Create a blog for free, the steps you need to take to make life easy and be on the road to success as a writer and money earner. Here I give you the tools.
Why do you want to write a blog anyway?
People have many reasons to take up a writing habit and what they want to achieve over time.
First of all, It may be changing the world, expressing a point of view, having an opinion, or the most common reason for making money.
In fact, I write for several reasons that help others before helping me.
For example, as a small business owner and trainer, I write to support small business owners with online marketing.
Many business people don't understand that the world has changed and online is now a necessary part of the business.
Secondly, as I market to them it gives me an introduction to my own business.
Next, I am also an affiliate marketer for appropriate business products that they can use.
Finally, I really enjoy writing as an escape from reality. Why not blog?
Consequently create a blog for free, the steps you need to take, blogging
How do you start writing a new Blog?
With a name of course, who are you and what do you do. What is your brand going to be?
Your online name is called a URL and it is your internet signature. You can buy these from places like Name Cheap, GoDaddy, or Wealthy Affiliate and pay every year.
However, there is a cheaper way and we will get to that in a bit.
The URL for this page is “marketmybusinessonline.info” because that is what I am promoting but I also have others including CoachHanley.com
When you have a domain you need to have it hosted.
A host looks after your domain and traffic as well as lots of important issues like security, spam blocking, and page building techniques. Your host is really important. Therefore we will get you the best for free. However, read down the page and get a bit more learning behind you to make a start.
Writing in computer language and coding a lost art
I started to laugh when I did the header. this was because a few short years ago you needed to know all this tech stuff. Now you just write away and follow a few rules and it is done for you.
You can use WordPress, a free site builder like most people, or a template supplied by others. However, some come at a cost and we don't want that.
Therefore I am biased like nearly 60% of the world that use WordPress.
In fact, the recent upgrade to WP in 2019 made it even easier because kids and older guys like me have no problems using it.
Where to start your blog for free
Importantly, I have tried many sites over the years and none have come close to Wealthy Affiliate.
There you can select a free Domain name. In addition, you can change it later to a paid one when you are satisfied that you are on the way to stardom.
Your first blog site is free and after that, if you want to do more a small monthly fee.
Importantly they provide training on everything internet. Certainly, you can do a full course, or in fact, several different ones or just pick the ones of interest.
The community forum is there to help you. Ask any questions and they will be lined up with solutions. We all hit roadblocks and spend hours trying to weave our way through them when a solution is usually on hand.
Finally, the site is fast, secure, and has both a chat line and 24-07 support so you are never on your own.
Wealthy Affiliate uses WordPress
The WordPress platform is the most used product in the world.
Moreover, you can use it directly or opt for their writing template that takes you on a journey to a great product.
Wealthy Affiliate will advise on Plugins, SEO and back you up in every possible way
Make money from day one by recruiting others
When you join Wealthy Affiliate, you automatically qualify for affiliate income. This means you can earn from day one by simply recommending others to this great product. However, this inclusion is personal and can be done at any time in the journey
Wealthy Affiliate is a great web host that grows its membership from referrals. However, there is never any pressure to do so.
In fact, one of the important points of this host is they have no upsells, they don't want extra money for extra features it is one price fits all.
Did I promise a Keyword tool
When you join Wealthy Affiliate, it includes a free Keyword tool in basic format by Jaaxy.
This tool can be professional or basic to your need and can be used as often as you like.
I also use another keyword tool at Ubersuggest a site by Neil Patel
Different opinions sometimes help and for that reason, I give you two of the best on the market
And, what's more, they are both free
Spell check and grammar examination
How much more free stuff can I give you? The list goes on at Grammarly.com a site set up to check your writing. Never leave home without it. We all make mistakes and this goes a long way to eliminating most of them.
Now let's move on to the writing part
If you have a blog or have now structured a new one you really need to know what to do.
The rest of this is about your writing journey so make notes and remember the points because they all help.
Finding a niche (subject) that you want to write about.
As your mind explodes with a perceived difficulty, just hold tight – this is the easy bit.
It is called breaking it down.
Weight loss is a huge niche and one you can be lost in and never found.
However, weight loss in teens might be a bit easier or Weight loss for teenage girls gets a bit easier.
It is all about the Keyword
A keyword is what searchers type into google to get an answer to a question. In this case, it was to get a blog for free. Using a keyword tool you can see how many people are likely to view your site in a month.
Around 80% of lookers never go past page one and after page three you are down to less than 1% of searches. So if your Keyword was Weight Loss you would probably start at page 100 and your chances of being read are non-existent.
This is a really important concept. I don't care how well you write and construct your blog if it is not read it is a waste of your time. Therefore we give you tools to do all this and give you a small chance of success. Your free keyword tool, domain, and the host will magically appear soon.
Your title and description in a nanosecond frame
When I say in a nanosecond that is the time that you have to get someone to read your article once the search is complete.
On most pages, the first articles are paid advertising followed by all the free ones.
I chose the above as an example.
The URL in Green is what the site is about.
The Keyword is Struggling to Lose Weight
and the description follows.
The keyword and description are the entry to your world and as people search you must grab some attention
So you can see that for a simple idea there are many ways that people search. Your job is to find the best one that has sufficient traffic and is not too hard because of excess competition.
Write your blog article and some simple rules
One of the most asked questions is how long should my article or blog be?
Most of the influencers that I follow tend to agree on an average of 1500 words in a blog.
That is not to say a 350-word blog is all wrong if the subject is covered or a 5000 word won't work. Personally, I try and Average 1500 words, and over my past 13 blogs my average was 1423 words.
When you start to write, the journey looks long and it will be hard to fill so many pages. Just do shorter blogs as you build your expertise and you will find everyone you write is a bit longer.
My best trick is to write my heading first. We are writing short sentences, short paragraphs, and 20-30 headings that are easy to cover. Just fill in the words and the journey is done.
You should always err on the side of over-explaining and not take shortcuts.
Pick topics that relate to your niche
If you are a weight-loss writer, don't wander off into selling tractors or unrelated issues. You will, over time, build a following that wants information on weight loss or associated subjects.
Stay with your knitting or do another blog.
You can however really zone in on industry trends and evergreen subjects because they stay in focus all the time.
The skill of linking and why you must do it?
There are many types of links however the three most important ones are
| Internal links | External links | Authority links |
| Too other pages in your blog | For outside resources | People who know |
Internal links
As you build many posts under your site you will have covered issues that relate to the current post, perhaps more fully than you currently have, so take the reader back to them for that information.
External links
You may refer to other sites that have a common interest and information relating to your article. I write on a couple of different blogs and often go between the two
Authority Links
This may be to a School or University or even the old favorite Wikipedia to get a summary of a word or style
Get them to go back to your current article
I have clicked on the link tab and entered the site I want them to go to. I then clicked on the little down arrow and clicked open in a new tab.\ before hitting the left arrow to submit
What this does is bring them back from another site when they log out
That my friends is a great trick that you will not find explained in many a reference.
| Affiliate links | Sales links | Advertising links |
| Take the reader to an affiliate site | Take the reader to say Amazon | Online advertising links |
I will send you affiliate links so if you join I may earn money, I have no hesitation in this because part of my blogging journey is to be financial. However, I don't have any advertising or selling links
Do you invite guest writers to your blog
Absolutely provided they are on the subject and have reasonable competency. I have a guy Ryan Smith a Uni graduate, who posts for me to increase his skill sets.
Ryan puts all his training into a post and I have no hesitation in posting it and giving him naming rights to the article.
Are comments on your blog worthwhile?
Comments are great for your blog unless they are really negative of course. I work for comments and on this site, I have more comments than posts.
Google loves it and SEO improves plus they are included in your word count thus increasing the blog.
What about pictures in a blog
Absolutely necessary provided that;
- They relate to the article or subject
- You can fill out the alt description box
- They are sized to fit the page
- You may add a link to them as well.
People's attention is taken from pictures and many of us scan read articles so the picture brings them to a stop.
Write for the small screen
Google search engines rate your business on a small screen first. If you are not mobile compatible you will not have a chance with SEO.
Fortunately, most templates are now automatically mobile-friendly so it is not a huge concern.
However, a couple of rules stick out.
- Don't have pictures too close together
- Nor having links close together
- Pictures too big are bad
- Large writing also affects it
Always test a blog on a mobile phone when you finish or use one of the
web-based checkers for a reading
Using testimonials
The use of testimonials adds to the page's credibility and can be used throughout a blog.
Don't fall for the old trap of making them up, it looks false and is deceptive.
Link to Social media
The purpose of most social media is entertainment or to take you to another place.
Use your Facebook site or Instagram to promote your blog as often as you can to get new readers actively engaged with your Blog.
Video and blogging
Your entire blog can be made into an audio or video script either in full or in part and used as promotion material or another way to get a message across.
Promote your blog posts on multiple channels
Have a link to your blog site at every opportunity, web pages, on your email signature, and of course on all social media channels. Link to it from other pages/ sites and get a mention as often as possible. SEO can only do so much.
It is OK to include offers for related resources or services. This is good for you and your reader.
Conclusion
I ended up telling a lot more than how to get a free website. This is a pretty full background on what needs to be done so make use of everything I have said because a good site must follow the rules.
Best wishes for writing your award-winning article
Create a blog free, the steps you need to take by Peter Hanley
My story
Great article and advice!!
Thanks for commenting. It is always appreciated.
Peter H