Blogging has become one of the most rewarding activities on the internet in recent years. Whether it be sharing thoughts on brand building, blogging helps businesses in numerous ways. You may be wondering how to start a blog in India. You are at the right place!
In this article, we will discuss how to set up your blog and how to start blogging in India.
This is a full-length guide where I will explore all essential aspects related to blogging. So keep on reading.
I am sure you are all excited about starting your blog. But let’s first understand what a blog is. A clear picture of blogging will give you a realistic idea of what you are dealing with.
What is a Blog?
In simple words, a blog is a collection of articles. Generally, this collection of essays is hosted on one website or a blogging platform. It follows then that blogging is a writing activity. You may write the articles yourself or have them written by content writers.
A blog offers information to the readers. It also expresses the views and opinions of the writer. Some blogs review businesses, movies, cooking, travel, etc. A blog can cover diverse topics. However, it is generally found that sticking to one or two topics attracts and retains a loyal following.
A blog can be a source of income. As more and more readers read your blog and you build a following, you can monetize your blog. You can use Google’s Adsense program to put ads on your blog. Adding ads to your blog can bring you money.
You can earn money through affiliate marketing if you are reviewing products or any services on your blog. You get a commission when readers purchase products through the links on your blog. Affiliate marketing provides a significant income if you are famous.
Besides fan-following and money-making, blogging has another critical purpose: Brand Building. Companies invest heavily in digital marketing efforts to build a brand image online. Blogging plays an influential role in brand building.
The secret to the success of a blog when it comes to brand building is authoritative content. Your blog posts should have unique and relevant content. The content on your blog speaks for your brand. This one factor is enough to gauge the importance of blogging for businesses.
How does brand-building work?
People search for information about particular businesses or products. You write blog posts with this information for the company blog. People end up on the company website through search engine results.
The more topics you cover in the same genre, the more are the chances people land on your website. You can use this traffic to boost your company’s image and build a brand with a following.
Blogging can create a positive image of your business. It can also be helpful to readers who want to make purchases. A well-maintained blog can significantly benefit any company that wants to build an online presence.
Blogging Platforms and How to Start a Blog with them
The first step in starting a blog is deciding which blogging platform to use. Many blogging platforms were available today compared to those available a few years ago.
Some popular blogging platforms include self-hosted WordPress, WordPress.com, Blogger, Medium, Tumblr, Weebly, Constant Contact, Wix, Gator, Ghost, and Squarespace. You can also avail services of a web development company to customize a blog for your website.
Let’s say how to start a blog with each of these platforms.
How To Start a Blog with self-hosted WordPress
WordPress.org offers the most popular blogging platform and website development platform – WordPress. Do not confuse this with WordPress.com. WordPress is a self-hosted platform, meaning you need to have web hosting before starting with WordPress.
Also, you get to use your domain name, where you can park your website and blog.
WordPress offers full-fledged blogging features that are best-in-class. WordPress is the leading Content Management System (CMS) in the world. It makes it super easy to publish blog posts, manage comments, organize blog posts into categories, add tags, and keep track of your content.
How to install WordPress?
Nearly all web hosts offer free WordPress installation. It is just a one-click affair to get started with WordPress.
You can also manually install WordPress. It takes only 5 minutes to install WordPress.
Make sure you have the following things ready before you begin installation:
The server-side requirement is that it should run PHP 7.4 or higher. The database should be MySQL 5.6 or MariaDB 10.1 or greater.
You will need the login id (username and password) to the server.
A text editor like Notepad and an FTP client will be required.
Now that you have all these ready, downloads a fresh WordPress copy from wordpress.org.
Create a user for a database on the web server. Upload WordPress files to the web server using FTP Client.
Now you can run the WordPress installation script from the URL where you put the WordPress files.
That’s it! WordPress is now installed.
Publishing a Blog Post on WordPress
Blogging is effortless on WordPress. Click on the “Add Post” option to start your blog post.
WordPress offers the block editor an intuitive way to create a blog post. It has blocks like ‘Image,’ ‘Video,’ ‘Embeds,’ and many others that make rich blog posts possible.
You can also create pages. The cool thing about WordPress is that you can use plugins to add different features to your WordPress install.
How to start a blog with WordPress.com
WordPress.com is a famous website builder and blogging platform. It’s a paid platform. The free plan only hosts your blog on the subdomain of wordpress.com.
If you want to run your blog professionally, then WordPress.com is an option but not the best one. Check out other blogging platforms before deciding on WordPress.com.
How to start a blog with Blogger
Blogger is a blogging platform offered by Google. It has been a popular platform ever since its inception. You get a free blogspot.com domain to get started. You can also buy a custom domain name.
Blogger offers templates that are much like themes in WordPress. These templates decide the look and feel of the blog.
Blogging is simple on Blogger. There are plenty of options to get started in no time. Blogger has built-in analytics that can provide valuable insights about your audience. You can also opt for the Google Adsense program to start earning through ads.
Blogger makes blogging much more accessible. There are a few cons to using Blogger. If you want to create a blog for your company, hosting the blog on the company website makes more sense than on Blogger. Self-hosted WordPress would be a better choice in that case.
How to start a blog with Medium
Starting a blog with Medium is straightforward. You must create a free account and start a “New story.”
Medium provides powerful features like statistics that give you insights into your audience. This can help you grow your audience.
You can also earn money with the Medium Partner Program. The money you earn depends on the time your readers spend reading your stories.
There are over 170 million readers on Medium. You can use this audience to grow your blog. The platform also guides the same.
How to start a blog with Tumblr
You need to click the “Create a new blog” button to start a blog with Tumblr.
Tumblr is blogger-friendly, which makes it an excellent choice for bloggers. Tumblr boasts of more than 300 million blogs. Tumblr allows users to connect on the platform.
The strip bar at the top of the editor lets you create a blog post of any media type. Options include text, photo, quote, link, video, chat, and audio. The settings, design, and messaging features are within easy reach.
Once you add tags for the blog post, you are ready to publish.
Even though Tumblr is great for blogging, this platform offers limited customization options.
How to start a blog with Website Builders
Apart from blogging platforms specifically designed for blogs, website builders or web development companies can help you create a blog of your liking. Often these website builders offer a complete solution, from creating a portfolio website to a full-fledged ecommerce website.
Examples of website builders include Weebly, Wix, Gator, Constant Contact, and Squarespace, to name a few. These website builders offer accessible website building with either predesigned templates or customized solutions.
Most of these plugins provide plugins to add specific functionality to your website. These can be free or paid plugins. The number of plugins available varies with each platform.
Now that you have seen blogging platforms and website builders, you can focus on the blogging part. Here I am showing you five tips you should keep in mind when starting a blog in India.
5 Tips To Start A Blog In India
When starting a blog, you must keep a few things in mind if you want your blog to succeed. The following are the five things you should follow.
Niche Targeting
Instead of writing about random things or anything that comes to your mind, you would benefit if you chose a specific genre in which to write.
Decide what things you would like to write about. Focus on them. Find your niche and target your audience for that particular niche.
Scheduling Blog Posts
The most common mistake beginners make is to write on a whim and have a random posting schedule.
If you want to be a successful blogger, post regularly and follow a schedule. Scheduling blog posts impact your readership as it makes your blog posts regular.
Setting up a specific time for publishing is a good idea.
Maintain Your Blog
The most important but often forgotten task while running a blog is to maintain it.
Over time, your blog is full of unmoderated comments, spam, shrub articles, and 404 errors, to name a few.
You must maintain your blog from time to time. You can also use a website maintenance service to do the maintenance for you.
If you forget to maintain your blog, you will find yourself at a loss when your blog doesn’t function at all. Why risk that? Maintain Your blog consistently.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
The key to success for your blog is search engine optimization. Your blog should be SEO optimized to rank in search engines like Google. Start learning about SEO techniques and implement them for your blog.
For example, a good title, headings, organic links, backlinks, tags, alt text, images, etc., form the on-page SEO. Your content should take care of all of these from the SEO perspective.
SEO takes time and learning. You can learn on your own. There are plenty of free courses available online. You can also delegate this task to SEO experts.
Responsive Blog
One of the most important things to understand is that today’s audience uses mobile devices more than desktops. Your content or the blog should look good on these devices. You need a responsive blog design to make your content look well on mobile devices.
You can opt for a responsive template while designing your blog. It’s a must nowadays.
So far, you have learned what a blog is and how it can be used for building a brand. We discussed the possibility of monetizing your blog with advertising and affiliate marketing. We then overviewed a few blogging platforms and how to start a blog in India. Finally, we considered five essential tips for creating a blog. I hope you have a clear idea about how to start a blog in India.
