Welcome to Day 1!
Today we are going to cover what you should write about.
When you purchase at least 12-month hosting plant through the tutorial, you’ll instantly get 60% off as well as a free domain name. I always recommend owning your own hosting, for starters it only cost as much as a cup of coffee each month to run. As well if you plan on making money then self hosted is the only way to go. Advertisers will only take you seriously if you own your own hosting.
So let’s get started with todays lesson!
There are many different reasons why someone might want to start a blog. Maybe you love writing and think it would be a fun hobby or maybe you are looking for a bit of extra income to help support your craft addiction or maybe your want to go all in and make a full time income from it. Either way they are all great reasons to start now. Blogging is a really satisfying hobby that can help you share what you love with others all while making a passive income.
Choosing a domain name
The name of your blog is important and will be the first impression your give to your audience of what your blog is all about. So it’s important to take the time to think it through.
You want to choose a domain name that is simple and not complicated. It needs to make sense and be easy to remember and spell.
I recommend you brain storm and write down a bunch of names as they come to mind. Take the time to think about it. Don’t worry about picking the perfect name just yet because you can get started building your blog and add a domain name after.
Tip: Don’t buy a domain name yet because you will get a free one if you buy bluehost hosting!
Tips for picking a domain name:
- Choose one you like.
- Choose a relatively short domain.
- Make sure its easy to read. Don’t use un-contemporary spelling.
- It should be easy to speak. So when you tell someone your domain they can remember it.
- Ends in .com. Don’t use a .ca or .org
- Is available. Make sure to check in the bluehost domain checker to see if its available.
How to choose a niche (your blog topic)
So what is a niche? A niche is the topic you will write about.
Tips for picking a niche:
- Choose a topic you love.
- Choose a topic that you can teach people about.
- Choose a topic you are interested in learning more about.
- Choose a topic you won’t get bored with 5 years from now.
You may already know what topic you want to write about, which is great. But. I still recommend reading this section to make sure you are on the right track.
The key to choosing a good niche is to make sure its something people want to read about. If you choose a topic that is only interesting to you and won’t provide value to your audience then you won’t attract a following. So for example don’t create a diary style blog where you talk about your daily life, instead focus on “how to” topics or topics that people are asking questions about.
I also recommend you choose a topic that people are interested in year round. This content is called ever green, which references ever green trees that grow all year. If you choose a season specific topic than you will only make money during that season. Topics people research year round are money, lifestyle, diet and excersize. While seasonal topics would be like scuba diving or skiing. People only research these topics in the winter or summer months.
You can choose either a specific or a broader topic. A broader topic would be like homemaking where you would talk about many things including cleaning, cooking, and decorating. While more specific topics would be like keto diets.
Be yourself!
It’s important when you are writing to be yourself. You may be thinking that people will be expecting you to be an expert in your field, but this is not true. Succesful bloggers are authentic.
Your readers will know when you are being genuine. So just write about your experiences as you learn them. Share what you have learned to work, and also share what you have learned does not work.
Solve your readers problems
The most popular post are when you answer peoples most asked questions. People usually go online to find answers to things in their day to day life. So make a list of all the things that you have searched for recently and use that to write blog posts.If you blog about personal finance then subjects your can blog about are saving, family finance and increasing income.
But don’t be afraid to take chances. If you have an idea about what might be interesting to people then go ahead and write about it. After some time you will be able to look at your statistics and see which blog posts are bringing you the most traffic. Afterwards you will know what to focus on.
This is why when you are just starting out starting with a general blog where you can blog about several different topics can be easier. That way you can feel your way through the process and in time become more specific.
I hope todays lesson helps to give you a better idea of how to pick a niche. If you have several ideas just write them all down and pick the one that stands out to you most. Don’t worry you can always start another blog about the other niches once you create your first blog.
After todays lesson tomorrow we will be getting into how to set up your blog. I will walk you through step by step how to get started with bluehost.
If you don’t want to wait for tomorrows post then make sure to check out this blog post on how to create a blog in less then 30 min.
Bye for now!
Catherine
