines and newspapers (though this takes a lot more work). Use web resources like Help A Reporter Out (HARO) which connects journalists with sources who fit their story needs. Or use an automated service like EzineArticles where submissions are sent directly to editors via email; this works best for shorter pieces of content (<2000 words).