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How to make a successful WordPress blog?
How to make a successful WordPress blog and what can guarantee that will be successful? This is a question that many people ask themselves today. There are many blogs around the world. According to statistics, you can see several million blog posts have been published today.
Wow. And that’s before we published this article.
With so much content posted daily, standing out with your blog looks like you’re shouting at a crowded football stadium. At most, those around you will hear you. However, if making a successful blog is a simple mission, then most of the blogs that exist are successful.
Which would raise the question again: How to make a blog that stands out?
Before you start reading this guide, we want you to keep in mind one important aspect: success depends on many factors, but the most important of them is you. Think that most of those who published an article today will be demotivated tomorrow that they had no readers.
And most of them will give up writing one more. Most existing blogs in the world are inactive and we can’t know if they would have been successful if their authors had continued their work.
So the key to success is perseverance. Don’t be demotivated. Follow the steps in this guide to create your own blog, whether it’s a personal blog, a company blog, or the blog of a project you believe in a lot. Set clear goals in your mind and start thinking that success does not come overnight. In blogging, it can take years.
Very important before we start the guide: think carefully if you just want a blog or a website. The whole strategy is different, even if the first steps, from a technical point of view, are the same.
If you really want a website and it will be on WordPress, then better read our guide entitled: How to create a website in WordPress?
Are you ready? Let’s get started.
How to make a successful WordPress blog: beginner’s guide
Step 1: Creating your WordPress blog
To get rid of your creativity and personal expressiveness, the first step in making a successful blog is to actually create it. You need to choose the online domain and the hosting services that will host your thoughts. There aren’t many steps to take here and I’m not scared of implementation.
Affiliate disclaimer:“This post contains affiliate links/Amazon Ads. If you use these links to buy something we may earn a commission. Thanks.”
Therefore:
1. Choosing a domain and hosting
If you want to be successful with your blog, you don’t want to show up online with an address like www.mywebsite.wordpress.com. Yes, it doesn’t cost you anything in terms of money, but you might cost in terms of credibility and image.
So, buy from the beginning a web domain that is only yours. Think of a representative and, above all, unique name. You can check if the desired name is free directly.
If you want to create a personal blog or a business based on your personal brand, then the best name is – even your name: www.myname.com.
If you want to make a blog for a personal, professional project, then the tips in this article will help you choose a suitable name. Basically, here you have to take into account the brand you want your site to have – it can be the name of the project or organization for which you create this blog.
Your domain must be hosted on a dedicated server or sharing server. If it is a blog, we can assume that you will use WordPress. So, it’s simple: choose a specialized hosting provider for WordPress. You can choose one from here.
2. Theme
A good theme will show exactly how you want it and will convey to your readers exactly what you want them to convey. With WordPress, you have a choice and it’s easy to make a blog!
After all, the platform has been specially designed to host blogs and has a multitude of predefined themes.
My advice: Buy one rather than choosing from the free ones. It is an investment that is worth making, you do it only once and it will prove to be advantageous.
Why? Because not infrequently free themes have fewer features and a lot of vulnerabilities, they are rarely updated at all and do not even come bundled with technical support.
See also some of the best WordPress themes.
3. Customization
Once you are done with the domain, hosting, and choosing the WordPress theme, dedicate time to customizing it.
What does this mean? Give your blog a personal note, even if you used a predefined theme to create it. Write your own texts, in your own, sincere, open note. And here I do not mean (yet) the articles, but the descriptions needed for those standard sections of your blog (About me, Contact, etc.).
Upload your own images, taking into account that a picture of you in the header will be much more impactful than anything else. People identify with people, not with logos or stock images found freely on the internet.
Even if you work on a blog, it is still advisable to have a few pages, so that people who read you always have an informative section at hand, about you, respectively a Contact section.
Create pages using the side menu, the option Pages – Add New. Then add content to your page, namely images or videos, depending on what you have and is relevant to readers.
Standard themes allow you to add pages to your site as follows: The way you add content to your site may differ, depending on the editor used by the chosen WordPress theme. If you get stuck at this step, look for information in the theme’s instruction manual and you may even find video tutorials.
Find out the top 4 pages of a WordPress website.
4. Plugins
Don’t forget the plugins either! How to make a blog in WordPress without plugins? As with predefined themes, you have a multitude of options to choose from. They allow you to add just about anything you want to your blog, from contact forms to social media buttons.
However, don’t overdo it! Avoid installing plugins just for the sake of installation. If they are not really useful to you, do not complicate yourself. Some can significantly hamper the speed of your blog, while others can even make it vulnerable to attacks.
9 WordPress plugins that you need to use.
I created this list of 9 basic plugins, which most WordPress sites use. Analyze the list and choose the ones that suit you – they can be all of them! We definitely recommend AIO SEO, it is the best plugin for optimizing your blog and any WordPress site.
How to use Google Analytics?
It’s important for a blog to constantly monitor its traffic – right from the start. That’s why there is a very simple WordPress plugin to use: it’s called Google Analytics. Install it and learn from this article how to read the most important indicators in Google Analytics.
How to capture an email address on your site?
If you are at this stage, when installing plugins, it is important to decide from the beginning if you want subscribers to the newsletter, if you are willing to send constant emails to them. I am not referring here to automatic emails, but to personalized emails, written by you, for loyal readers who want to be up to date with the news. Here are 10 ways to capture email addresses on your site or blog. Many of these involve WordPress plugins.
How to create an effective contact form?
The contact form is one of the most useful sections of your blog. Through it, readers can ask you questions, request your offer, and make proposals for collaboration. That’s why I have 10 tips for you that will help you develop the contact form on your website.
- Make sure the contact form works
- Without unnecessary fields
- Thank you, motivate
- It offers alternatives
- Add a map and FAQ
- Optimize the thank you page
- Gather new subscribers
- Customize
- Be creative
- Reduce the impact of abandonment
One of the best contact forms is Contact Form 7
Looking to host your Blog? Try Bluehost now!
Step 2: Successful Content
If we talk about how to make a successful blog, above all is the content. But not just any content, but quality, unique, original content that represents you.
For example, here’s how you can create quality website text without the help of a specialist. Although it may seem that here you have total freedom to let your creative resources work, in reality, this is not the case. Creating quality content requires a certain structure and some steps to follow.
Here they are:
1. Planning
From the moment your inspiration strikes you with an idea until you actually press the “Publish” button, good hours can pass, sometimes even days. It is important to use this time when planning your article, thinking about what you want to write. This is an important tip to help you make a successful blog.
Before you put your ideas on paper, make sure you have everything you need to get started. And what exactly do you need?
- A topic of interest. – The lack of interest is the death of passion in writing. You have to be tangent with the chosen subject, to like it enough to inspire enthusiasm in you.
- A sketch. – It will help you a lot to put your thoughts in order and will keep you from beating the fields next to the subject you are writing about.
- Documentation. – Even if you are familiar with the topic you want to write about, you can’t know them all, so use all the sources of documentation you have, online and offline.
Here are some useful resources on this topic: How to create an editorial plan for the blog?
To maintain a constant publication on your blog, you need an editorial plan like this:
- Articles / video / podcast topics
- Keywords for optimizing each content created;
- Date of publication of each type of content;
- The category/heading/topic in which each type of planned content falls;
- Sources of inspiration for each type of content created;
- The text of the post on social media for each topic created and the hashtags used;
- The author, publisher, or team that implements each type of planned content.
Finding the right keywords is vital to optimizing a blog in the long run. To get constant, organic traffic you need to choose a set of keywords. Examples like:
- Short tail keywords
- Investigation Keywords
- Education keywords
- Commercial Keywords
Some Keyword Tools: SEMRUSH, SERanking
How to get article ideas in 30 minutes?
We all like to save time, especially when it comes to research. Certainly, if you create a blog where you just recycle the ideas of articles found on other blogs, you will not stand out and you will not come up with anything extra.
Readers appreciate everything new, both in terms of information and style. So, ask yourself the questions mentioned in this article and the answers will help you quickly find ideas for articles that only you could have thought of.
How do you keep the rate of publishing articles on the blog constant?
If you want to do a good job with your blog, you need constant, organized content. No matter how personal the topics you write about are, you always need a plan. Otherwise, you risk not getting anywhere, and here I mean traffic – the number of readers.
So, follow the tips in this article and learn how to make a plan that helps you constantly write on topics of interest and keywords that your readers are looking for.
How do you generate more traffic on a WordPress blog?
Although you already know some of the information in this article, because it was mentioned above, it is still useful to read it if you are at this stage. It is important to apply the advice presented now, if you have not yet published content on your blog, but also from now on, with each article published.
2. Optimization
When it comes to SEO, we are in a complex territory. I don’t want to discourage you, but optimizing a blog is like optimizing a site of any kind.
The rules are the same, only the niche and the competition differ. Depending on the popularity of the main keywords in your field of activity, you can get an idea of the traffic you can get from search engines.
However, the higher the competition for those keywords, the lower the chances of reaching your front page with your blog.
If you create a niche blog from the beginning, the chances are higher than if you create a generalist blog, in which you have articles on unrelated topics: for example, from travel to personal development and home appliances to promotion.
In general, generalist blogs do not add any value, unless they are platforms news that publishes dozens of articles daily.
Otherwise, they have less power in the “eyes” of search engines, since they do not represent serious competition in any concrete niche.
In order not to go further and get to work, here is a guide we have prepared for you.
WordPress optimization guide: how to do SEO for your site
All the information we wrote or said about SEO was gathered in that guide. Choose the resources you need and read them with confidence.
3. The titles
These are the first things your reader gets in touch with and are almost more important than the content. If they are not attractive and relevant enough, they may not bother to read the rest of the articles.
There are two approaches to consider when writing a title. You can choose the title according to the chosen subject before writing the text or you can conceive it at the end after you have exhausted the subject.
Whether they are in the form of a statement or an interrogation, write the title with your audience in mind and what would catch their attention.
The headlines themselves are an advertisement for your content. Treat them as such, give them due to importance, and follow the tips we have prepared for you in this article.
4. Content
As with the title, there are two approaches to creating content for your blog. Either you can sit at the computer and not get up from there until you run out of items, or you can work gradually.
Either option is good as long as it works for you. Writing is ultimately a skill that can be learned and trained. The more you write, the easier it will be for you, the better and faster you will do it.
How to post an article on a WordPress blog?
To do this, you need to go to the Posts-> Add New section. This section is exclusively for creating new articles and offers a lot of text editing tools, plus the addition of multimedia files.
Content is the main reason why people access a website.
Never think that if your articles are too long or too short, people will come in and out. As long as you bring value to them through your content, they will read what interests them.
How do you write content on your site?
Think that the blog has not only the article pages but also at least one “About” page, one of Contact. Maybe you also have a portfolio page and one with your services offered – for example, if you are a freelancer and the blog is your means of attracting clients.
Whatever approach you take to your blog, surely the tips in this article on content writing will help you.
How do you optimize pictures in a blog?
If you want your articles to load quickly, to display well on your mobile, not to create problems for readers, then you should not upload images to the blog randomly. Optimize every image added to your blog by following the tips in this article.
How can a content writer help you?
A content writer is a person who specializes in content creation, who makes a living from it. Suppose you want to invest in your blog so that at some point you get enough organic traffic to bring you income. However, you may not have time to handle the blog properly.
There are many content writers you can hire. My advice? Start with one that understands your niche and field of activity. Work with him, and the articles that will bear your name will appear on the blog constantly.
How do you write and promote an e-book?
Your blog should not be limited to published articles. You can associate several types of content, including video (vlogging) or audio (podcast), or even e-books. If your goal is to attract leads, then one of the most effective methods, used by blogs everywhere, is to offer a free e-book
You can publish your book also here, for extra income: Fiverr, Amazon
5. Editing
Although it may seem like an easy and quick step to do, editing is more than just correcting grammatical errors. Editing requires analytical work and an overview of the text to ensure that it is not only grammatically correct and syntactically appropriate but that it is comprehensive and easy to read and understand.
Yes, this is the time when you may have to give up certain words or even portions of text – which, of course, took you a while to conceive – for the sake of unity and fluency.
There is nothing duller than repeating the same word 3 times in a sentence.
Always look for synonyms! A useful trick is to read the full text aloud. If somewhere along the way your tongue and thoughts intertwine, it’s a sign that you still have work to do.
Also, make the sentences short and the paragraphs even shorter. Large blocks of text are discouraging to any reader, while short paragraphs will urge them to read to the end. In addition, the update is extremely relevant.
It is important to periodically update the star articles. Bring new content into them, make sure there are relevant links that follow the intention/need of the target audience.
Step 3: Promotion
How to make a really successful WordPress blog? Well, it takes more than just an online presence and engaging content. All your efforts risk being thwarted if you do not have traffic. To avoid this, here are some ways to promote your blog:
1. Use social media
Take full advantage of the promotional opportunities offered by social networks, from Facebook to Instagram and LinkedIn. Mention the address of your blog in your personal profile on these networks and, from time to time, make a post with a reference to one of your articles.
How to bring more social media traffic to the site?
You definitely need to increase the popularity of your blog on social networks. To do this, it’s not enough to just create constant content to publish. Follow these tips to have the desired impact.
- Create an attractive page
- Be present on as many social networks as possible
- Post as often as needed
- Includes links to blog posts
- Interact with your target audience as much as possible
- Be aware of lesser-known social networks
- Join communities and groups on social media
- Use hashtags
- Post at the right time
- Add social media buttons to blog posts
- Measure your performance on Social Media
- Optimize your content for each social network
- Analyze your competition
How do you choose the right social networks?
Choose where to distribute content based on your niche and your audience profile. However, in general, no matter what niche you work in, you will definitely benefit if you adapt content for Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, these being the most popular networks. After that, LinkedIn is still worth considering when writing about areas such as business or HR
2. Share several times
Indeed, you might think it’s enough to promote blog posts once. Well, no. Studies show that distributing content more than once on social networks leads to a significant increase in traffic.
In the same vein, promote again those articles with the greatest success and traffic. If you’ve been wondering before: how to make a successful blog, follow this rule.
3. Get involved in online forums
Join the forums related to the topic of your blog. Get in touch, be active, and include your blog link in your signature on that forum. If you have a relevant topic to say about your niche, you will definitely attract traffic from that forum.
4. Send newsletters
If you already have a database of emails from those interested in the subject of your blog, do not be afraid to use it. Send a newsletter with the most interesting information for your audience from time to time. Don’t forget to add an incentive to share the content you create.
How do you choose the right email marketing tool?
If you want to constantly send emails to your subscribers, you need to make friends with an email marketing tool that you will use periodically. We have created a list for you, with a series of selection criteria, from which you can choose the email marketing tool that suits you.
How to grow your email database?
If you want to get more results with your email addresses, you constantly need new addresses in your list. Here are some tips to help you do just that.
- Create a great site
- Create a landing page
- Offer something in return
- Highlight the benefits
- Launch contests
- Use the power of social media
- Add a call-to-action button to your Facebook page
- Use offline as well
5. Include the blog link in your personal signatures
In the email, on the business cards, in fact, put the link wherever you can. Even dares to be creative when it comes to promoting your blog.
6. Launch a blog contest
Contests are a great way to attract new visitors to your site. And if you do, don’t forget to let the world know about your contest and specific contest information sites.
7. Write as a guest blogger
Search for blogs in the same niche as yours, but with higher traffic, and offer to write as a guest blogger. Or vice versa. Invite a famous blogger to write on your blog. This way, you will be able to get new links and visitors.
As a matter of fact, many blogs have brought popularity to their authors, starting as simple passions and becoming real businesses.
Conclusion
To conclude, here we are at the end of the guide on how to make a successful blog. I hope the tips presented were useful to you.
However, we want to give you another tip, which is valid for any WordPress user: always keep your site up to date: both the theme and the version of WordPress and plugins.
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