4 Things to Do Before You Start a Blog

4 Things To Do Before You Start a Blog

This is a guest post by Nicholas Cardot. If you are interested in writing a guest post to Zemalf.com, go ahead and contact me.

So you want to start a blog? That’s great. You should. They’re fun. They’re rewarding. They can be profitable and they’re a great way to express your passions to the world. So there you go. You’re off to start a blog.

Not so fast. Before you jump in and start publishing article after amazing article on a brand new blog, let me give you some sagely advice to help you really get started on the right foot. If you want more than just your mom to read your articles then you want to take these tips and put them into practice before you start your blog.

1. Choose an awesome design.

People underestimate the power of their blog’s design. Site’s that are unattractive repel people so incredibly fast regardless if the content is the best in the world. You’ve got to make it easy on the eyes and enjoyable to navigate. Have a theme or a template picked out before you launch. You don’t want to have to switch it around after your readers start coming. Do it before.

2. Start developing relationships with other bloggers.

It’s never too early to start developing relationships with fellow bloggers. And believe me, you can’t put a price on these types of relationships. You’re going to need encouragement, link exchanges and a lot more. Start by commenting on other blogs. Then email some blog authors just to let them know that you appreciate their writings. Build those relationships. They will help to take you to the top.

3. Plan your article topics ahead.

Start making lists of article ideas as early as possible. The larger the list, the better. There will come a time when you won’t be able to come up with a topic on the spur of the moment. If you have 15 ideas tucked away for a rainy day then that lack of inspiration won’t hold you up more than the few seconds it takes to reach across the desk and retrieve your list.

4. Always remember your goals.

A lot of bloggers start out to help others or express themselves and then they get caught up trying to make money or some other thing. The results are usually that they don’t make any money and they completely forget about their original goals. Why do you want to blog? Think about that and then stay with it.

These four tips have helped me to power my website, Site Sketch 101 to where it is today. I’ve seen amazing growth as a result. You will also.

This is a guest post from Nicholas Cardot. Nick uses his blog Site Sketch 101 to express his passion for helping people learn how to blog with awesome content, brilliant designs and commanding influence.

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Topic: Blogging Tips
Tags: Blogging Plan, Blogging Strategy, Guest Post, Hints & Tips, Start a Blog
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  • Great tips, Nicholas. You're so right about keeping in mind your original reason for starting your blog. If you get too caught up in trying to make money you'll get burnt out!
    .-= Erica Mueller's last blog ..Happy Thanksgiving Y’all =-.
  • So how about register accounts on popular social media sites? Leveraging social media sites might be the fastest way to drive traffic to new blog rapidly. But for loyal readers and comments, I believe commenting on other blogs in niche is the best way that no any other tactic can replace.
    .-= phaoloo's last blog ..3 Essential Tricks To Do With StumbleUpon Toolbar You Might Not Know =-.
  • Good tip. But that is something you do more after you've started your blog, right Although getting involved in social networks is a good idea even if you don't have a blog yet.
  • Design is very important...can't stress enough how much it matters to create a sticky blog (good design).
    .-= Nathan Hangen's last blog ..Blogging is More than Selling =-.
  • If there's one thing, I didn't do that I should have, it was not starting with a backlog of posts.
    .-= Gordie Rogers's last blog ..10 Things You Can Learn From Hitler About Success. =-.
  • Excellent tips for sure.
    Too many bloggers jump in with excitement then want to clean up things later, after already giving their "first impression".

    Good stuff Nicholas!
    .-= Jimi Jones's last blog ..Giving Thanks on Thanksgiving =-.
  • That's exactly right. A lot of people fail to think about the important of that first impression and the anyone who visits their site before the 'get their act together' will never return to give them a second chance even though they may have a great site later on. First impressions really are lasting impressions.

    Thanks for being a part of the conversation here.
    .-= Nicholas Cardot's last blog ..$50 Giveaway: Only 12 Hours Remaining =-.
  • That is so true... But another thing is that everyone have started some day... and most of bloggers do not succeed with their first blog (as most of them blog about anything they only see and get no any niche to bring loyal readers). But they learn a lot... And if they are smart enough they would use this knowledge to start a real successful blog.
    .-= KreCi's last blog ..Win 320GB Seagate FreeAgent Go portable disk! =-.
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