Blogging has managed to become a very powerful professional toolset for interested people from around the globe. Gone are the days when blogging was all about mainstream bloggers and their musings. Now blogging also has a lot to do with what brands can market and sell as a product/service. As per a report, 55% of marketers say that blogging is their top inbound marketing move. Even for mainstream bloggers, the art of blogging has evolved and it would be fair to say that blogging has become more strategic than ever.
Now that we are talking about blogging being more strategic than ever, it is important to realize that the plan of action for being a successful blogger has also evolved. Blogging basics have transformed and things have changed drastically; creating and executing a successful blogging strategy is what really matters. So, if you are looking to build a great blog for yourself and make it grow steadily, here is a brief guide to help you create a successful blog strategy, step by step.
Be an expert at your chosen blog niche
If you are just starting out or are the stage where you think that ‘Blogging’ might be your true calling, it is critical to choose the right niche. This is important because being an expert in your chosen genre will mean the best for your audience. People follow blogs to learn about things/aspects they are curious about and they want to have a reliable source for this information.
You can be a beauty/lifestyle/tech/IT/Real estate/web design blogger; just make sure that you know your things in and out before choosing your ultimate blog genre. When you are an expert, you can help your audience and gain their trust and loyalty in this process by giving theme expert insights.
Research well before you take care of the technical stuff
Now comes the other important stuff; the selection of the domain name and the hosting service provider is very important in the entire blog setup process. Choosing the right domain name is a compulsion because you want a domain name that intrigues the audience and is capable of being easily retained in the memory. A .com domain is preferable like always.
Next up, choosing the hosting service provider for your blog website is what you need to take care of. It is crucial when it comes to your blog site’s speed, support, and security. A competent and reliable web hosting service will make sure that your blog is up and running at all times and is able to perform well even when there is a surge in the traffic. Once you have boiled down to your provider, make sure that you choose your hosting plans carefully.
Design your blog/blogging websites as per the latest design trends
The design of your blog is going to be the prime factor that will work to attract the right audience to your platform. It is important to stay trendy yet subtle with the web design of your blog because there is a lot of competition and people have a lot of options for your blog niche. So, arriving at a blog design that is capable of capturing the attention and also making people stay on your blog is a crucial move. Also, visit the reliable web design resources on the Internet and find tips/tricks to design a blog that is elegant and makes navigation effortless; the key to gaining blog followers.
Swear by the quality of the content
Oh! We cannot emphasize any more on this; the quality of the content you put out on your blog has to be top-notch. High-quality, well-written, and original blog content is what your blog audience expects you to put out regularly. This blog content has to be informative and should serve the purpose of solving a problem for the blog audience. Make sure that you have a unique approach to delivering this content and that you hit the right chord with your audience.
The quality of the content also has a lot to do with its presentation through the use of images and videos. Hence, using the right ones is imperative. Always remember that the content of your blog should be good to look at and great to imbibe.
A blog content calendar and a posting schedule are important
A blog strategy is incompetent without a Content calendar or a blog planner. You basically double the chance of your blog’s success with these elements in place; written and documented content strategy is way more effective than a verbal plan that’s just in the mind. You can easily find free blog management and content planning templates that will help you stay planned well ahead in time and let you put out better content without any haste and half-cooked content.
The posting schedule is also detrimental to the success of your blog. Choosing the right time slots for publishing and publicizing your blog posts will ensure that it is reaching the right readers and gaining maximum visibility. So, do your research properly and decide on the posting schedule before you hit that ‘Post’ button.
Market your blog well, also SEO
You will instantly not gain thousands of followers/conversions as soon as you start the blog. Once your blog is up and running, something that demands your equal attention is the marketing of your blog. You need to put out your blog on all leading social media channels and make sure that your readers are able to find you on these channels and receive updates about the latest around your blog. Paying attention to the SEO of your blog is also a crucial consideration; it will ensure that the search engines are able to crawl your blog site and make your content discoverable for the people of the internet.
Engage with relevant blogging communities
Something that a lot of new bloggers overlook is the power of engaging with the relevant communities. Finding other bloggers and interacting and commenting on their blog posts is a smart key to get your blog going. If you do it in the right manner, you will gather the right amount of attention and your blog will receive the necessary exposure and promotion.
Wrapping up, it would be safe to say that the strategy part of blog-building is an ongoing process. Once your blog is up and running, you will have to ensure that you consistently improve your content to match exactly what your blog followers want to see. Hence, always strive for improvement and act upon the feedback you receive for your blog posts so that you keep doing what’s right for your blog and help it grow tremendously.
Pawan Sahu is a Digital Marketer and a blogger geek passionate about writing articles related to WordPress, SEO, Marketing, Web Design, and CMS, etc. Follow me on Twitter @impawansahu.
