The launch of a new blog is tedious. You want more traffic, more engagement, more readers, and more followers to gain knowledge from your posts and ultimately, share them.
Maybe you want to make money from this passion. But you’re not entirely sure what to do next.
Sure, you’ve got your blog posts ready to be published, but what comes after that?
Enter a content roadmap.
It can be a useful tool not only for beginners, but also established bloggers who want to take their blog to successful heights.
A roadmap helps a blogger create a strategy and make long-term plans for their blog.
Just like taking a road trip, a blogger needs a map to make sure the blog is running on the right track. Launch your blog successfully with this roadmap!
PICK A NICHE
Some writers don’t usually stick to just one niche and proceed with publishing generic topics. This is a move that some might think would be more profitable, but this is actually a mistake most newbie writers make.
The most important step would be to find your niche. Focus on one topic– it could be cooking, fashion, traveling, makeup, or even cryptocurrency.
Choosing a blog niche could be hard, especially if you’re interested in many things. You might have a thousand ideas in your mind or you’re simply struggling to stick to just one topic.
The solution? Try to group them into one! For example, if you’re interested in writing about food and travel, make your niche about lifestyle.
Do research on which niche is profitable too, as well as which one is the best aligned with your experiences.
Once you’ve chosen your desired niche, you might also want to check your competitors and draw inspiration from them.
Niche blogs make it easier to monetize your page. It also encourages you to expand your knowledge of your chosen topic.
With niche blogs, you don’t have to come up with new ideas every day. You can start with a pillar page, then approach that topic from every angle possible until you have cluster pages.
CHOOSE A PLATFORM
Once you’ve decided on your niche, it’s time to choose a blogging platform.
Consider a self-hosted option like WordPress, where you can purchase your own domain and web hosting space. You also have complete ownership of your page, as well as the freedom to advertise on your blog, join affiliate marketing programs, and eventually, sell products or services.
While some platforms are free, they typically have restrictions and may limit your chances of earning money from your blog. The best approach is to purchase a self-hosted platform.
Another main reason why you should start it out with a self-hosted platform is that it will be difficult in the long run to transfer from a free site to a paid one, once you switch.
With a WordPress site, you can also add plugins to make your blog posts better and make them high-ranking. This means more readers, more engagement, and more funds!
DECIDE ON YOUR DOMAIN NAME
This is one of the crucial steps some bloggers tend to skip. Your domain name is your branding, so make sure you choose something that best represents you and your niche.
It could be a catchphrase, your pen name, or simply your name, which is a foolproof choice. When choosing a catchphrase, the shorter, the better.
On the other hand, using your own name as the domain name of your blog is something that you will never regret in the future.
It establishes you as a strong brand and makes it easier for your followers to look you up on social media. To put it simply, your domain name can increase your brand recognition.
DESIGN YOUR BLOG
Get readers to fall in love with your blog and make them want to read more with an aesthetically pleasing design.
Your website homepage is like the door to your brand. If you attract people visually, chances are they will stop and actually read and eventually, subscribe to your content.
Designing your blog is also a branding opportunity. Choose a color palette that reflects your niche and your tone as a writer, but try to stick to no more than three colors.
It can be tempting to go wild with the colors but it’s best to choose hues that go well together to give your readers a great reading experience.
It’s a good rule of thumb that your blog should have a main primary color, a shade of gray, and a striking color for your call to action tab.
LASTLY, PLAN YOUR CONTENT
Your blog is set up! Now what? It’s time for the real deal: planning content.
It’s necessary to research topics that are of interest to your audience. To find out, you would have to use keyword research tools and SEO tools to help you develop posts that are relevant to your target readers.
This will also help address their main interests and concerns so they will go back to your blog and read more.
Remember the pillar and cluster pages we talked about earlier? You need to plan these pages too.
A pillar page covers all aspects of the topic you will write about. It talks about your chosen topic on a deeper level, with links to your cluster pages.
On the other hand, cluster pages are a group of content that revolves around the main topic. Your pillar page contains the links to your cluster pages, ultimately building your blog’s SEO.
Once you’ve planned your content, make sure to draft a high-quality blog post, go over it, proofread, edit, and polish it before publishing and making it live to your blog visitors.
Bottomline
These are the first steps to launching a blog. It may feel overwhelming at first, but once you dive in you’ll soon find yourself in the ranks of other successful bloggers who were also once in the same situation as you are. Keep writing and you’ll get there!
