A Newbie’s Guide to Starting a Niche Blog: Initial Reading Homework
I’ve recently heard from a number of folks wanting to start a blog, but aren’t sure where to start. So to kick off this new site of mine, I’m going to write a six-part series on how to start a blog from the very beginning. Expect it to take about six weeks, since I’m sticking with weekly articles here.
So in lieu of reinventing the wheel, I’ll start this series of a newbie’s guide to starting a niche blog by suggesting some darn good reading. Read up, and then I’ll follow with my own personal insights.
1. Find The Right Niche.
- An Introduction to Niche Blogging :: Dosh Dosh
- How to Choose the Right Blog Niche: A Simple Three-Step Method :: Dosh Dosh
- How to Choose the Right Niche For Your Blog :: The Lost Art of Blogging
2. Just Start.
- How To Launch a Blog and Have Fresh Content For Weeks :: Pro Blogger
- New Blogger Checklist :: Modern Media Mom
- How To Write a Blog Post :: Pro Blogger
- If I Started Today :: Chris Brogan
- 20 Types of Pages Every Blogger Should Consider :: Pro Blogger
- Anatomy of a Post: How To Get Blog Readers to Pay Attention :: Write to Done
3. Promote Yourself.
- The Beginner’s Guide to Promoting Your Blog :: Social Media Explorer
- Don’t Use Social Media as a Tool To Promote Your Blog :: Michael Martine
- Can You Join Too Many Networks? :: Mashable
4. Generate Initial Readership That Will Lead To Loyalty.
- 21 Ways To Make Your Blog or Website Sticky :: Pro Blogger
- The Essential Guide to Growing Your Blog on Minimal Time :: Pro Blogger
- Three High-Powered Reader Engagement Tactics :: Pro Blogger
- How To Create Great First Impressions on New Readers :: Pro Blogger
5. Stick With a Streamlined, Polished, Simple Design.
- Basic Blog Design Principles :: Modern Media Mom
- 21 of the Best Wordpress Plugins for New Blogs :: Marketing Pilgrim
- Top 5 Blog Design No-Nos :: Blog Coach
- Give Your Readers a Clue With a Great Tagline :: Blog Coach
- 7 Elements To Make Your Blog Look Great :: Pro Blog Design
6. Plan As You Go.
- 5 Steps For Planning the Direction of Your Blog in 2009 :: Pro Blogger
- Create a Media Kit to Attract Advertisers For Your Blog :: Pro Blogger
Start with reading up on some of this stuff, and don’t be shy about following their provided links.
A word of wisdom – you can easily get overwhelmed. There is a lot of information on the internet about blogging, and you can easily get discouraged and throw in the towel before you start. That’s why my biggest piece of advice – just start – is so important. Start as you go. Don’t wait until you have all your ducks in a row, blogwise, because you never will.
That said – it does help to start well and to not make too many irreversible mistakes. There aren’t many you can’t reverse, so in my opinion, it’s always best to just start. You can always revise later. That’s why that “edit” button is so handy.