Do you want to start a WordPress blog to share your passion with the whole world and, why not try to make a living from it?
You are right. If you are motivated and love to write, it is best to start a WordPress blog to share your passion and connect with other enthusiasts. And, in addition to the great encounters and experiences that you will have, you could very quickly make a living from your blog. What more?
But where to start? No problem, I’m here to help. In this guide, I will give you all my keys and tips (technical and marketing) so that you can create your blog simply and optimize it to make a living without falling into the common pitfalls.
I created this guide so that it is accessible to everyone, particularly people who have no technical background. Therefore, there will be no question of learning to create your own WordPress theme or create your own plugins.
On the contrary, I really try to guide you practically from a simple idea about how to start a WordPress blog and promote it, detailing each step as clearly as possible. So let’s start:
Preparation and Self-assessment
When you are beginning to start a WordPress blog, the first thing to do is to assess your own strengths and weaknesses. If this may sound obvious; it is no less essential. Indeed, if you plan to live one day from your blog, you will have to be professional.
First of all, you have to calculate the time you have available. This will shape the way you think about your blog. Whether you have 40 hours a week to blog or 4 hours is not essential (although I won’t hide from you that the more time you have the better); what is essential, however, is to have a clear idea of the actual time you have available to set yourself concrete and achievable goals and then create a coherent strategy.
It’s easy to start a WordPress blog but most people fail to maintain it. If you have an hour every day, for example, you can’t imagine writing and posting three WordPress posts a day. You will then have to use different techniques from full-time bloggers.
All these factors must be anticipated and known if you want to be successful in your project. Again, no matter how much time you have, one of the keys to blogging success is consistency.
Start a WordPress Blog – Planning
Once your theme has been defined and you are sure of your level of motivation, we will be able to really get to the heart of the matter. The selection of a good theme is very crucial. To select a theme, first, go to your WordPress dashboard, then appearance>themes>customize, then you can select and activate the theme for your site.
If you want your blog to perform well, you need to anticipate and have a guideline. You can’t afford to be overwhelmed, scatter, or work in a rush.
Ideally, you should always be at least two weeks ahead of writing your articles or any other actions you plan to take for your blog.
At the point where you are, normally your blog is not yet created. You will therefore first have to create a roadmap, a list of what you need to put in place before you can open your doors peacefully.
You do not know how to start a WordPress blog? No problem, I’ll help you out a little bit by giving you a list of what to do before starting a blog. Note that if your blog is very specific you may need to adapt this list, by adding or removing steps.
Before putting my WordPress blog online, I must
- Have an idea / Think about my theme;
- Know me and know my free time;
- Create an identity/brand image;
- Create a visual identity: logo and favicon;
- Choose a name for my blog;
- Then choose web hosting;
- Choose a theme;
- Familiarize me with the WordPress architecture;
- Configure my blog and customize my theme;
- Create my first articles.
Once your list is created, set deadlines to optimize your efficiency.
Differentiation and Branding
At this point, you should know yourself, be sure of yourself and what you can do, and have a defined roadmap. Because you can start a WordPress blog anytime but run it successfully is the main challenge. It’s time to think about branding your blog.
A blog, like any store, needs to have something of interest, a “competitive advantage” to attract readers.
As in our case, we cannot compete on price (since you will certainly have nothing to sell at first), you have to stand out with a strong brand image.
And there, As soon as you start a WordPress blog, it’s time to use your imagination: what differentiates you from other blogs on your theme, or what do you do better than them? It can be anything and everything!
For example, for a cooking blog, maybe you have pastry skills, or were you a baker? Maybe you are a nutritionist? Or do you have regional products that stand out from what we see in supermarkets? Maybe you cook with your family?
Everything is good to take! Either way, you need to think about your brand image, the guideline of your blog; what you want your visitors to see in your blog. Cultivate the difference!
You May Also Read: How to Disable WordPress Auto Updates
Consider creating a visual identity for your brand is a delicate step when you decide to start a WordPress blog. Your WordPress blog must be pleasant, intuitive, and ergonomic for your visitors, but you must also convey your brand image through your visual identity.
Create a Strong Visual Identity for Your WordPress Blog
For this part, I can’t really give you specific advice because your visual identity will depend on you and the theme of your blog. It’s not simple as the first part “start a WordPress blog”. Avoid only mixtures of colors that are too original or that attack the eye.
Also, think about the ergonomics (we will come back to this) of your site and its readability. Be careful not to write in white on a light yellow background. Once again, your blog should look good, but above all, it should be fun and easy to navigate.
All these tips are common sense advice, but I think it is always good to remember these few basic rules because of what is being done on many sites. To start a WordPress blog to create a strong brand identity by running it successfully, you have to work on continuous improvement.
In this part, I would still like to focus on two important points of your visual identity: the logo and the favicon.
Your logo is eminently important for your WordPress blog in the sense that it is very often the first thing that your visitors will see.
When you start a WordPress blog with a poor quality logo (pixelated, which does not correspond to the theme, etc.), is immediately a part of the confidence of your visitors which crumbles or even a definitive departure for some of your visitors.
On the contrary, having a “clean” and cohesive logo will enhance the professional look of your blog, helping to make you a reference on your topic.
The favicon is the little icon that you find at the top of your window and that represents a site. The minimal size of it requires it to be very simple to be clear. Often, we will take an element of the logo (or the entire logo) to turn it into a favicon.
Conclusion
I have tried my best to show you the easiest guideline about how to start a WordPress blog. Try to follow my instructions, hopefully, these instructions will be very helpful for you. But if you face any problems or have any queries about this blog, feel free to inform me. You can also give your valuable feedback by commenting.
