Tuesday, December 13th, 2016

4 Blogging Tips


by Rahimah Sultan








My first blog was on Blogspot.


I didn’t know much about blogging, but started anyway. I used it for an affiliate program I signed up for online.


The program owner offered a template that I used. All I had to do was write my article, using that template, and publish it on Blogspot. The affiliate link code was already included.



I learned a lot using that template and blogspot. I would play around with it to figure out how to use HTML and how to do a few other things.


The drawback of using that platform was not having control.


I now use a WordPress blog over which I have total control.


The following four blogging tips will help you get started.




1. Decide what to blog about.

You will need to know what content you’ll be covering on your blog, in order to choose the proper domain name and theme.


Give this a lot of consideration, as once you’ve set up your site, it will be rather difficult to undo without starting over.




2. Choose a blogging platform.

Within WordPress, you have two options which are often confusing to people. They are hosted and self-hosted.


Hosted is “WordPress.com blogs.”


Self-hosted (recommended) is “WordPress.org blogs.”



WordPress.org blogs give you total control.




3. Find a host.

Once you’ve chosen your blogging platform (.com or .org) you need to find a hosting company to “house” your blog.

Then pick a domain name, install WordPress, and decide on your blog design and the bells and whistles you want.




4. Your domain name should be your actual name.

If that’s not possible, choose a name that represents what your blog is about or one that reflects your niche.

Take into consideration the following four points.



a) Use a short name

“Johnson’s Tea Marketing Campaigns, Inc.” would be an awful domain name. Visitors would find it difficult to type.



b) Do not use plurals

Brendas Software. Is the domain name Brendassoftware.com or Brendasoftware.com?

You don’t want to confuse your users.



c) Use Relevant Keywords in Your Domain Name

If your business focuses on a very specific area, strong consideration should be given to using relevant keywords in your domain name.



d) Your Domain Name Should end with “.com”

End your domain name with “.com” and not some other extension such as .us, .net, .biz, etc.


The simple fact is that when people think of sites, they always type in .com


You’ll get installation instructions with your hosting package.



Do not let lack of knowledge be an excuse for not doing something.

Just start gathering information by doing online searches and get educated on how to proceed.




Now, decide what to blog about. Choose a blogging platform.

Find a host, pick a domain name, install WordPress, design and use your blog!

These Four Blogging Tips will help you with your blogging plan.



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