Looking to start a blog? There’s a reason that 30% of the internet runs on WordPress. It’s a powerful tool that enables anyone to set up a professional-looking website quickly and start publishing content. In fact, thousands of people do it every day. Sources suggest that there are over 500 million blogs online, publishing around 2 million blogs per day.
Unfortunately, an estimated 80% of blogs fail. So how do you ensure that your blog stands out from the crowd? Here are ten easy tips for a successful blog.
1. Choose a good web host
Yes, there are cheap (and even free) hosting options out there for WordPress sites. However, these will generally put you on a server with thousands of other blogs, limiting the percentage of resources like bandwidth, memory, and CPU power available to you. A dedicated hosting plan offers much better flexibility and scalability. Moreweb has managed WordPress web hosting packages starting at just $15 per month.
2. Select a WordPress theme
There are thousands of WordPress themes available, both free and premium. Free themes are great if you’re on a tight budget, but bear in mind they tend to have limited customisability, which could make your blog look generic. If you invest in a premium theme, you’ll get a much bigger range of features and design options and a better level of technical support from the developer.
3. Choose a topic you know and love
It might seem obvious, but you’ll create better content when you’re a subject matter expert, and you’re passionate about it. By blogging in your niche, you’ll consistently appeal to the people interested in your specific topic.
4. Provide value in your blog content
When choosing blog topics, think about the information your readers will find most useful. What questions are you helping them to answer? What pain points are you helping them to solve? Giving your readers quality content that they value will encourage them to come back for more.
5. Format for easy reading
Make your blog easy to digest. Big walls of text can be off-putting, and many online readers tend to skim for information rather than reading every word. Break your content into sections, use sub-headings and bulleted lists, and avoid long, wordy sentences or jargon.
6. Enhance with images
A few well-placed images will break up your text and increase the visual appeal of your blog. Also, using keywords in your images’ alt-text can help to improve your SEO.
7. Don’t forget to edit your blog!
Typos and awkwardly written sentences will damage your credibility and may harm your SEO, as search engines dislike poor quality copy. At a minimum, be sure to run your blog through a spell-checker. Reading it aloud to yourself will also help you pick up any errors.
8. Set up your socials
Don’t forget to create social media accounts, like Facebook and Twitter, to spread the message about your blog and direct potential readers to it. You can use a tool like dlvr.it to crosspost automatically whenever you publish a new blog.
9. Encourage your audience to interact with your blog
Ask for comments and feedback to get your readers engaged, and keep your responses positive and friendly. Interactive blogs are great for community building and fostering a sense of loyalty in your readers.
10. Use your analytics
Lastly, be sure to monitor your site’s analytics to see which blogs attracted the most traffic – this enables you to develop a content plan around the topics your readers like most.
