Considering starting a new blog? If so, you’ve come to the right place.

These days, blogging can be a great resource for both personal and professional development. Don’t believe me? Check out some of your favorite brand name’s websites. More often than not, there will be a blog tab somewhere on the website that will bring you to an abundance of information about the industry and/or company. Whether it’s a large, corporate chain or a small, local business, companies around the world are loving the easy publicity that comes with this trend.

Whatever your reason for starting a new blog, here are 5 basic tips for getting set up and entertaining a growing audience. Good luck!

1. Choose the right domain for you.

There are so many different options for blog domains these days. Simply Googling “how to start a blog” will bring you to a plethora of site options for hosting your new blog. However, in my opinion, WordPress is going to be your best option.

I use WordPress to create the blog you’re reading right now and, over time, I’ve noticed just how easy to use and versatile it is as a hosting option. Now, I could go into further explanation about why I enjoy using the site so much, but when it comes to choosing a domain for your new blog, the best thing to do is get out there and test the waters with a few different options.

Choosing the right domain is all about finding a site that appeals to you aesthetically and structurally. Once you found a site you’re comfortable using, creating each blog will be something you look forward to, rather than something that simply needs to be checked off of your “to-do” list.

2. Provide unique visual content.

One of the best things you can do for your blog is to create exclusive visual content by taking your own photos and videos or designing your own graphics. In a sea of online blogs, this makes yours more unique— and yes, your readers WILL notice.

Another reason to produce unique visual content is to eliminate correspondence issues. For example, it may seem more convenient to use free images from sites such as Pixabay or Pexels, but it comes at an entirely different price. A serious pitfall of that option is that those images won’t always coincide well with your written content. Many times, free stock images are just too generic to make the kind of impact on the audience that you want. If you’re blog topic is considerably refined (which it should be), you’ll want visual content that matches.

3. Establish and stick to a specific tone.

Written content in blogs is just another opportunity to be unique. And like your visual elements, your text should reflect a specific tone of voice that your readers can both identify with and be entertained by.

An important element in finding the right tone is knowing your audience beforehand. If you don’t know who you’re writing to, you’ll be hard-pressed to decide on a tone or topic that is relevant and interesting to them. While some audiences prefer to keep it as professional as possible, most blog readers understand that the information is generally shared in a more relaxed, conversational tone. In turn, nine times out of ten, this type of reader expects to be addressed as an anonymous friend. Just keep in mind that nobody enjoys sifting through a bunch of errors and run-on sentences, so do your best to write cleanly and clearly.

4. Share, share, share.

Congrats! You’ve written and designed your first blog! Now, it’s time to send it out to your audience. Some new bloggers have an existing audience via a strong social media following. However, that’s not always going to be the case.

While social media is a helpful tool for sharing content, there are plenty of other ways to get your blog circulating. For example, creating an email list from existing or potential clients is a great way to gain loyal readers. In addition, it’s also helpful to create “partnerships” with popular blogs or companies in your industry. Simply put, this means you would reference their name in your content and they would reference yours.

Quick Tip: Make sure the blog or company you feature is relevant to your content. If it isn’t, you risk losing your reader’s attention.

5. REVIEW THE ANALYTICS.

I’ll be the first to admit that the word ‘analytics’ is pretty unpleasant. Nobody really enjoys going over analytics and making necessary improvements. When writing a blog, people simply want to write about what they know. But the hard truth is, analytics can change the game completely— and in a good way.

Taking a couple of minutes to review what content your audience is responding well to can help you figure out what draws consumer attention and why. Without critical information like that, you’re just writing a bunch of blogs to an empty audience. And that’s no fun, nor is it good for your business.

Want to learn more about the blogging world? Tune in next week as we continue with our month of all things blog-related.

As always, thanks for reading and happy marketing!

—Amanda Myers, Copywriter at BoydTech Design, Inc.