How To Start Amateur Blogging With 7 Simple Steps

What Is an Amateur-Blog? It is a blog created by non-professional bloggers. These bloggers are passionate about a subject. And want to share their knowledge with people who share their interests.

Although Amateur Bloggers do not start blogs because they want to make money, amateur blogging can be profitable.

And really there is no reason why an amateur blogger should not get compensated for their efferts. Afterall Blogging is hard work.

Because the Amateur bloggers have great flexibility they can create a blog about any topic.

And people who own amateur-blogs can decide how often they want to create content and who they want to share it with.

Another great thing about amateur blogs is it does need a lot of money to start one. Your current laptop, good internet connection and less than a hundred dollars is all it takes.

Amateur Bloggers Guide

It all starts with connecting with the right people who share your interest. Then learn how to engage with them. And finally provide worthwile solutions to their problems. But first you need to answer these questions:

1. Identify Your Niche

This is probably the most difficult step but it’s the most important one.

You will need to spend some time investigating what people are searching for. Then you must decide how to help them find answers.

This is where keyword research comes into play. Identify search terms and questions, that you can answer.

Now create a micro niche blog that offers helpful solutions.

You will need some kind of niche finder software to get started.

2. Name Your Blog

Contrary to popular advice, cute, catchy blog names don’t always work. The name you pick for your blog name should attract thsoe readers you want to engage with.

Always think about your prospective readers when you choose your blog name. There are a number of ways to do this.

For instance choose a blog name that’s easy for readers to remember. Also make easy for users to find your blog by including relevant keywords in the name.

There are millions of blogs published daily. Your goal is to be easily found by the people you are trying to reach.

Here are three simple questions to ask yourself:

3. Choose A Blog Platform

What is a blogging platform? Sometimes you will hear it called a CMS. CMS stands for content management system. It is digital platform that manages content on the web. 

Content Management Platforms such are self-hosted WordPress allow you to create, edit and publish content on the Internet. This is done in a way that humans can understand.

So Content creator do not need to know how to code in order to create and publish content on CMS platforms.

One of the most Popular Content Management Systems for bloggers is WordPress.Org.

That’s because this platform was originally developed for managing blog content.

4. Choose Web Hosting

Hosting refers to where your blog will live. There are many free and paid hosting services.

However, when you invest in paid for your amateur blog, it gives you total  freedom and control.  

This includes the freedom to monetize your amateur blog. I also gives you the opportunity to grow as much as you need to.

Read more about how to pick the right hosting for your blog.

5. Design and Build Your Blog

Next step is to choose a theme and begin customizing it. Your blogging platform will likely have a number of easy to customize themes that you can choose from.

The are also many tools you can use to help you.

Now it’s time to collect your site content. Web content includes articles, posts, images and graphics that you want your users to access. Edit your content to make it relevant and easy to consume.

One you have chosen a theme, gathered your content and found useful tools you are ready to start building.

You may find it helpful to draft a layout of the site before you begin customizing.

YouTube is a great platform for learning how to build your own website.

However, if you are not comfortable with building your own blog, you can find a web designer on a marketplace like fiverr.com or upworks.com to do it for you.

6. Start Blogging

Before launching your blog, ensure you have the necessary pages. You should also have at least five articles.

Keep information simple. One research found that most people on the Internet read at 4th grade level.

 So keep amateur blogging light and simple that way it is easier to connect emotionally with your followers. 

You should always blog in a way that’s easy for the average person to understand. That’s unless your readers fall within a specific category.

7. Monetize Your Blog

Getting your amateur blog to get in front of interested people is called promotion. You can use a number of ways to promote your blog.

These include many free sharing platforms. You can use paid ads to promote it as well.

Even though you’re writing for fun, there are tons of ways to make money from blogging. 

Explore opportunities for you to monetize your amateur-blogging efforts.

Affiliate marketing is one of the main ways amateur bloggers earn online.

There is also opportunity to make money using AdSense. Decide what method you want to use even before you start amateur blogging.

Cost to Start A Blog

So how muct does it cost to start a blog? It really cost very little in terms of cash investment. A couple hundred dollars can go a long way.

In fact, if you have a laptop and good wi-fi connection you are halfway there. 

The real cost is the time and effort you are willing to invest. There are tons of free useful tutorial all across the internet that you can use as guidance.

Alternatively, you can find freelancers on the web who are willing to build out your blog for you. But do diiligent research and be specific about what you want.

Just keep in mind that it takes time and persistence to grow your amatuer blog. Be patient.

Therefore be prepared to do some work researching and refining your niche.  And once you start blogging, be consistent in publishing your blog posts. 

If you love what you’re blogging about, it won’t seem like work at all. So here’s an overview of what you need to know going forward.

Advantages of Amateur Blogging

Once you have those you can start your blog.

As was said before, people starting amateur blogs do not begin with the intention of making money.

However,  it is easy to earn significant income with amateur blogs. They just need to learn how to do it.

Blogging vs Vlogging

A blog -short for weblog- is basically an online journal.  It’s a documentation of your experience that you want to share with people on the internet who are interested in a specific topic. 

 Blog posts vary in length and are displayed with the latest entry being shown first. Other media such as images, graphics and videos are often included in blog posts.

On the other hand, a Vlog is short for video blog or video log.  It is the video format of blogging. Vloggers make and embed videos and share online.

These videos are often embedded and shared on video sharing platforms such as YouTube.

Professional vs Amateur Blogging

Professional bloggers work as freelancers or they are hired by companies. The are happy working within guidelines set by the company they blog for.

While amateur bloggers do it in their free time.

Professional Bloggers

They get paid to manage a company’s online reputation, build brand awareness or communicate with customers about new developments in the company.

The goal of professional bloggers is to convince their audience to take a specific action. Usually the action leads to some sort of conversion including sales. 

So, what do professional bloggers earn?  According to Indeed.com, bloggers in Seattle Washington are the highest paid in the United States. They earn approximately $30.00 an hour. 

Amateur Bloggers

On the other hand there are bloggers who just want to share what they love doing with others. Amateur blogs are often referred to as personal blogs.

Amateur bloggers are passionate about a subject and they want to share their knowledge and expertise with those who are interested in that subject.   

So when an amateur blogger starts a blog with the focus on sharing. 

These types of bloggers have greater flexibility. They can choose any topic they want to blog about.

They also have the freedom to decide who they want to read their blog. In addition, they are free to decide how often they connect with readers.

Tools for Bloggers

Professionals invest in high quality tools. Amateur bloggers are not exempt from this rule.  You need to present a professional profile.

 There are tons of great free tools on the internet that you can start with.  Of course as your blog grows you may need to upgrade. So what are the tools you need to start with?

Niche Finder tool This is your best friend. Use it to find and define your audience.

Post scheduler.  Scheduling software saves a lot of time.  They allow you to post to different platforms at predefined times..

Image editor.  Start with simple, easy to use image editing software. One that removes background and basic photo enhancements will be sufficient in the beginning.

 As your blog grows you will need to invest in something with more capabilities.

Autoresponder.  This Software that allows you to collect data from your site visitors.

That way you can stay in touch with them and keep bringing them back to your amateur blog.

However, when using an autoresponder, keep in mind that there are laws that govern collecting and using people’s data. Follow these laws carefully.

I know this sounds like a lot, but it’s not. And if your amateur blogging is done right these small investments pay for themselves many times over.

FYI-Interesting Blogging Stats

According to Envisage Digital there are 4.4 million blog posts published across all platforms every day.

 Here are some current statistics at the time of writing this post:

• The average blog post is 1150 words. But users only spend 18 seconds on a blog post page.
• WordPress hosts 77 million new blog posts each month.
• Globally here are 455 million WordPress websites.
• 409 Million people read WordPress blogs each month.
• There are about 450 million blogs on Tumblr.

Source: Envisage Digital

Starting a blog sounds like a monumental task, but amateur bloggers can be successful. Just focus on a few few important things will help you reap massive results.

The key is to remember and understand why the internet exists and how it works.

Save yourself some frustration and get the facts before you begin. 

Amateur Bloggers Mistakes

There are a few costly mistakes all new bloggers make. Five of these mistakes are listed below. This way you will know how to avoid them.

• Failing to define their niche. Before you write the first sentence in you first post, you need ask yourself three questions:

Defining a niche will help you reach the right audience. This also makes it easier to monetize your amateur blog.

• Ignoring keyword research. There are many keyword tools online that will help you narrow down your topic so you can determine which audience you want to reach.

keyword tool will allow you get important data. You canl learn how many people are interested in your topic. Not only that you can see the exact terms they search for.

• Not investing in a domain.  Your domain is your identity on the web. It is where people will search for you. It is your own piece of the Internet. You need a domain.

Pick a great domain that makes it easy for your audience to find you.

• Choosing the wrong hosting  There are many great free blogging platforms out there. But they can limit your potential for growth.

However, as an amateur blogger you want have total control of your blog.  So choose the best blog hosting platform.

This will give you the freedom to build and grow your blog without restrictions.

• Underestimating the work involved. It takes a lot of work to get your amatuer blog to start making significant money.

 Many amateur bloggers begin by writing a number of posts without a deliberate strategy. They hope that at least one of them will get picked up. The fact is this strategy seldom works unless it’s an exceptional post. 

Creating blog posts takes a lot of time and effort. So take the time to research, create your articles and schedule when to post them.

Summary

• In a nutshell before you start your amateur blogging journey you need to decide what you want to blog about and create a plan.

• Identify people who share your interests.

• Develop a strategy to connect with them and learn the best way you can help them. 

• Determine the best ways engage with your target audinece.

• Start Blogging.

• Promote your blog using different social media platforms so you can reach more people.

These are the steps you need to take to grow an amateur blogger. After you complete these steps you will be in a strong position to earn money with amateur blogging.

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