Blogging Demystified 1.0

INTRODUCTION

Blogging is a very confusing terrain. For most people, it's something to shy away from, for some people, it's a get-rich-quick venture, while for some others, it's a way to have fun. Which is the truth? Find out in this guide. 

Before we start, I'll ask the preliminary question: What exactly is a blog?

Well, a blog is a regularly updated website or web page, typically one run by an individual or small group, that is written in an informal or conversational style. A blog is a website and it's usually an online private space that centres on a particular subject by its owner, or concerns itself with the promotion of an activity.

Now, it's important to note that a blog is a website.

Yes. I've seen many people who come to ask if ZenPens—for example—is a blog. Every space on the internet is a website. I think it would be good to tell you about the different types of websites. 

Why is it important? Because if you are planning to open a website, it's necessary to know which one is the one that will serve your needs.

TYPES OF WEBSITES

This is a breakdown of the 12 most popular types of websites.

Blog: You’ve likely come across blogs in your browsing experience, but for those who aren’t familiar, they’re online journals or informational pages that are regularly updated. Typically managed by an individual or a small group, a blog can cover any topic—whether it’s travel tips, financial advice, or doughnut reviews. While they’re often written in an informal or conversational style, professional blogging has gone on to become an extremely popular method of making money online. 

Corporate: 50% of small businesses don’t have a website. That’s an astonishingly low figure, given how important an online presence is for a company’s credibility. And luckily for you, this means you can build a website to give your business the competitive edge. You may not sell directly through a corporate website, but you can use these sites to provide information about your business, and to let potential clients or customers know how they can get in touch with you.

E-commerce: An e-commerce site, otherwise known as an online store, allows you to take online payments for products or services. Stores can function as standalone websites, or be combined with a blog or corporate website. For example, a purely corporate website without ecommerce functionality can still indirectly encourage users to purchase something, but cannot accept any payments. Examples of e-commerce websites are Amazon, Jumia, Konga, Ali Express.

Portfolio: Just like a physical portfolio, these types of websites are used to display and promote examples of previous work. Primarily used by those in the creative industry, a portfolio website can be used like a CV, demonstrating your skills in order to impress clients, customers, or future employers. An example is the website of an author.

Brochure: Brochure websites are like digital business cards. Mainly used by small businesses, these types of websites are used to advertise services, and to display contact information, with just a few pages. For example, a small plumbing or catering company would build a brochure website with a homepage to display contact information, an ‘about us’ page describing the company, and maybe a few photos of their work.

Crowdfunding: Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising small amounts of money from lots of different people. These types of websites are becoming a go-to resource for new startups. In the past, the only way to fund a new business venture was to seek large investments from only a few people. But these days, you can create a crowdfunding site with ease — you’ll just need to create a pitch video for your project, and then set a target amount and deadline. Internet users who believe in what you’re working on will pledge an amount of money to your cause. You can also offer incentives in exchange for donations, such as discounted products or VIP experiences. 

News or magazine: News and magazine websites need little explanation. The primary purpose of a news website is to keep its readers up to date on current affairs, whereas online magazines will focus more on entertainment.

Social media: We all know Facebook and Twitter, but social media sites can take many other forms. These sites are usually created to let people share thoughts, images or ideas, or simply connect with other people in relation to a certain topic. Social media sites are also increasingly becoming the go-to destination for people to read up on the news.

TV or video streaming: Netflix, along with similar sites like NowTV, have revolutionised the way the world watches television. These video streaming sites have seen their popularity soar in recent years, which is good for the movie lovers.

Educational: Educational websites are also quite self explanatory. These websites are designed to display information on certain topics, either using interactive games or engaging designs to keep the user hooked.

Portal: Portals are primarily used for internal purposes within businesses, schools, or institutions. These websites often involve a login process, allowing students to access the school website, or granting employees access to their emails, alerts, and files all in one place.

Wiki or community forum: A wiki website allows people to collaborate online and write content together. The most popular example is Wikipedia itself, which allows anyone to amend, add to, and assess the content of each article.

There are many more types of websites, but I won't want to bore you as I'm sure you are interested in learning how to be a blogger. 

Being a blogger is both easy and very difficult. You'll see why. 

First off, there are two ways to be a blogger:

Opening your own blog.

Posting on other blogs.*

Each one has its attendant challenges.

Opening your own blog: As we all know, starting something is never easy, especially blogs these days. There are a lot of sacrifices and costs, plus the the hours you'll put in to make it work. However, the advantage of owning your own blog is that you are the master there. You can do what you want, deliver your content the way you want it. We'll come to the costs in a moment. 

Posting on other blogs: This is useful if you don't want the stress of opening your own blog. The advantage of this is that it gives you more flexibility in doing other things with your time. You can open post on more than one blog because of the fact that you have a flexible routine. While some blogs pay, the majority do not. This is because most of the time, the funds are not there to pay anybody. Another reason is because some blog owners do not want additional stress (you know how people can be).

Since almost everyone wants to own a blog, let's focus on that. 

This might sound like a discouragement, but it's the truth, something I've noticed from 2 years of experience in blogging:

NOT EVERYONE CAN OWN AND MANAGE A BLOG.

Why? There are some qualities you must possess before you can successfully manage a blog.

You must not be too money conscious: You must have probably come across some posts online telling you that one of the "easiest" ways to make money online is to start a blog. I thought so too. Although I didn't start ZenPens because of the money, money was at the back of my mind. Till I got my shocker, which I will show you soon. But basically, when starting a blog, making money should not be the foremost thing on your mind, or else you'll be frustrated. I've seen it happen to 5 of my friends, 3 of which started before me. What you should be mostly interested in is delivering quality content to your audience. 

Patience: This is vital for you not to be frustrated. Rome was not built in a day. Blogging is a business, a serious one these days. And like all businesses, it needs time to grow, to be nurtured. Most startup companies do not make profits until 5 years into the business. It's the same with blogging.

Vision: This is another quality that make you a wonderful blogger. Before you start your blog, ask yourself: Why do I want start a new blog? What do I hope to give to people? Where do I see this blog in ten years' time? Vision is the ability to see into the future. It is what will help you to weather the storms of frustrations and problems that will come up while blogging.

Passion: Great bloggers must be passionate about what they are writing about. I truly believe if you are writing about things you are not interested or knowledgeable in, it will show in your writing and to your readers. People who are passionate about a topic or industry find it much easier to write about things that others with similar interests would enjoy. Long-term, you have to LOVE what you do, so if you are trying to grow your blog, you have to love your industry or else you will fail in the long run. You may be able to keep things going in the short-term, however at some point you will lose that drive and your blog will fail. It is my passion for literature and storytelling that has sustained me in doing what I'm doing. Those who know me here will confirm that there have been times when I wanted to quit blogging and ZenPens entirely (I still think about it on my dark days), but I know what my passion is and it's helping me continue.

Writing Background/Experience: Of course, if you have a writing background or you have acquired good writing skills through years of experience, it will help keep your posts engaging and more enjoyable. Using proper grammar, descriptive verbiage, and compelling headlines can keep readers engaged in your content longer. I think overall if you are naturally a good writer, it will allow you to create high-quality content much easier and more efficiently.

Industry Knowledge: Not only is understanding the industry from a concept/fundamental standpoint important, but having real life experiences is essential for any great blogger. Having real-life experience allows you to share those experiences, learn from those experiences, build relationships and learn things that are not taught from reading a book. Personally I would rather hire someone with 5 years of experience in the trenches, than someone who has 4 years of classroom style training. This is why it's good to first of all be grounded in what you want to blog about before starting. Or if you are not, learn, make research, ask questions. That's the way to be knowledgeable in blogging.

Organized: A great blogger should be very well organized. Especially bloggers who write for a number of different blogs, it will be important to plan and manage your writing schedules. Like running your own business or planning your week for your full-time job, blogging should be no different. Brainstorming blog ideas, creating a writing schedule, and content promotion all need to be organized to maximize your work schedule. If you fly by the seat of your pants (as many people do) and are disorganized, it will most likely lead to inefficiencies in your blogging. You can also find yourself so consumed with daily tasks, that your content quality suffers because you are just trying to rush through the writing process to get something out. 

Strong Work Ethic: Having a strong work ethic turns good bloggers into great bloggers. Someone that is able to stick to a schedule, exceed personal goals and expectations, and push themselves, will stand out from the crowd. Usually bloggers are self-motivators because many of them do not see any type of direct financial impact. Many bloggers are writing for their own blog so it is not exactly a situation where they are getting paid for each post they write. So it takes a person with a strong work ethic to see the long term benefits and keep pushing themselves to consistently produce great content. 

Network/Industry Reach: A blogger that has a large network and is known in the industry will make it much easier to promote their content. As we all know, even if you write great content, you still need to promote it. If you have built personal relationships with industry influencers, it can help earn credibility personally and for your blog. If you can shoot a few messages and e-mails to key people in the industry who you know will promote your content to their networks, that can be extremely powerful. Essentially you are leveraging your network and industry reach to promote content, gain feedback, and even help contribute to your blog.

Goes Against the Grain: To be a great blogger you need to sometimes go against what everyone else is doing and do something that is away from “the norm”. Coming up with unique ways to stand out from the crowd is a way that great bloggers get found. It could be a post, design-related, new way of promotion, unique content delivery, or something that has never been done before in the industry.

Social Butterfly: Generally bloggers spend a good amount of time on social networks like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Being active on various social networks and engaging with people on a regular basis will help bloggers get noticed. If you are consistently promoting other users content, those users will begin to notice and return the favor. If you read other industry blogs and leave thoughtful comments or even personally contact the blog owner, this is all important for building your network and getting noticed.

Enjoys Sharing and Helping: Great bloggers genuinely enjoy helping others. Many bloggers blog because they want to showcase their knowledge in the industry. Of course that is part of why people blog, but it should not be the only reason. Gaining satisfaction out of helping others in your industry is a trait that all great bloggers have. Taking the time to personally reach out to someone asking a question or for thanking someone who leaves an intelligent comment on your blog is going above and beyond. It shows that you do care about what others are saying, not just blogging to try to earn a buck.

SEO Knowledge: Having basic SEO knowledge is a plus for any blogger. Bloggers who understand the benefits of good keyword research, how to promote content, and maximizing the potential of each post, will gain a larger readership in a shorter amount of time. I would also imagine that at some point you will want to monetize your blog, by offering products or ad space. Bloggers with SEO knowledge typically have experience in monetizing blogs.

Now that we've seen the qualities a good blogger needs to have, ask yourself: how many of these qualities do you have? Are you willing to build yourself?

If your answer is yes, then move on to the next step.

HOW TO START A BLOG

Pick your blog’s name and niche: First, it’s time to pick a name and niche for your new blog. The name of your blog is what readers will see first (like yourblog.com), so it should ideally represent either the general topics you’ll be writing about—or it could be your own name, that of your business, a clever combination of words, or otherwise. Your blog’s niche is the general topic area that you’ll be focusing your content around. Examples include topics like travel, food, fashion, lifestyle, technology, and otherwise. Incorporating a word or two that clearly signals what your content is about, within the name of your blog (like fashionbyjane.com or watchryanhike.com)—will be very helpful for your future blog readers.

Get your blog online (web hosting): The second step in starting a blog, is actually getting your blog online. That’s what a web hosting company will do for you.

What is web hosting?

To make your website accessible to other people on the Internet, you need a “host.” The host keeps all your website files safe, secure and makes sure that people can access your blog when they click on a link or type in your URL. Think of web hosting as being like your home. When someone comes over (types in your blog’s URL), they’ll be able to see what’s inside. A "host" is a server on the Internet which stores all the files your website (in this case a blog). It stores everything—your posts, pictures, videos, audios and makes them accessible to people who come to your blog. See it as owning a space in someone's memory card.

There are some points I want to make. Read carefully. This can be confusing. This is also where you need to start spending money.

For your blog to be seen online, you need to have a blogging platform and a host.

For the blogging platform, you can either use a website builder or you can build your own website from the scratch. There are some pretty good website builders/blogging platforms out there: WordPress (which has both the free one and the paid one), Blogger, Wix, Joomla, etc. What they do is allow you to create and publish your content. Think of it as Facebook or Twitter of the blogging world.

Since ZenPens uses WordPress and WordPress powers about 30–60% of the websites on the Internet, let's focus on it.

WordPress is a platform you can use to create virtually any type of website. It's so versatile and easy to use. There are two arms of WordPress: wordpress.com and wordpress.org.

WordPress.com is for creating free websites. You do not have to pay anything, just create an account and start creating content. However, there is a small sacrifice to make.

Your domain name will have the ".wordpress.com" extension. I'm sure you have come across some websites with a name like that. They are using a free WordPress.com account.

WordPress.org is the paid version of WordPress. Here you can use many of the extensive features of WordPress to customize your site, but it's going to cost you. You must at least pay for a domain name and a hosting plan to start with.

With WordPress.org you can choose your own domain name without any WordPress extension.

www.thezenpens.com is using WordPress.org.

The average cost of a "dotcom" domain name extension is $10–12.

Of course there are other extensions, which are more expensive or less expensive than the price quoted above. But for the purposes of this class, we will concentrate on the dotcom extension.

For the hosting plan, the cost range is $36–$900 a year.

There are many hosting companies out there, and if you want to pick one, be sure to read the reviews on it before using it.

Once you have done these things, you can now go to the next step.

      3. Design your blog with a free WordPress theme and publish your content: After you've done the above, then you can choose a good WordPress theme and design your blog according to your taste. Then you can start publishing your content.

Here's where I end this guide, be sure to look for the more advanced guides on blogging. Thank you.