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When a new piece of technology comes out, you’re on it. You find yourself venturing to websites as fast as you can to find out everything about it. What if you could be that source of information for other people?
We’re talking about starting your own tech blog. Getting it up and going isn’t as difficult as you may think. All you need is a computer, a web host, a domain name, and a dream.
Okay, so it can be a little complicated. It’s a good thing that we’re here to clear things up! Keep reading to learn how to bring in web traffic with your brilliant blog content.
Pick a Hosting Platform
The first thing you’ve got to do is pick a platform to host your technology blog. If you don’t have much money lining your pockets right now, you can go with a free option. Know that if you do this, you’re going to want to upgrade as soon as you can if you’re trying to make blogging a career.
These free web host platforms are limited in terms of what you can do with them. You won’t have many themes or features to choose from, which can get in the way of your image.
Your domain name will be tied down to the platform. You’ll be stuck with a URL like mysmartphonereviewsite.wordpress.com. It doesn’t look professional by any means.
Something else that doesn’t look professional is ads. Your blog will be covered in them unless you upgrade to the paid version of the host.
Most people don’t go past the first page of Google when they’re searching for something. This means you’re going to want your blog to shoot through the rankings as fast as possible. Using a free hosting option makes this difficult. They don’t have many SEO features.
You can offset this with SEO services, but that can be a little hard to afford when you’re starting out.
Come Up With a Domain Name
So, you’ve gone with the paid version of a hosting platform. Good decision. Now comes the time for you to pick your domain name. You can always change it later if you can’t think of something, but it can be a pain.
It’s better to come up with something now. Whatever you do, we recommend using a name that’s short and brandable. Two-word names are easy to remember and will stick in the minds of your target audience.
At the same time, if you go too generic, there’s a chance that your choice will be taken. So, allow for a little of your personal creativity to shine through.
You will have to pay a fee to keep your domain name up. No matter what service you go through, it’s going to be about 10 dollars each month.
Buy the Hosting
You got your host and domain name. It’s time to bring everything together. You need to choose a web hosting service. This is different than a platform.
The platform allows users to get to your website. The hosting provider is used to host a website(s). The one we recommend for beginners is Bluehost.
It’s easy to set everything up, and it will bring in a decent amount of traffic for your blog. Like with your domain name and platform, you’ll have to pay a fee every month to keep the service going.
Pick a Niche
We know that you’re planning to write about tech, but that’s a little broad. You’re going to need to choose a category to write about if you’re going to nail down a target audience.
This category is called your niche. You could be a tech support blog that gives advice on fixing different devices. Maybe you want to try out products and review them.
If you want to put all your eggs in the mobile basket, that’s fine, but you’re going to need to pick a sub-niche if you’re going to stand out. You can be someone that only talks about android phones, for example.
Whatever you choose, type it into a browser search engine. If you get a lot of hits, you know that there’s a demand for the topic.
Choose a Theme
When someone goes to your blog, they don’t want to see a blank, white page. They want a little flair. That’s what your theme is for.
It’s the way your blog looks to people when they first click on the page. You’ll have thousands to choose from, which makes picking one difficult. You want to make a good first impression, after all.
Our advice is to choose something unique, yet professional. It should stand out without being overly cluttered. Not only does clutter make it hard to navigate your site, but it can also make it run slower.
There’s always a chance that something could go wrong with your theme. Your choice should have responsive tech support that can handle the issue ASAP.
A good portion of people who browse the web, do so on their phones. If your theme isn’t responsive on mobile, it’s going to cost you some clicks.
Blog Content Creation
Once you’ve chosen your theme, follow along with the rest of your platform’s website builder to create the remainder of your blog. After a few minutes, you should have a site that’s ready for viewing.
Well, it will be ready for viewing as soon as you post something. There’s a lot to keep in mind before you start typing up your first piece of blog content.
Write Interesting Headlines
You can have the most engaging content in the world, but if your headlines are boring, nobody is going to click on it. It’s sad to say, but people do judge books based on their covers.
Listicles are one good way to do this. Numbers attract people, and it’s easy to write a compelling headline for them. Make sure if you’re going to go this route to use odd numbers.
Odd numbers stand out more, and people tend to trust them. Arranging an article into a listicle also makes it easier for the eye to scan the content (we’ll come back to that in a minute).
Be specific with your headlines as well. People enjoying knowing what they’re getting into. If neither of these tips works for you, there’s software that will analyze headlines and tell you how to make them better.
Break Things Up
Looking at big chunks of text is overwhelming to the eye. People like being able to scan over content to hurry and get to the parts they care about.
You can do this by breaking up your headings into smaller subheadings. Bullet points are also a great way to go as long as you don’t overdo it. You shouldn’t have an entire paragraph that’s nothing but bullet points.
Blog Marketing
It’s going to be hard to get clicks if nobody knows you’ve started a blog. You’re going to need to take a minute or two to do a little marketing.
Talk to the People You Know
The easiest way to market your blog content is to talk to your family and friends. They may be willing to give your content a read and share it with others who might be interested in it.
Use Social Media to Your Advantage
If you don’t have a social media page yet, you need to get on it. You can post links to your blog posts on your page. When your followers see it, they may share what you write on their page and so on and so forth.
Keep in mind that not every social media platform works well with every niche. Do a little research to find out which one will work best with tech.
Visit Tech Forums
If you want to get your name out there, you don’t want to stop your online presence with your blog and social media page. The idea is to help as many people as possible with their tech-related woes and bring them the latest news.
You can do that by frequenting tech forums. When someone asks a question, you can answer them by sending them to a relevant page on your blog.
They’ll appreciate the assistance, and you get a viewer. It’s a win-win for everyone involved.
Make Money With Your Tech Blog
Have you always been passionate about technology? Use that passion to help others and gain a little extra income along the way by starting a tech blog.
There’s a lot to keep in mind and plan before you get started, but if you follow these tips, you should be well on your way to creating your first post in no time.
Are you looking for more ways to grace the internet world with your presence? Visit our blog for additional articles like this one.
