A really good idea just to question your motives and your reasons for doing something before you start doing it and for me it was like a natural need to write, and I just wanted to share things with the world, and I think that should be the main Reason why you start a blog like a lot of people? Do it because they want the free stuff or I’ve.

Had people say I’m, going to start a blog, because I want to earn enough to live in central London within 3 months and it just doesn’t work like that trust me, and so why not do it? Because you love it, I think a good rule to go by is, if you wouldn’t, do it anyway, it’s, maybe not for you, and if you wouldn’t be prepared to do it for free forever.

It might not be the e, so just bear that in mind. Now we ‘ Ve got that ethical thing out. We’re, going to move on to the fun stuff and the first thing is choosing a name and first you need to decide what your blog is going to be about and then tie in your name from there.

You want to choose something that reflects your content, so people know what your blog is going to be about when they click on it say, for example, if you know you’re, going to be talking about knitting and only knitting, if you want to Share your name, you can call it something like Katy, knits or if you want to remain anonymous, you can use a pun like pearls of wisdom or something like that, just something that reflects your content or, if you know you’re, going to have A lifestyle blog and be talking about lots of different topics choose something that doesn ‘

T put your content in a box because if you call it Katy knits and then you talk about fashion and baking and cooking and traveling it doesn’t really fit in with the theme. So you’re better to call it something.

Like Katy’s, world or Katie’s, life or Daley Katie choose something that suits your personality and also something that’s, going to stand the test of time, because if you choose something that’s kind Of like a fad or to do with your age or the year or anything like that, it’s going to change in the future, and then you’ll, be stuck with a name that’s, no longer relevant a Lot of people sell title their blog, which is a really quick and easy option to go for or you could go for something simple like see if your name fits into a pun or a phrase, or I think there’s even online generators that Make a blog lame for you out of your hobbies and stuff, but I think just be a little bit more original and think of it yourself just jot down some ideas and also make sure no one’s got it first.

That’s, really important again, like your blog lane. The platform that you host, your blog on is completely down to personal preference. But if you’re, a complete beginner, I’d, really recommend blogger, because it’s just kind of foolproof.

I’ve, been using it for years. I’ve, never had any issues and it’s, just very easy and straightforward to use. I also used to use WordPress when I worked as a social media manager. I did find that a bit trickier to navigate and I had a few more issues with it.

But if you’re good at HTML and you’re Wiz at coding and stuff, that is probably the one for you. Both blogger and WordPress are completely free and then another question I get asked all the time is: do I need to buy a domain name and no you don’t.

In my opinion, you definitely don’t need a domain name in the beginning stages. If you become a bit more serious about your blog, it definitely does make your site look more professional, but in the beginning it’s better to work on your content.

In my opinion, and your money, if you’re going to spend any, is way better spent on step 4, so roll on step 4 with a blog design. I feel like you’re, laying the bricks and mortar for your blog, so think, really carefully about how you want your site to lit and how much you’re willing to spend and to give you an idea of what my blog Used to look like for the first year and a half of its life and as any two years old now so the changes I’ve, made to my blog in November, have been fairly recent and I’ll.

Put a picture here of what my header looked like. So basically, I didn’t want to spend any money because I didn’t really have any money. I knew I wanted something very clean and pretty and simple and just kind of straightforward.

So I found this one just by typing in something like free, blogger templates onto Google. It definitely wasn’t the most complex of interfaces, but I didn ‘ T necessarily need it to be. I just wanted somewhere to put my writing so, like I said it was free and easy to download.

I just got on my computer. I overlaid the text using PicMonkey com, I put it on my blog and I went from there for a year and a half and as I mentioned, I’ve only just in the last sort of couple of months redesigned it.

So I think it just goes to show you don’t need to spend money, but if you do have a bit of spare dollar and you don’t mind spending in your blog, there are lots of professional website designers. They’ll, offer everything from custom blog designs to pre-made templates, which are a little bit cheaper.

So I will leave a few of my favorites linked down below and just have a look until you find something that’s right for you and suits your style. Okay. Now I feel, like I ‘ Ve said this before in my 10 things I’ve learned about YouTube video, but I really believe in it and it’s.

That enthusiasm is way more important than equipment, because you can spend hundreds, even thousands on cameras and lighting etc. But if you don’t feel enthusiastic about what you’re doing and you don’t, have a drive to create in the first place all that fancy equipment, doesn’t mean anything back in 2014.

When I started my blog up again, I didn’t, have a camera and I couldn’t afford a camera, so I just used to take all my photos and on iphone 4, which was really difficult and to me they looked kind Of rubbish, but people would still ask me what camera I used.

So you don ‘ T necessarily need to spend lots of money that you don’t have on a camera. If you have a thing that takes HD photos, just use that and just get started because practice makes perfect.

Then if you blog for a while and you think, oh my gosh, I love it so so much. I want to invest in my blog and make my quality better. I would recommend investing in a camera and I just take a look at what some of your favorite bloggers use.

For example, I use a canon 600d and that’s. What I’m filming on right now – and I also take all of my blog photos on this, so it’s, a really good all-rounder. But if it doesn’t fit your budget, you can always buy second-hand or you could search for a cheaper camera altogether.

It’s totally up to you and then another thing that’s totally up to you is investing in extras, so things like tripods lighting, Photoshop, etc. They’re, all things you can buy, but at the end of the day all you basically need to start a blog is a computer and something that takes photos.

Trust me, I know exactly how daunting is to start posting on your blog, especially if you’ve, told your family and your friends and your co-workers that you are starting a blog. I’m. Not everyone does that, but I did at the second time around.

I did find it a little bit more daunting cause. Obviously I knew people I knew in real life. We’re, going to read it, but trust me. It gets so much easier once you establish your tone, so I’d, really recommend doing an introduction post introducing yourself and your hobbies and just saying hello to your potential readers when it comes to putting together blog post.

Do whatever feels right for you. I think that’s, the beauty of blogging is that one person will do a very photo heavy post with barely any writing. And someone like me, who kind of types how they speak and is really into writing, will write more paragraphs with less photos and just basically put it together.

How you would like it in your head and a good rule of thumb, is to put together posts you like reading yourself and just make sure you, like your content, posting regularly and consistency is a great way to build your audience up, but again do whatever’s right for you, some people have a schedule, so their audience know when to expect new content and some people just upload whenever they can so it’s.

Just whatever fits you and your lifestyle, it’s, also really handy to have like an about page and a contact page, so readers and brands can get in touch easily if they’d like to come to think of it. I don’t, actually know anyone who has a blog and isn’t also on social media, so get yourself set up with some accounts.

There’s tons out there, but I would definitely recommend Twitter and Instagram as the two initial ones you should get started with. First. I decided that I wanted to create separate accounts from my personal ones and I actually really enjoyed having it that way, because it’s almost like having a work phone and a home phone on my blog, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

I can promote my new content and keep up with all my favorite bloggers and then on my personal accounts. I can still see everything my friends are doing, and then people who used to go to school with don’t have to see me constantly.

Posting about my new YouTube video, if they didn’t want to, I would really recommend doing the same thing after putting so much of your hard work and time into a pastry, obviously going to want people to read it.

So don’t, be afraid to share on social media and invite people to come and have a little browse. Social media also allows you to contact brands directly. So if you’ve done a post about their product or their service.

It’s, fine to politely at them in a tweet or tag them in a photo, because there’s a chance, they might see it and it’s really never too early to start building connections. A really great way of building your audience and making friends is to get involved with the community.

So things like Twitter chats there’s, Twitter chats every single week and I will leave a calendar for all of them linked down below in the description box. If you want to go and have a look and then one evening, why need to make a big cup of tea and set aside an hour to join in there’s? Always an interesting discussion going on and there’s.

Also always an opportunity to share your links at the end, so you’re, showcasing your blog to lots of potential readers and you’re, also having a lovely little chat in the process. As you might know, if you’ve ever commented on any of my stuff before I think it’s, really big.

Yes, a big old double thumbs up to reply to your readers, because, if you think about it, how many blogs are there out there a heck of a lot and they’ve taken the time out of their day to read yours. So take the time out of your day, just to be nice and reply say someone asks where your jumpers from on Twitter, tweet them back and let them know because in the early stages, especially it doesn’t.

Take much effort to reply to everyone who leaves a comment and your stuff, and I just feel like it makes your audience feel more appreciated, and it shows that you see as a two-way relationship between you and then once you’ve been blogging for A little while you might want to sit down and have a little think about how it’s progressing and whether it’s, something you want to continue as a hobby or something you might actually want to turn into your job.

If it’s, the former I’d, say carry on going. Your own pace feel free to upload. However, often you’d like to and just enjoy having a corner of the web, that’s. All yours. If it’s, the latter, let’s, be real.

You’re, going to have to work. Super super hard. Vlogging in general can be tricky, so to go. Full-Time is a lot harder than it looks, but don’t. Let that realisation put you off. It really is a fantastic career path, because you get so many exciting opportunities and you get to meet the most amazing people, but either way whether you’re doing is a job or a hobby, make sure you roll on number 10.

I wanted to put this last because this is what I always say to people who ask me for advice on blogging. It is a saturated market these days and it’s, easy to have feelings of self-doubt when you measure big blogs against your own, but just relax a little and remember that they might be six years in they ‘

Ve probably been blogging for years and years, and you’ve only just started so relax, take it easy and just enjoy the ride, create stuff, be proud of it and have fun because there’s only one of you in the world.

Your life is unlike anyone. Else and blogging is a really beautiful way of sharing that with the world. So there we have it. Those are my top ten tips on how to start a blog. If you’re a beginner, and I really really hope this was helpful for you, like I said at the beginning, I can do follow-up videos or blog posts on other aspects of blogging.

The post How To Start A Blog: Step By Step For Beginners appeared first on Ask Root.

Have you ever read anyone on my blog post and found, Hey! They all follow a similar format. And you know what, it’s not out of coincidence, it’s for a reason. Because that formula helps me generate at least 37,000 visitors per blog post.

Do you wanna know that formula on how I write the perfect blog post? Hi everyone, I’m Neil Patel, and today I’m gonna share with you, how to write a blog post from start to finish. (light upbeat music) Now before we get started, I just wanna ask you guys to subscribe to this channel.

That way we’re in at least more marking tips like this, you’ll get notified. Now, I have a question for you: How many of you have written a blog post before? If you have, leave a comment with “yes”.

If you haven’t, leave a comment with “no”. Because you know what, whether you have written a blog post before or you haven’t, and I’m still curious in how many of you written one, I’m gonna share with you the perfect formula that I follow for my own blog.

It works for a B2C ,B2B, a personal blog or a corporate blog, it works for everything. I kid you not, it is the best formula out there. First tip: Start off with a title. Don’t just start writing a blog post, unless you have the exact title, do not write your blog post.

Eight out of ten people will read your headline, but only two out of ten will click through or read the rest of your article. Doesn’t matter how amazing of a blog post you write, if you don’t write a good headline, no one’s gonna read the rest of your post.

All comes down to your headline or title, or whatever you wanna call it. If you need some creativity, go to a grocery store and check out a magazine. When you go to a grocery store when you’re checking out, you see all these magazines! They have amazing titles with How To, Livspace, articles like “Lose weight in 30 days”, “How to shed five pounds fast!” Doesn’t matter what kind of magazine they are, whether it’s a business magazine or whether it’s a fitness magazine, or a gossip magazine, they all use catchy titles.

And that’s what you need to do with your blog post. And look for magazine for inspiration. I stick with the basics. I use How To a lot, I use Livspace posts, those two things have worked wonders for me, and they haven’t got old.

So start with the title. And you don’t have to just create one variation of it. You can create two or three variations, and that’s what I do and I ask people hey, what do you like, I’ll ask a few friends, then I pick the best one and that’s what I go with.

The second step that you need to follow when it comes to writing a blog post is the introduction. In your introduction, you need to hook people with a bold statement. For example, I know this is a video, but I hooked you by saying “Hey do you want the formula that breaks down how I get at least 37,000 visitors per blog post”.

By hooking people in, they’re gonna read the rest. And with your introduction, it’s not just talking, hooking people in. It’s also about talking about what’s gonna be covered in the post.

Just give them a quick overview on what you’re gonna teach them, is a great way to hook them in, as well, to get them to go more into your blog post, read more, and ideally, even leave a comment at the end of your post.

Now that we got the introduction done, let’s get into your body. Your body should include subheadings. Keep in mind, you want your content easy to skim. If people can’t skim it, you’re not gonna do well.

In your body, use subheadings, and keep your paragraphs around five to six lines max. In addition to that, when you’re writing your content in your body, you’ll notice that at least on neilpatel.

com, I link out to other people. That’s part of my formula, it’s not just about linking to your own site, it’s about linking to other sites. Because what happens is when you link to other websites, you open up your sources, you’re citing them, it creates more credibility for you, makes you and your business look more as an expert, and that’s what you wanna be perceived at when you’re writing content.

Last but not least, you wanna wrap up your post with a conclusion. The conclusion summarizes what your post was about, and you end your conclusion with a question. By ending with the question, more people are more likely to leave a comment.

When they leave a comment, it creates engagement. By getting engagement, you’re much more likely to generate sales. If people read your blog but they don’t engage with you, they’re not likely than to become a lead, or buy your products, or your services.

So it’s really important you end with a question. And here’s what we found with conclusions. Brazing Crazy Egg, we use a scroll mat feature, and what we found through testing was, a lot of people read blog posts, when they first land on them, they quickly scroll to the bottom, check out the conclusion, and then they go back up and read the rest, assuming they like the conclusion.

So with your conclusion, make sure you label it “Conclusion”. Don’t get fancy, keep it simple. Just call it a good ole’ conclusion. And that’s my formula to writing blog posts! It’s not that hard.

Now one thing I did mention within this whole process of writing blog posts, that you need to link up to other sites. And here’s a bonus tip: I know this goes a bit above just writing, but very few people do it.

When you link up to other people, it flatters them. People love getting back-links, because when you link out to someone, it drives in more traffic. Especially when you’re linking to them in a positive way.

Hopefully you’re not bashing people in your blog post. Stay above that. So when you link up to them, shoot them an e-mail. “Hey Curtis, I have to say I am a huge fan of your work, so much so I linked out to you in my latest blog post.

You can check it out here. Cheers, Neil. P.S. If you shared it, it would make my day”. That’s it. A lot of people who get linked out to, including me, don’t mind sharing articles on Twitter.

It drives the blog owner traffic, and it makes the person you link to look great! So that’s it. If you want more traffic to your blog, you need help with the writing content or generating traffic, check out my ad agency Neil Patel Digital, and of course, if you just have any questions on writing or need help, leave a comment below with your question, and I’ll answer it.

If you like the post, I would appreciate that as well. Share it with your friends, subscribe to my channel, thank you for watching. have you ever read any one of my blog posts and found hey they all follow a similar format and you know what it’s not a coincidence it’s for a reason because that formula helps me generate at least thirty seven thousand visitors per blog post do you want to know that formula on how I write a perfect blog post hi everyone I’m Neil Patel and today I’m gonna share with you how to write a blog post from start to finish now before we get started I just want to ask you guys to subscribe to this channel that way we’re gonna lease more marketing tips like this you’ll get notified now I have a question for you how many of you have written a blog post before if you have leave a comment with yes if you haven’t leave a comment with no because you know what whether you have written a blog post before you haven’t and I’m still curious and how many of you written one I’m gonna share with you the perfect formula that I follow for my own blog it works for a b2c b2b a personal blog or a corporate blog it works for everything I kid you not it is the best formula out there first tip start off with a title don’t just start writing a blog post unless you have the exact title do not write your blog post eight out of ten people will read your headline but only two out of ten will click through and read the rest of your article doesn’t matter how amazing what blog posts you write if you don’t write a good headline no one’s gonna read the rest of your posts all comes on to your headline or title or whatever you want to call it if you need some creativity go to the grocery store and check out a magazine when you go to a grocery store when you’re checking out you see all these magazines they have amazing titles with how to list base articles like lose weight in 30 days how to shed five pounds fast it doesn’t matter what kind of magazine there are whether it’s a business magazine or whether it’s a fitness magazine or gossip magazine they all use catchy titles and that’s what you need to do with your blog post and look for magazines for inspiration I stick with the basics I use how to a law I use list based posts those two things have worked wonders for me and they haven’t got old so start with the title and you don’t have to just create one variation of it you can create two or three variations and that’s what I and I ask people hey what do you like I lost a few friends then I pick the best one and that’s what I go with the second step that you need a follower when it comes to writing your blog post is it introduction and your introduction you need to hook people with the bold statement for example I know this is a video but I hooked you by saying hey do you want the formula that breaks on how I get at least thirty seven thousand visitors per blog post by hooking people and they’re gonna read the rest and with your introduction it’s not just talking hooking people in it’s also about talking about what’s gonna be covered in the post just give them a quick overview and what you’re gonna teach them is a great way to hook them in as well to get them to go more into your blog posts read more and ideally even leave a comment at the end of your post now that we got the introduction done let’s get into your body your body should include subheadings keep in mind you want your content easy to skim if people can’t skim it you’re not gonna do well in your body use subheadings and keep your paragraphs around five to six lines max in addition to that when you’re writing your content your body you’ll notice that least on Neil Patel comm I link out to other people that’s part of my formula it’s not just about linking to your own site it’s about linking to other sites because what happens is when you link to other websites giving up your sources you’re citing them it creates more credibility for you makes you and your business look more as an expert and that’s what you want to be perceived at when you’re writing content last but not least you want to wrap up your post with a conclusion the conclusion summarizes what your post was about and you end your conclusion with the question but ending with the question more people are likely to leave a comment when they leave a comment and crits engagement by getting engagement you’re much more likely to generate sales if people read your blog but they don’t engage with you they’re not likely than to become a lead or buy your products or your services so it’s really important you end with the question and here’s what we found with conclusions we’re using crazy egg we use a scroll map feature and what we found through testing was a lot of people would read blog posts when they first land on them they quickly scroll to the bottom check out the conclusion and then they go back up and read the rest assuming they like the conclusion so with your conclusion make sure you label it conclusion don’t get fancy keep it simple just call it a good ol conclusion and that’s my formula to writing blog post it’s not that hard now one thing I did mention within this whole process of writing blog posts that you need a link out to other sites I mean here’s a bonus tip I know this goes a bit above they’re just writing but very few people do it when you link out to other people it flatters them people love getting backlinks because when you link out to someone it drives them more traffic especially when you’re linking to them in a positive way hopefully you’re not bashing people in your blog post stay above that so when you link out to them you shoot them an email hey Curtis I have to say I’m a huge fan of your work so much so I linked out to you my latest blog post you can check it out here Cheers Neal PS if you shared it it would make my day that’s it a lot of people who get linked out to including me don’t mind sharing articles on Twitter it drives a blog runner traffic and it makes a person you link to look great so that’s it if you want more traffic to your blog you need help with the writing content or generating traffic check out my ad agency Neil Patel digital and of course if you just have any questions on writing or need help leave a comment below with your question

The post How to Write a Blog Post From Start to Finish | Neil Patel appeared first on Ask Root.