How To Start A Blog And Never Run Out Of Things To Say
A lot of people think that there’s a magic formula to starting a blog or website.
There isn’t.
That’s bad in the sense that you’re not going to get a magic key to fame and riches.
It’s good in the sense that you now don’t need a guru to help you and you don’t need to spend thousands on web design or consultants in order to get your first site up and running.
(That’s not to say web designers or online business consultants are going bust overnight. However, you don’t need them until you need them.)
In this article, I’ll give you everything you need to start a website.
I’ll also give you an easy way to think of and structure the content on your site so that you never run out of things to write about. As running out of material is the single biggest blog-killer by far, this article is obviously very helpful. Read on, dear visitors!
Starting A Blog: The Technical Details
You don’t need to hire a web designer to start a blog.
You don’t need to go with some expensive company or get anything particularly amazing.
The difference between a successful blog comes down to a couple of things:
As such, nearly everything about your blog is secondary to that. You don’t want an ugly site. You don’t need to get a designer to sort out a logo for you though. You simply need a decent theme and a few minutes in Paint, Photoshop or Gimp. (Just look at the “logo” for this site… I definitely didn’t hire a designer or spend more than fifteen minutes on that.)
You need a domain name, some basic web hosting and to install WordPress with a nice theme. Then you need to write great content. A lot of guys will over-complicate the process so they can drop their affiliate links in, but it doesn’t really matter where you get any of these from. For what it’s worth, here are the services I use:
Studiopress Themes for Site Design.
Feel free to click on those links if you’d like, but I won’t be offended if you don’t.
Let’s get to the interesting stuff.
How To Structure Your Site So That You Never Run Out Of Content
Most blogs (including my own in the past) suffer not because of a technical requirement or a poor site design, but because they simply don’t have enough good content.
If you structure your site correctly, then it’ll help you create content.
If you structure your site incorrectly, then it’ll hinder you. It’ll also look ugly. (Fun fact: When most sites look bad, it’s more often because they look empty than a problem with the design.)
To get this right, I want you to think of the categories for your website. I don’t want you to think in terms of “What subjects could I cover?” I want you to think in terms of “How do I create categories so that I’ll always have something to write about?”
Let me give you an example. If I were to say, “Create a website about men’s fashion” what should the categories be?
If you said:
- Suits
- Casual
- Jeans and Trousers
- Shoes
I’m afraid you’re wrong.
Your website might need a hundred posts or more before it gains traction. Are you really going to write 30 posts on trousers?
You can do this if you want, but I’m about to give you an easier layout that’ll ensure there’s always great content.
A different way to look at post categories is to group them into evergreen umbrella terms. If that sounds a bit vague, then think in terms of categories like these:
Already, you can see how those categories are evergreen. For reviews, you can constantly be on the lookout for new products. For news, you can just browse Google News for stuff in your niche. How-to articles and general thoughts are going to be the backbone of your site and based on your personal experiences.
To go back to our men’s style example:
- Thoughts on Style
- The Latest News In Men’s Fashion
- How to be a well-dressed man
- The best style products for men
Now, you don’t have to label those categories on your site necessarily, but you should think in those terms. That way, you’ll never run out of things to say. Of course, providing you do two things:
- Do stuff related to your niche
- Read about stuff related to your niche
Providing those two conditions are met, you can populate your site with as many articles as you can find the time to write. Add in a few decent pictures and a nice WordPress theme, and you’ll have a good site.
Final Thoughts
The above process will give you everything you need to start a blog.
To start a blog is easy. You get a domain name and hosting, you install WordPress (a couple of clicks) and then you log in to your WordPress Dashboard and install a theme. Then you basically start writing and can work everything out as you go.
Like I said above, not writing is the killer of nearly all sites. That’s why you should use the above framework to ensure you never run out of things to write about.
Think about your niche in terms of evergreen discussion points, and use those to structure your site. That way, you’ll always have material.
Material = the way you start a blog, build confidence, traffic and authority in any given niche.
The rest is up to you.