So you wanna Blog? Here’s what you need to know:

So you want to share your knowledge and opinions with the world? Fantastic! Here a few things you will need to get started:

Whether you are self publishing or guest blogging on someone else’s blog, the basics are pretty much the same. I suggest you read through this entire post first. Any questions you may have can be asked in the comment’s below.

1. SET UP YOUR BLOG (For self-publishing only)

There are several blogging platforms out there today. I am a huge fan of WordPress. You’re reading a WordPress blog right now! You can set up a FREE WordPress blog or have a Digital Consultant set you up with a Self-Hosted Blog like this one. This is a good option if you will be using your blog in a professional capacity. You don’t want potential clients to think you’re cheap. Either way, once it’s created, you will be able to create unlimited content without the need to pay anyone further except your hosting company if you’ve made the self-hosted choice.

2. FILL OUT YOUR BYLINE

A byline is the “About the Author” profile that lets people know who you are and how to connect with you on other networks. While most blogging platforms, including WordPress, have a “User Profile” you can fill out, one of the easiest ways to ensure your picture appears consistently is to set up a Gravatar Account. This will allow you to log into any blog including yours, and your photo will automatically show up in the space provided in your theme for your photo. (As long as you use the same email address for both accounts). See the video below for more details:

3. SET UP YOUR SOCIAL PROFILES

If you don’t already have them, this is a vitally important part of publishing. People are spending enormous amounts of time on social networks like Facebook and Twitter and if you expect to have them read your content you will need to get in front of them there as well.  Now don’t start freaking out on me! This doesn’t mean you will have to spend hours and hours on social networks. You will  just have to share your content in the places your audience live, learn and play online. The most likely places would be Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn for starters.

4.  CREATE & PUBLISH

Creating a blog post can be as simple as creating an email once you’re set up. To do this you will need to form a compelling headline (the title of your blog/article that people will click on to get your content), summery exerpt (a summery of your content to entice readers into reading past the first two sentences) and the main body content (the “meat and potatoes” of what you will be writing about). Add the featured image you want to appear when people share your post and click publish!

5. SHARE AND PROMOTE

Once you have published your blog post to your website you will now need to share that newly created content with your audience. You can do this manually or automatically. To share your content manually it can be as easy as clicking on the sharing icons your blog has provided, or if none exist, you can copy and paste the URL (Website address) into your social accounts (mentioned above) Lastly, send out your new post to friends, customers and subscribers by email. It’s not a guarantee that you will reach your desired social audience even if they are subscribed to you, so email is a must. There are lot of other people who want to catch your audiences’ attention as well.

Don’t be afraid to share your content widely right off the bat! > TWEET THIS

If you have any questions regarding any of these steps or would like assistance in setting up a “Self-Hosted” blog for professional purposes, please contact us or leave a comment below. Happy Blogging!

About Lawrence Stone

Digital Media Consultant, Mad Scientist/Entrepreneur, & Founder of Superior Impact, Inc.

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