How to start a successful blog?? What are blogging resources??How to write a blog?? These are few common questions which arise in mind of person thinking to start new blog. If you are that person and confused from where to start process of starting and building successful blog than this guide is for you. You will learn how to get started as blogger. In this blog starting guide I have listed few important points which I considered before starting my blog from scratch. After reading this guide you will be able to start your blog within 20mins. In starting I also faced few difficulties about which have discussed in this guide so that you don’t have to suffer from those difficulties.

Before exploring this guide let’s see few points about blogging which you should know before starting blog.

Why You Should Start a Blog

The internet is nothing more than a virtual community which is increasing at fast rate. In this community we need a medium to connect and share our views with each other, Blogging can be best method for way to do this. You will get recognition all over world. Below are few reasons which encouraged me starting and building a blog.

Reasons To Start a Blog

I started AlyChiDesigns to share my knowledge in the field of ethical hacking and computers with users over internet. Most important aspect of starting a blog is that you will challenge yourself outside of your comfort zone which is good thing for mind development and improving skills.

So without wasting time let me share some reasons for starting your own blog.

Main Reasons To Start Blogging

1. Blogging Will Challenge You

See every one can start a blog but it is hard to manage it. Creating content requires lot of hard work and dedication. So you have to go out of your comfort zone to learn and explore new possibilities.

2. Blogging Will Improve Your Skills

Once you start blogging it will improve your skills of writing and communication. Yes when you start writing blog post regularly you will gain self confidence. By some time your communication skills will increase as you will interact with readers. At last if you are part-time blogger than you can also add it to your resume, this will be a plus point for you. Blogging will make you a better observer.

3. Blogging Will Make Your Mind Creative And Positive

Blogging will challenge you to create new and fresh content to engage more users. In this process your minds creativity will improve. With passage of time you will become an idea machine.
Your attitude will be more positive towards every thing you will try to do.

4. Blogging Is Fun And Easy

Yes blogging is fun. You will enjoy blogging life once started. There is misconception that writing blogs is hard task but its not right. I can ensure that if you can write quality posts after some time.
More time you will be in blogging life more you will enjoy it. It will become part of your life with time.

5. Blogging Doesn’t Require Web Designing Skills

If you don’t know how to design or code a website than no need to worry. You can use WordPress or blogger platform to start a blog today. With WordPress you can start a blog even with zero knowledge of coding.
All you need to know about WordPress is how to install and setup WordPress theme or plugins. Which is quite easy to learn.

6. Blogging Can Be Passive Income Source

Yes you got it right blogging can become your passive income source. Once your blog starts getting traffic you can monetize the traffic with various advertising platforms. Your blog will generate decent passive income some time which will increase with increase in traffic of blog.

7. Blogging Connect You With World

On social networks like Facebook and Twitter you can connect with millions of people. But what if you want to share your views or knowledge on some topic will it be in trend for more time. Answer is NO if you want connect with more people around world with good communication than you need to start a blog.

8. You Can Share Your Knowledge

With blog you can share your knowledge about some topic and can help other users over internet to solve their problems. Let’s take an example many users suffer from shortcut virus problem so I shared my knowledge on this topic to help other users.

9. Blog Will Promote Your Talent

If you are an expert in some area than you might also get paid for consulting other companies. Many companies hire freelance experts to consult about services. This will only promote your talent to world but will also increase your reach over users.

10. Live Freedom Full Life

If aim to become a full time blogger than you can freedom full life. As blogging gives you freedom to think and create your own content. You don’t have to work for another blogger.
You get freedom to enjoy life moments with your family.

11. Blog Helps In Growing Business

Are you owner of some company! If yes then you must have an official blog about your business. It will engage more users online, your business will get popular around the globe.
Let’s take an example: In this era of technology and internet most of the users first search for services over internet. They will visit your blog through search engines and will get positive impression about your services. You will get a potential client for your business.

So if you are inspired by any single reason from reasons stated above then you must start your own blog today.

Express your thoughts to world

This is main reason I started blog as being an ethical hacker I want to share my knowledge with people, so that they are aware of cyber threats. And know how to secure them. At last blogging is fun you will enjoy it.

Passive Income from Blogging

Once you establish your blog you will be able to generate some decent passive income from it. Even while being newbie to blogging you will earn decent income from your blog.

Increase your writing and communication skills

Once you start blogging it will definitely improve your writing and communication skills with time. You can also take advantage of free tools available on several websites to improve writing skills.

Points To Consider Before Starting a Blog

Before you start a blog you need to consider few important points. After reading this guide you will be able to set up your blog within minutes, as you will not require any coding to be done. So Let’s start exploring points.

Use WordPress Or Blogger???
Self Hosted Paid Domain Vs Free Blog???
Choosing Perfect Domain Name
Setting Up The Blog
Choosing Perfect WordPress Theme
Content Creation

So without wasting more time let’s start exploring this beginner’s guide on starting a blog.

Step 1: Which Platform To Use WordPress Or Blogger?

First thing you need to do is choosing the perfect platform for your blog. Before starting my blog I was little confused between WordPress and Blogger. But I selected WordPress over blogger due to following reasons:

Reasons I Prefer WordPress

Most used CMS.
It’s easy to install and manage.
Top stuff available for free (Themes and Plugins).
Very good support available.
Perfect responsive and speedy blog.
Content can be shared easily.

If don’t want to use WordPress than you can check out the best alternatives given below.

Main alternatives to WordPress:

Blogger: Second most used blogging platform.
Tumblr: It’s both social network and blogging platform.

Step 2: Self Hosted Paid Domain Vs Free Blog

This is the decision you have to make wisely that whether you are ready to pay for Domain Name and Hosting or you want free blog. Below are few benefits and disadvantages of free blogging platforms.

Advantages of Free Blog

1. Absolutely free with no extra costs.

No need to spend on hosting and domain.

2. Perfect for non serious bloggers.

If you are occasional blogger than free blog is perfect option for you.

Disadvantages of Free Blog

1. Long and Non-Professional URL Address

Url address of free blog will be lengthy and non professional which is not good for both brand value as well as SEO purpose. As smaller domain names are better in all aspects. Below are few URL examples of free blog.
yourblogname.WordPress.com
yourblogname.blogspot.com
yourblogname.tumblr.com

2. Very Little Security

It’s another disadvantage of free blog that you will lose your blog and content if it gets hacked. Free blogs are easier to hack as hackers only need access to your Gmail account. Upon hacking it will be difficult to recover your blog you may lose it forever. So it’s advised that you start your own blog and don’t rely on free blogging sites like blogger and tumblr.

3. Blog Is Not Permanent

You are hosting your blog on someone’s other web space, so if they don’t want to keep your blog than they will delete it. It’s also difficult to take backups on free hosting blogs like blogger and WordPress. All your hard work and reader base will vanish away and you will regret if your account on free blogging platform is closed.

4. Limited Resources

Bandwidth and storage capacity are limited so you can’t share videos directly you have to upload them to third party websites like YouTube or Daily motion.

5. Less Monetization Options

This is another aspect of blogging that you can earn passive income from your blog. There will be fewer chances that you earn any profit from free blogs. As it will be difficult to apply for monetization from top companies like Adsense. So if you are using free blog option than most of advertising platform will reject your application.
As you can see above that free blog mostly have disadvantages rather than benefits.
So it’s advised that you buy custom domain name and start self hosted blog.

Advantages of Self Hosted Blog

1. Custom Domain Name

The Biggest advantage is that you will choose your own custom URL which will be easy to memorize. Your chances of approval in Adsense and other monetizing platforms will increase.
You will choose your own name ex. “yourblogname.com” or “yourblogname.in” and many more options. This also increases brand value of your blog.

2. You Are Owner Of Blog

As discussed above free blogs are hosted on someone’s other web space, so they have right to keep your blog or not. This case is not present in Self Hosted Blog as you will pay charge for hosting and domain name, you will have regular backups of content you create with hardwork.

3. No Storage Or Bandwidth Limits

You can choose host for blog according to usage, nowadays most of web hosting providers give you unlimited bandwidth and storage. So no need to worry about uploading videos and sharing them. You will reach more users around globe.
Self Hosted blog will cost you around $4/ month. This is worth to invest.

Step 3. Choosing Perfect Domain Name

If you This is first decision you have to make before starting a self hosted blog. Keep in mind that domain name you choose must be Unique and Eye Catchy, as it will represent blog as brand. If you are successful in finding perfect domain name for blog then it will gain popularity more easily.

Few Tips On Choosing Domain Name

1. Simple and Unique
2. Must be Eye Catchy
3. Readers must be able to know about blog topic from name
4. First priority should be .com extension
5. Avoid use of (-) dashes
6. Keep it shorter in length

Step 4: Setting Up Self Hosted Blog

If you have completed above steps than you can start setting up self hosted blog. You have to purchase a domain name and hosting which you can get around $4/month. You can choose between shared hosting from BlueHost or DreamHost both are best if you are going for WordPress. Besides hosting you will also get a free domain name with hosting which is bonus while purchasing hosting from these providers.
After purchasing Hosting and domain name you need to log in cpanel account of hosting and install WordPress on hosting account. Both BlueHost and DreamHost provide “1-Click” WordPress installation you don’t have to mess up with technicalities.Other services which you can choose are automatic backups to keep your hard work safe.

So sign up for DreamHost or BlueHost and get a free domain name.

Step 5: Choosing The Perfect WordPress Theme

Once you have installed and configured WordPress on hosting account, you need to choose the perfect WordPress theme for your blog. Theme you choose can depend on many factors like your niche of blogging, interest of readers and Adsense optimized theme for earning more. Make sure WordPress theme you select is responsive and good design as your blogs first impression maybe last impression also if you select ugly looking design for blog. So below are few points to consider beforechoosing WordPress blog theme.

Points to be considered for theme:

It should be responsive.
Fast and Fluid UI.
SEO optimized.

You can choose between free or premium theme.

The Best Premium Theme Developer

Step 6. Content Creation

Content you publish must be unique and fresh, you should maintain quality of articles. There are few tools available online which you can use to find the content being most shared in specific niche.

1. Ahrefs

Ultimate tool to find most shared content and backlinks of any website. You can do complete SEO audit of your blog using this tool. I personally use this to find topics on which I should write and to do SEO of my website.

2. Buzz Sumo

Another great tool which I use to explore topics on which to write. With this tool you can easily find content which is trending over internet. It’s very easy to use, it have both free/premium features.

Now you are ready to start a blog of your own. You have enough knowledge about staring and setting up blog. If you have any queries just feel free to contact me.