We can all use some help from time to time with our blogs and how we attempt to market ourselves to the world.
We do not always get it right and often we even mess things up in general. Take me for example. This blog along with a couple others that I run have ended up on the receiving end of “no blog traffic” more than once. Whether it be me at fault with something stupid I did or the fault of some uncontrollable force such as scripting error or maybe even a hack job.
This blog in particular has been transformed so many times that I find the humor of it all has flew straight out the window. It started out well enough. I had a lot of traffic and actually made decent Adsense income from it. Then it happened. The hack job. Woke up one morning to nothing. No blog at all! A blank page. I did manage to reload it but the content was totally gone. That certainly was depressing and still is. I lost probably 500 hits a day and many pages of content be it good content or not. It was all rather personal in nature and esoteric at best. But I enjoyed it and so did quite a few others.
Here it sits, doing not much of anything but I do have a plan for it as you can see. I just have to get it together and “want” to do it again.
I do well enough on my coffee blog (coffeesage.com) though I feel traffic could certainly be better. But niche blogs can get awfully boring and one needs other avenues, such as Blogcetra or the new smoothie blog I have started.
Here are 5 things I recommend if you are starting out blogging for the first time:
1. Know what you want. Whether it be a niche blog or one with different subjects. Niche blog seem to do better, quicker, but potpourri does well if the areas you’ve picked are popular ones. Do research on any subject you are considering. Find out what the trends are for those areas. Look at keyword search volume results, and certainly do much research on domain name availability for the subject areas that interest you. The domain name can play a big part in what sort of traffic you get from the search engines in the beginning. Once you are established, of course will begin to get visitors based on your content more than the domain name.
2. I would totally recommend you use Wordpress blog platform. There are others but I do not believe you will find anything with as many features as Wordpress nor will you get the support from others that you find in the forums at Wordpress. So, take my advice, start out right with the right blogging platform.
3. The theme you pick for your blog, if you are not designing it yourself, is important. This them on Blogcetra is not the prettiest but it is SEO friendly and easy to navigate through. Simplicity is key. There is nothing worse than having to take a course on “how to find my content” when you visit a blog. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen some beautiful themes that are easy to navigate through. You just have to use your head.
4. If you want to make money from your new blog, consider starting out with Adsense. It is simple to install on your blog. The ads are relevant to your content (you can pick keywords) and they pay you without fail once you reach that $100 minimum on payout. Later on, once you have established yourself, you may want to sell ad spots. That can be in text form or banner ads. 125×125 is the most popular today. It’s a long row to hoe unless you have that special something that attracts visitors from the get-go.
5. Persistence. You must (as I have not) be persistent in publishing fresh content. Any one will tell you that fresh content is key. Keep your new blog updated with original, fresh entries and it will not be long before your visitor count begins to rise. Above all, you must enjoy what you are writing about. It is no fun to force yourself to blog about things that no longer interest you.
I hope this helps you in some way. If you enjoyed this post, leave me a comment. I would love to hear from you.
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