Sharing your writing online can feel a bit daunting. After all, you’re putting your thoughts out there for all to see, and you don’t always want to share the most personal parts of your life. But with the right tools and strategies, you can keep your writing identity private while still having an audience that wants to read your stories.
The Basics
Before you start sharing your writing online, it’s essential that you understand the basics. One of the first things you need to do is to choose a blog platform. There are lots of options out there, but you don’t need to limit yourself to what’s available within WordPress. You can use other platforms, like Blogger or Medium, and they offer various features that you may find useful. For example, Blogger has advanced statistics that can help you gauge the success of your posts. You can use tools like Google Analytics to track the performance of your blog.
Security
If you plan on sharing your writing online, it’s essential that you take security seriously. You don’t want your personal information to fall into the wrong hands, and that’s why you should always use a VPN when online. A VPN will encrypt your traffic and ensure that your personal data stays secure while you’re using public Wi-Fi or unsecured wireless internet connections. When choosing your VPN, make sure that the provider takes security seriously and has a good reputation. You can also read this informative article about the best VPNs for bloggers.
Selecting The Right Blog Platform
The next step is to choose the right blog platform. You have lots of options when it comes to blogging platforms, and you need to choose one that’s right for you. If you don’t want to limit yourself to using only one platform, you can also create your own blog within another platform. For example, if you’re using WordPress and don’t want to limit yourself to one platform, you can create a blog within WordPress itself. Doing this allows you to use all the perks that WordPress has to offer, like creating an online community around your blog. You can even use WordPress to help you build your personal brand or portfolio if you’re a freelancer or content creator. When choosing a blogging platform, make sure that you pick one that’s easy to use and that has a large audience. The more people that are using your selected platform, the more opportunities there are for you to grow your audience and gain more traction.
Customizing Your Blog’s Look
Once you’ve chosen your blog platform, the next step is to customize its look. You have lots of options when it comes to designing your blog. You can choose from a variety of free themes or you can dive into the coding and customizing of your site. If you’re new to blogging, it’s recommended that you use a template that allows for easy customization. For example, if you’ve chosen WordPress, you can download the popular Beaver Builder platform to easily create and insert your blog posts into a fully customizable and functioning site.
No matter what you use, making your blog look unique is a great way to establish yourself as an author. You can take this opportunity to become more creative and use your blogging platform to its fullest potential. If possible, create a theme for your blog that’s based on your interests. For instance, if you’re a travel and lifestyle blogger, you can use a theme that’s heavily focused on travel.
One of the best things about blogging is that it’s a creative outlet. You can use your blog to explore your interests and hobbies and to speak on topics that you’re passionate about. If you don’t want to write about personal experiences, you can always choose to blog about fictional characters or events from history. Regardless of what you decide to write about, the great thing about blogging is that it’s completely unique to you. It’s like having your own conversation with your audience, and it’s a great way to build a connection.
The Importance Of Good Content
Creating good content is an essential part of successfully blogging. If you want to gain traction with your blog and establish yourself as an authority in your industry, you have to ensure that your content is of a high quality. You can start by creating great titles for your blog posts, using keywords in your content so that it’s found easily by potential readers, and ensuring that all your online material is backed up by reliable sources. When choosing your blog posts’ titles, make sure that they’re concise and catchy while also using keywords to attract the right audience. You can even do keyword research to see what other blogs and websites are doing, and whether or not you should follow suit.
While it’s great to have a solid following, you don’t need thousands of followers to be considered successful. As a matter of fact, a more modest number of engaged readers can make a huge difference in your blogging career. Creating and curating relevant and engaging content regularly is a great way to attract high-quality traffic to your site. When picking content for your blog, make sure that it’s something that will stay fresh in your audience’s minds. You can even take this opportunity to share interesting facts about your industry that your audience may not know about.
Building An Audience
To be considered successful, you need to have an audience. Luckily, building an audience is a lot easier than you think. All you need is consistent content and a few viral tricks up your sleeve. Start by attracting high-quality, organic traffic to your site. You can do this through content marketing, where you promote other people’s content on your own website.
Blogs like The Hustle and The Wire show how content can be used to attract and retain an audience. Both of these blogs regularly publish highly curated content with a focus on fashion and lifestyle. Because of this, they’ve been able to grow massive followings. In fact, The Hustle’s content often gets mentioned in prestigious publications like The New York Time and CNN.
Even if you have a modest following, you can use your blog to establish yourself as an industry expert. When choosing your social media platforms, make sure that they’re relevant to your niche. If you’re not sure what topics your niche might be interested in, create a profile for yourself within your niche. This way, when you reach out to potential followers, you’ll be able to speak to a person rather than a faceless account. Establishing yourself as an expert within your industry is a great way to gain credibility and build a following.
Growing Your Blog Locally
If you’re looking to gain some traction with your blog, the best way to do so is to grow your blog locally. To establish yourself as an expert in your industry, you can curate content that’s relevant to the area that you’re in. For example, if you’re based in New York City and are planning on blogging about fashion, you can start by creating a blog that focuses on style tips and tricks for women in the city. If this is something that interests your local audience, you’ll be able to attract and retain followers that are eager to learn more about style and fashion.
Blogs like The Urban Girl’s Guide and The Sartorialist use their local expertise to great effect. Both of these blogs are heavily curated and focus on fashion and style. Because of this, they’re often mentioned in prestigious publications like The New York Times and The Washington Post. While it’s great to gain popularity and credibility through other forms of media, having a blog that’s deeply ingrained in your community is the best way to truly become a go-to source for information.
Publishing And Repurposing
Speaking of deeply ingrained sources of credibility, publications like The New York Times and The Washington Post regularly feature blogs that are deeply embedded in their communities. When choosing your content’s publication, make sure that it’s relevant to your industry. If you don’t have a publication that’s heavily focused on your industry, consider creating your own publication. This way, you can curate content specifically for your audience and establish yourself as an expert in your industry.
Monetizing Your Blog
Once you’ve built a small audience and started to realize the potential that this little blog of yours has, it’s time for the fun (and profitable) part. You can start by considering the various ways that you can monetize your blog. If you’re wondering where to start, consider adding Google Ads to your site. You can also try a membership model, where you charge people to access your content. Some bloggers even make money through affiliate marketing, where they promote products and services that they believe in (and that earn them a commission) while also earning potential backlinks to their site.