5 Easy Steps to Take to Start Your Blog

Are you wondering how to start a blog in Port-Harcourt?

The key to being recognized as an authority in your industry and becoming a “go-to” resource, is to create a successful blog for your business.

Valuable blog content helps gain trust and loyalty for your brand.

With the right blog article content, you can stand out from the competition as a knowledgeable expert in your niche.

With that being said, here are 5 steps to take in starting your very own blog in PHcity.

1. Choose a blogging platform.

This is an important decision. Choosing the wrong platform may not make or break you, but it can make things more difficult than they need to be.

There are many different blogging sites you can use, but the most versatile and user-friendly platform out there is WordPress. There are two types of WordPress sites and it’s important you choose the right one.

There is WordPress.com, which allows you to set up, in minutes, a blog and its domain (e.g., www.yoursite.wordpress.com). For reasons that go beyond the scope of this article, I do not recommend using this version for your business blog.

We do recommend using WordPress.org to create your own self-hosted blog. This site is simple to use, although non-techies might need a bit of help with the initial setup.

Both versions are free. Hosting and registering a domain will cost a bit, but more on that later.

If you’d like to explore your options, there are several other platforms that are completely free and give you the ability to set up your site in a few steps; they include Weebly, Joomla and Drupal.  

However, you should be aware that most of these sites won’t work for a business blog in the long run. Restrictions in terms of design, functionality and SEO will make it very difficult later on to have a successful business blog.

2. Choose a theme.

If you decide to go with wordpress, one of its best features is that, it allows you to easily customize the look and feel of your blog, using themes. There’s a large list of free themes available in the WordPress Theme Directory, or try checking out premium (paid) themes at a site like ThemeForest.

When choosing a theme, keep in mind the following:

• Is it responsive? Does it display properly on a variety of devices, including desktop, tablets and mobile devices?
• Does it come with some level of customer support and/or a support forum?
• Does it allow a level of customization (e.g., changing colors, navigation menu, buttons, widgets, etc.)?

3. Register a domain name.

Once you’ve decided which blogging platform you’re going to use, choose a domain name. This will be the URL used to access your site (e.g., www.yoursite.com). You can do this through a domain registrar like Whogohost.

Your domain will cost you around 5,000 Naira a year; the price goes down if you’re willing to pay for more than one year up-front. Try to choose a .com domain (as opposed to .net, .biz, etc.), if possible, and use your trademarked business name if it’s available.

Make sure your domain is easy to remember yet specific enough to differentiate you from sites or businesses with a similar name.

4. Purchase web hosting.

While your WordPress site is free, you’ll still need to pay to have your blog hosted, which costs more than the domain rental. You can purchase your web hosting service through a number of different companies, but some of the more popular are Whogohost. 

5. Make a plan, and get writing!

This is the fun part, the reason you decided to get a business blog in the first place. Before you dive in, however, it’s important to think about the purpose of your blog.

• What is your main objective? Is it to get leads, build your email list or become an expert in your field?
• How often will you commit to blogging? Two to three times a week is ideal, but blogging once a week is better than nothing.
• What’s the “voice” of your blog? Casual and fun? Authoritative? Academic?
• How will you get your readers to take action while on your blog? An email opt-in box? A link to a sales page? Or a call to action to fill out a request for a quote?

Once you have a plan in place, go ahead and write. Focus on topics where you have unique insights to share, or where you can really add to the conversation. Always try to be original and write about topics that are of value to your audience.

Further more, if you find it difficult setting up a blog all by yourself, you can contact us, right here at FORTRAN HOUSE and we would be glad to help you out.