E-mails, Tweets, Facebook Updates, Surfing the Web are just a few ways people pass time online. It’s very easy to spend a considerable amount of time online without accomplishing much because you get distracted by all the information that’s available. For instance you may visit an online forum and engage in conversation with its participants. Before you know you’ve wasted a couple of hours of your time. Why don’t you invest your time to write a blog and make money from it.
Here are the 10 steps to write a blog
1. Choose a niche
Select a niche you feel passionate about. If you choose a niche you’re not interested in it will be difficult to come up with new content a regular basis. If you find it difficult to decide on niche make a list of all the things you are interested in ie hobbies, relationships, money, sports, etc. after deciding on the broad niche, narrowed down to a small one. For example if your interested then skiing, think of a small niche such as Alpine skiing.
2. Set up your blog
Requirements for setting up a blog include a Domain name, Web hosting and WordPress software. Choose a domain name that represents your niche, is easy to spell and remember. Select a web hosting company that uses cpanel… a control panel that includes a one click install of WordPress and manages your web hosting account. A free WordPress template is included in your WordPress installation. Just Google “free WordPress templates” if you prefer a different one. If you prefer a professional template that can be customized to reflect your niche take a look at Studio Press. Feel free to contact me to get a customized design or to customize your template.
3. Optimize your blog
Optimizing your blog means it’s fast loading, contains search engine friendly pages, appropriate meta-tags and a correct structure for your posts, pages, comments and RSS feeds. Unfortunately your WordPress blog is not optimized when first installed so you’ll need to learn how to do this yourself or I hire a professional WordPress website designer.
4. Write your blog
Create a long list of possible topics you can write about and use these to populate your blog. Decide on a schedule how often to post content. If you’re starting from scratch it’s best to write a new post every day for at least the next 30 days. After that write at least 3 new posts each week.
5. Optimize your content
To attract visitors and search engine traffic you need to write captivating headlines, sub headlines and include keywords people are searching on in your content. Use the free Google keyword research tool to find keywords related to your niche. The tool shows how many searches the your keywords receive each month. Weave the keywords into your headlines and web copy so search engines will find and index your content.
6. Create a marketing plan
Visitors won’t automatically visit your blog without creating a marketing plan. One effective marketing method is article marketing. Simply rewrite a portion of your content and submit it to the top article directories and ezine publishers in your niche. Make sure you always include a link back to your blog at the end of your article. For more marketing strategies, get a copy of 101 Highly Effective Ways to Promote Your Website.
7. Interact with your visitors
Once you begin to get traffic to your blog visitors will comment on your content. Make sure you answer their questions. Use Twitter, and Facebook to direct visitors back to your blog. Interacting with your visitors helps build a community of loyal followers around your content.
8. Monetize your blog
Only monetize your blog after you’ve added at least 30 pages of content and got a steady flow of traffic. Ways to monetize your content may include adding AdSense Ads, Affiliate Programs, Product Reviews, Sponsored Ads and selling your own products. Test different methods to determine which is the most profitable.
9. Monitor your traffic
if you don’t know how many visitors you’re receiving, where they are coming from and what keywords they are using to find your blog you’ll have no idea how to create a successful blog. You need to monitor and analyze your traffic statistics. If your web hosting company doesn’t provide this (viewed inside cpanel) install Google Analytics code.
10. Be consistent
The key to building a profitable blog is to add new content frequently and consistently then promote your content through social media sites, article marketing and other effective methods.
Write a blog to build your own asset. It’s a profitable way to to pass time online. Now stop thinking about it and get the process under way. With time you’ll see that good things will come to you.
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You’ve got great insights about network marketing, keep up the good work!