Are you a writer who wants to publish your content online?… Or maybe you want to position yourself online with a personal blog?… Maybe you want to learn how to create a blog for free to support your ecommerce?… In any case, you have come to a suitable site.
Whatever your situation, if you woke up this morning thinking: “I want to create a blog,” congratulations. You already have 10% done. Now all you have to do is launch yourself into the adventure. This article explains how to make a blog step by step and without complications.
Advantages of having a blog
If you are wondering “Why create a blog?”, here we list the main advantages of opening a blog in 2023 :
Blogging can be an excellent marketing strategy to support your online store. In it, you can showcase some of your products and show their features and functionality.
Another advantage of creating a blog is to enrich the relationship with your customers. A blog adds value to your customers by providing content that helps them get the most out of their purchases. Some people decide to start a blog to ensure happier customers.
In the long run, it will help you improve your SEO positioning and convert more customers for free. And the results are almost permanent. For example, a blog post published months or even years ago but well-managed can still bring potential customers to your website.
In addition, it can help you position yourself as an expert within your dropshipping or ecommerce niche or even to boost your brand.
Similarly, having a blog that shows the experience and values of your brand helps establish a relationship of trust with your visitors while boosting loyalty to your brand.
If you are consistent, you can even monetize your content and generate a little passive income. This can be through advertisements, guest posts, or advertising mentions.
If even blogging is your exclusive activity, if you start to gain more and more readers, you could even incorporate an online merchandising store related to your blog. For example, if you have a sports blog, you could open an online store for sporting goods, clothing, and accessories. Great for getting some money.
Types of blogs according to their costs
Depending on the costs involved, blogs can be divided into two different types:
Free blogs are set up on platforms like Blogger, Wix, or WordPress.org. They can be a good option to get familiar with the tools, but if you use the blog commercially, this option will fall short.
Paid blogs are hosted on paid hosting, using platforms such as WordPress.com. Depending on the type of hosting you choose, you will get better or worse benefits. But remember that a paid blog is a much more professional option if you want to use the blog for commercial purposes.
Types of blogs according to their theme
Today there are blogs on almost any subject and sector. Therefore, here we are only going to give you some brushstrokes about the main types of blogs that can be created:
Personal blogs: blogs began as personal logbooks or diaries, in which each one wrote about what was happening to them in their day, reflected on their topics of interest, and contributed content to their community.
Professional Blogs: Over time, blogs have become great tools for professional use. More than anything, they are perfect for showing your audience you know much about your profession. Also, if you do a keyword study, you can position yourself for more searches on Google.
Travel blogs: Many people write about the trips they take. For this reason, travel blogs have become a great way to monetize hobbies related to tourism and travel.
Corporate blogs: Many large companies use blogs as a press room to communicate the news and developments emerging within the company to their audience. Blogs have become the favorite site also to publish press releases and releases.
Fashion blogs: Fashion generates significant business that can be channeled through blogs. Many girls have become influencers thanks to the fact that every day they publish, for example, their new look on their blog.
Blogs for online stores: if you have an online store, you can create a blog to channel communications with your customers and potential audience. Many people prefer these types of channels to social networks. The blog will also help you improve your SEO by attacking more keywords related to your sector.
How to create a blog from scratch?
Now that you know the types of blogs that exist and what are the benefits of designing a blog, it is time to know how to create a blog step by step and for free:
1. Define your goals
Your strategy is the first thing you must define to make a blog as if it were a business plan.
And to outline a strategy, you must first establish your goals. To do this, ask yourself: Why do I want to have a personal blog or with my brand?
The answer to this question will help you establish a general strategy to fill your blog with content, the frequency of publication, the distribution channels, and the article’s promotion…
Wanting to start a personal blog to boost your brand is not the same as wanting to start a personal blog as part of your ecommerce content marketing. Can you post weekly or monthly? Everything is essential when establishing your strategy and objectives.
2. Choose a platform to create a free or paid blog
Once you have defined the objectives and content strategy, you must choose a platform to create a blog.
If you already have an online store, you can see if the platform where it is set up allows you to add blogs.
For example, on Shopify, stores have a section called News that you can use as a blog for your online store. If your store is on Shopify, you can follow the instructions to add the link to your blog hosted on a third-party platform at this link.
However, if you are looking for how to make a personal blog without the intention of selling online, you will have to find a platform that allows you to make a blog.
Some of the best-known and used platforms to make a blog are:
- WordPress
- Blogger (also known as Blogspot)
- Tumblr
- Medium
- Pulse (LinkedIn’s publishing platform)
Users often ask us how to make a blog in WordPress or Blogger, but the truth is that each platform has its advantages and disadvantages when making a blog.
Ease of use, the possibility of creating a blog for free vs. a monthly fee, the possibility of customizing the hosting… The best thing is to investigate the platforms more and decide which best suits your needs.
3. Discover how to design a blog
Once you have the platform and domain name for your blog, design is one of the most important parts.
Different options and design customization possibilities will exist depending on your chosen blogging platform.
Have you ever heard of corporate identity? And what about the brand image?
You must choose a design whose colors, fonts, and style… are attractive to your readers and consistent in all your materials.
Another point is that the design should be clean and help reading. You can opt for a design in which white spaces predominate and a simple typography to achieve this. And don’t forget that the design looks just as good on mobile devices as on desktop.
This may not seem important to you now. We understand. You want to know how to blog. But the truth is that if you want to have a successful blog, these details are essential.
4. Write the content for your blog
You’ve decided to learn how to create a new blog, but the web is already full of content. What value do your articles provide vs. those of the competition?
If you decide to open a blog, you must do so to offer more value to the community. Writing about the same topics other writers are already writing about is useless. Please choose a new blog that surprises the reader and connects with him.
5. Distribute and promote your blog content
Once you know how to create a blog and make content, you must know how to distribute and monetize it.
Distribution is getting your blog content to reach as many people as possible.
For this, you can make use of all the channels at your fingertips, such as:
- Social networks
- email marketing
- Collaborations on blogs or with influencers
Once the content is published and distributed, you can monetize it over time to earn some extra money.
It would help to consistently and constantly monitor your content to know what works best.
Suppose you are disciplined and consistent with the publications. In that case, you create valuable and attractive content that helps you establish yourself as an authority in your niche. With a captive audience, it is more feasible to monetize your blog.
Now that you know all the steps to create a blog, it’s time to take action. Tell us in the comments if you finally dare, and tell us which is your favorite platform to have the blog!
