Category Archives: Blogging Tips

Bring Traffic to Your Site

Blogging Ideas – Bring Traffic to Your Site

Blogging is definitely the most popular feature that is taking over the world, as there are more and more people that are turning to explore all of the possibilities that come with it. Because of the fact that this activity is actually powered by the improved technology, and right up until recent times it was not even a thing, is a really fascinating concept that opens up so many ways and opportunities for people to express their creativity. Here, it is of great importance to understand the basic function of blogging as there are so many different aspects that might directly affect your success.

All of this that we have mentioned above hints at the opportunity for monetization, or to put it in other words, you can easily turn the activity of blogging into your unique profession. Hence, the fact that you are exploring this article, in particular, shows that you are more than ready to take the next stage in your blogging journey.

That is why, in today’s article, we have managed to create this sort of a guide that will help you find the most interesting ways that you can incorporate into your blogging journey thus, increase the traffic. Continue reading and you will find out more.

Include Trending Activities

One of the most important this when it comes to blogging is staying relevant and up to date with all of the events and things that are happening all around you. Here, with the incorporation of this segment, you will get a chance to research what the most popular activities are, what people actually enjoy doing, and include them in your blog.

Here you can simply start by posting a personal outtake and review about the latest trends in the online gaming industry and explore the wide spectrum of popular casino games that NetBet has to offer. Spend some time playing the games that you want to write about so that you can state your authenticity thus, help you build a trusting relationship with your audience. Once, players notice your posts, your engagement and traffic will definitely increase.

Be Open for Variation

When you are dealing with this kind of profession, you will have to make sure that you are practicing your skills of adaptation because it is definitely something that will help you achieve all of your goals. This way you will get a chance to develop a work-ethic approach and practice the art of variation so that you an appeal to a specific kind of audience, but still not to exclude any particular taste that your potential readers might have.

Just like the segment we have mentioned above, be on top of your research duty thus, learning all about the latest movements regarding your blogging future will help you express a variety in your existing content.

Aim for Small Accomplishments

If you decide to incorporate this feature, you will have to make sure that you are properly prepared before you make any major decisions regarding your blog. Here, you will have to set up smaller goals so that you can easily reach them and express your accomplishments in a more frequent manner.

Design you suitable blogging plan if necessary so that you can have a visual representation of all of the things that need to be done for you to be able to reach your goals, and bring traffic to your blog for the long run.

Closing Remarks

Blogging is definitely the most popular profession that is boldly getting the recognition it really deserves as more and more people are exploring all of the benefits that come with it. This implies the fact that following the ideas mentioned above will give you a fair chance of increasing the traffic of your blog thus helping you reach success.

4 Tips for Leading Business Blogs

4 Tips for Leading Business Blogs

Even with the rise of social media platforms, blogs have never lost their appeal. In fact, in 2020, 409 million people view more than 20 billion pages. There are all kinds of blogs on every topic under the sun, but this doesn’t mean there isn’t space for your business. In fact, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages of running a blog for your business.

Not only will you be able to share relevant information for your audience, but also you will position your brand as a leader in your market. That being said, here, you will find four tips to help you start and lead a blog for your business.

Helpful Content

The first step is to have a clear idea about the content you want to share. Here it’s important to keep in mind that beyond sharing promotional information about your products and services, customers want useful information that is free to implement in their business, or daily life, based on the type of product or services you sell. Great examples are reliable casino sites that offer not only a vast collection of casino games and promotions but also a lot of them offer relevant tips for members on the site.

For example, if you’re running a casino online, you’d want to share how you can play certain casino games. Another type of content will be a brief explanation about the latest games in the collection. Or, you can also share the latest news in the industry that might be of interest to your readers. And, of course, you don’t have to shy away from content that offers insight into the latest promotions and offers available to the members.

Post Regularly

You can’t expect results immediately, especially in the beginning. It takes time for your target audience to find your blog and eventually become a loyal audience. So, create a strategy that works for your goals and brand, and keep posting regularly. You can post new articles every week, every day, whatever works for you and your readers.

When you have a consistent schedule, your readers will know when to expect a new post. But, still, don’t compromise quality for quantity. Also, don’t forget to tweak your blog posts to current trends and popular news. For example, if you’re writing about vegan make-up, you can write about trending businesses from this branch.

Communicate

One of the main reasons why people read blogs is to connect with like-minded people that are interested in the same topics. But, also, it’s a good way for your readers to connect with your brand. Your readers can ask questions about your products, complain, and express their concerns and opinions that differ from yours.

However, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t respond to negative comments. Reputable brands will make sure they communicate with their members and offer in-depth responses. This is a good way to build a valuable relationship with your readers.

Share on Social Media Sites

It’s important to continue to share your posts on social media platforms as part of your overall content strategy. The posts shouldn’t give away most of the article on the blog, but they need to share enough to pique the interest of your readers, so they can ultimately visit your blog. This is especially convenient for members of your audience that aren’t familiar with your blog yet.

This is a good way to get feedback from other channels and see how your audience responds on different platforms. Good examples are food blogs, for example, that share food recipes on posts on Instagram and Pinterest. But, they might post recipes of more complex dishes on the food blog and only provide basic info on Instagram.

5 Reasons Why You Need A Business Blog

5 Reasons Why You Need A Business Blog

Blogging is still popular in 2020. Although there are a lot of blogs, and probably another business already has written on topics that you’d want to cover, there is still room for your own opinion. Also, there are many advantages associated with running a blog for your business. Here we cover five reasons why it will be beneficial for your business to have a blog.

High-Trust Relationships

The content you decide to post needs to be of use to the readers. Although this is sometimes easier said than done, it’s important for your readers to feel that you care about them and you want to support them. A good example is casino online Mexico. The blog features useful information about casino players that want to play on reputable sites, game reviews, information about various payment options, and other topics.

This means that it doesn’t matter what your industry is; you can always educate your audience. When you’re sharing expert knowledge about topics they are interested in, it’s easier to build a trustworthy relationship with them and also gain referrals and eventually build a loyal audience. So, you should keep sharing posts that readers will find valuable regularly.

Share Relevant Updates

Your blog gives you a platform to share relevant updates about your brand. Of course, you can share promotional information on other channels, but here, you can create posts tailored to your audience. This means that you can share promotional information like discounts on products, special offers, but also you share information about new products, new programs, new members of your team, new partnerships, and everything else that helps your readers learn more about your brand.

Honest Feedback 

One of the main goals of building a blog is to get feedback from your audience directly. It allows you to get to know your target audience on a different level because you’re communicating with them in the comment section. You will have a chance to learn more about them, their opinions about your brand, products, or services, which will help you to make better decisions about your business based on your two-way communication with them.

Social Media Exposure

People can easily share your blog posts on their social media channels and expose your blog posts to a completely different audience. It is also much easier to create posts for your social media accounts using your blog articles. Of course, you can tailor them for different social media platforms, but it’s still easier than writing brand new posts for social media sites. Moreover, this will introduce more people to your new blog.

Email Database

This is also a great advantage of having a blog. When you have a blog that is valuable to your readers, and they find it useful, they will want to share their email address with you. Then you can continue to share relevant information from your blog.  Also, email marketing is a cost-effective way to convert your audience into customers and brand ambassadors.

Next, if they become customers, you can continue to share targeted emails, and offers that suit their preferences. For example, if you’re running a book shop, people that have opted to receive the email newsletter will be first to know about special offers about their favorite books.

Summary

When you have a blog, not only do you have a platform to share your own voice, but you get to educate your audience and ultimately build a community. Furthermore, it’s a great way to stand out from your competitors and get feedback constantly on everything from your products to your educational content. Finally, it’s a good way to build a loyal following.

Niche Blog Ideas for Aspiring Bloggers

Niche Blog Ideas for Aspiring Bloggers

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last two decades, you’re probably familiar with how popular blogging has become. Whether it’s a classic blog filled with easy to consume articles or a vlog documenting various themes, blogging is a trend that many people are starting to get into. There’s a good reason for this. Blogs can be a great outlet for expressing your creativity, ideas, and of course, a somewhat lucrative side hustle. If you’re a newbie brainstorming ideas on what your blog should be about, here are a few niches that you might want to look at.

Gambling

In the last couple of years, online casinos have been a big hit on the internet. These websites have a lot to offer, and people who enjoy classic entertainment in a modern form online seem to be loving them. When visiting a casino online, you’ll find that these websites are filled with a variety of exciting games that range from table game classics such as Roulette and Poker to slots sporting various themes. The gameplay experience players are treated to in online casinos is undoubtedly very entertaining, so it’s not unusual to see many players turn to blogs about gambling.

While the audience for a gambling blog might not be the largest, it is a niche that can garner you a loyal following. Blogs in this niche most often consist of tips on where to find the best games, they include gambling strategies for many games and allow bloggers to share their own experiences with gambling.

Fashion

Fashion is always a popular topic, so one thing you can be certain of when starting a fashion blog is that it’ll never go out of style. Granted, blogs on fashion do come in many shapes and sizes. As the topic of fashion is a pretty diverse one, particular niches within it don’t always have the same level of success. A great tip for those looking to start a fashion blog is to not put themselves in a box and experiment as much as they can, as fashion trends change quite rapidly.

Student Life

If there’s one thing you can be certain of, is that there are always going to be students. University can be quite a big change in life. The intense studying, the change in environment, and the newfound independence most students experience can be amazing, but they do come with their brand of challenges. Since the majority of students aren’t always prepared to handle a change this big, they turn to the online world for advice on how to successfully handle university life.

The themes you can commonly see on student blogs are a mixed bag. Studying, the issue of fitting in, and relationship advice are a few that pop up a lot, and in most cases, students want to hear about these issues from other students. If you’re currently in the middle of your studies yourself, then running a university blog can be an excellent way to document your journey and earn a bit of money to help support yourself and your studies.

Gaming

If you’re a gamer at heart, then starting a gaming blog is something you should 100% think about. Gaming is currently one of the most popular hobbies in the world, so it’s no surprise to see a ton of gaming blogs do well. While some gaming blogs can be quite intense with the in-depth content they dish out, the majority aren’t too hard to keep up. Mainly, these blogs try to update players on current trends in video games, the best new releases expected to hit the market and often spin theories on the storylines of fan-favorite games.

Rank Blog Post

How To Rank Blog Post Fast In Search Engines?

If you want to know how to rank blog post in search engines fast then follow this article. In this article, we are going to share a few methods which will rank your blog post faster in google, bing search engines.

The best way to get loads of traffic is through google’s search page. Because Google is used by billion of users every day and everyday people search for things like product, information, person or anything in search engine. So it becomes a major source of organic traffic.  the amount of traffic you get from search results are fantastic. You will get about thousands of new traffic on your blog post.

How To Get Rank Blog Post On First Page?

The only thing to get tons of traffic on your blog is by ranking the blog post on the first page of the search engine. It will be of no use if the blog post is ranking in the 2nd or 3rd page of the search result. Because no one will put efforts to go and check to other pages. The websites which are ranked on the first page is the best websites that google have listed out. So no one will bother to go on other pages to see your website. even if the content on your blog is very valuable.

So, to get good traffic you only have to rank your blog post on the first page of google search results. however, ranking on google first page is not an easy task. There are many factors which affect the ranking of a blog post and websites.

Google has built an algorithm for finding accurate content for the searched keyword. the website with the highest close ratio will be on the first position. Likewise, the position is assigned to the website according to the relevancy to the searched keyword.

So, the first thing to do to rank your blog post is customized so that the algorithm can recognize it. the process of optimizing the content and website for search engine is called SEO(Search Engine Optimization).

We have to do the SEO of the blog post so that it will get ranked on the first page of google’s search. The SEO ranking is increased by optimizing small things like size, theme, plugins, and many more kinds of stuff. all these factors add up and increase the ranking. In the end, the blog post gets ranked on the first page.

  1. Web Hosting

The first and most important factor that matter is the right web hosting. there will be no use of doing any optimization to the content and website when the web hosting will be not good. Why we are giving stress on right web hosting is because a web hosting will handle the blog. if the servers are not powerful then the blog will get down and is not able to handle the traffic.

it will affect the user experience and people will stop coming even if the content is good. So, to get the maximum result, you need a robust web hosting to handle traffic and should provide great services.

We recommend Cloudways hosting for the start and also recommend to take a look at this blog post. Cloudways is one of the reliable and robust web hostings of 2019. From professional to beginners, Cloudways is the best web hosting for blogs. it is very affordable and it comes with a lot of additional features like free SSL, free migration, free cache plugin,  free daily backups and a lot more.

  1. Write SEO Content(Blog Post)

For getting ranked on the first page of google search, an SEO rich content is needed. If the content is not SEO optimized, then the google bot will not able to know what is your content. because google bot is not a human and it will not read the whole blog post. The bot will only check the target keyword.

So, it is necessary to write or optimize the blog post with SEO. There are many things to keep in mind before writing the blog post

  • The title should not belong. It should be of 8-10 words.
  • The title should contain the target keyword in the first position
  • The title should be of H1 size
  • There should be a subheading of H2 and H3.
  • Each paragraph should not exceed more than 150 words
  • The first paragraph should contain the target keyword
  • The target keyword should present least 5-6 times in the whole article
  • Each sentence should be less than 20 words
  • The article should only contain 10% of passive sentences
  1. Image Description

The image present in the blog post should not be ignored because it can also help the blog post to get ranked. Every image you used in the blog post has a meta description or alt description. It is the data for the image. The data should contain the target keyword of the blog post. The description should be meaningful and not just loaded with keywords.

  1. Outbound Links And Inbound Links

For ranking the blog post, outbound links play a great role. The outbound links allow the google algorithm to know that your blog is linked with a genuine website. that makes your website genuine too. It is called creating backlinks.

2-3 inbound links should be present on the blog post. The inbound links are the links of the article of your blog. this will increase traffic retention, as the reader will get interested in reading another post of your website.

  1. Create Backlinks

Now, the most important factor to get rank faster is through creating backlinks of your blog post. Backlinks are the links of your website or blog post on someone else website. the more links will get you a higher ranking in the search engine.

There are many methods for creating backlinks. The simplest is through comment backlinks. In the comment backlink method, you have to comment on the relevant website with your blog link. so this will create a backlink of your website.

The other method is by submitting a guest post on higher DA websites. you have to ask the website to permit submitting a guest post on their website in return they have to give a backlink. It is the most common and very effective method to create backlinks.

Top Blogging Trends

6 Top Blogging Trends in 2019

Running a blog is not easy nowadays, with so many competitions around. If you want your blog to do well, you will need to do your best to keep up with the blogging trends. The trends are the things that bloggers worldwide are doing to get their blogs ranked. The following are the 6 top blogging trends in 2019.

Add Visual Elements to Your Blog Post

In every top-ranking blog you visit, you will notice that they use several pictures in their posts. Therefore, if you want your blog to be popular, you will need to include pictures in your posts. You can insert pictures in between the paragraphs to make it easier for the audience to read. The picture you use in your blog post doesn’t have to be 100% JPEG quality, but it must be clear with no sign of blurriness. Before uploading the photos, you can enhance them with a filter or add text.

Optimize Images with Alt Tags

In addition, you must add an alt tag to SEO optimize your images. Before uploading your image, make sure you already scale it to reduce it to just the size you need and converted to the small format like JPEG. As a rule of thumb, you should always use legal images. The best is if you can take the photo yourself and customize it with the preferred text and special effects with a video editor.

Engage with Followers on Social Media

Engage with Followers on Social Media

Nowadays, bloggers that want more traffic must know how to engage with readers on social media. When just starting, you must keep creating new content on the blog. Every time you create new content, you get to share a link on social media. However, don’t always share links from your own blogs only. You should also share links to other useful content that can help your readers.

Whenever someone posts a reply, remember to respond promptly. If you keep doing this, you will find that more and more people following your page. You can also collaborate with other brands to boost your following. The collaboration can involve activities like giving away freebies, hosting contests, and promoting content on each other’s blogs.

Finding Long Tailed Keywords

It is hard to rank for a short-tailed keyword because there are more authoritative sites dominating them now. So, if your website is new, you have to target for a long-tailed keyword. The easiest way to find a long-tailed keyword is to use Google suggestions. It automatically generates the rest of the keywords when you type the first half keyword.

 

You can also find long-tailed keywords by using Google related searches. Google related searches will appear at the bottom of the organic result. You can also use a keyword research tool to find long-tailed keywords. Google Trends is another place where you can find long-tailed keywords. Your analytics is also another place where you can find long-tailed keywords.

 

Start a Video Channel for Your Blog

youtube channel

Having your own YouTube video channel can drive more traffic to your website. You can create the video around the blog post. Once you have created the video, you should upload it to YouTube and also embed it in the blog post. In your videos, don’t forget to incorporate a call to action at the end to let your viewers know that they can visit your blog if they like your video. Before you make your video public, be sure to upload a thumbnail. Video thumbnail can increase video engagement by 50%. The thumbnail must be relevant, not exaggerate and be able to grab the visitor’s attention.

 

Improve the Loading Time of Your Blog

Your blog must load fast if you don’t want to lose visitors. Ideally, all your blog posts must not take more than 4 seconds to load. To ensure your blog load fast, you must choose a fast hosting. The hosting must cost at least $3 per month. You can use a WordPress cache plugin to cache the entire blog.

 

The cache plugin can speed up your blog by reducing the number of requests made to the server and lower the amount of bandwidth consumption. Another thing is that you must not install too many plugins as they can cause your blog to load slowly. You can host your images in another place like Dropbox if you find that including image in your post cause your blog to load slowly.

Top #7 mistakes you need to avoid before launching a website

Starting a business website is not just a joke. It takes immense effort and time to get it established. And if you think you can make it up on your own you need to follow certain steps before you could proceed any further with your new business.

In today’s post let us discuss some of the mistakes that every business owner should rectify before launching his online business website.

Let’s get started!!!

#1 No clear plan of execution:

At recent times most, users have started to come up with their own websites or blogs. Unfortunately, they find it hard to sustain in the long run. It is because they do not have an execution plan in implementing them in the right way.

In case if you haven’t designed a plan for your business but have decided to start with a kickstart a new website for your business then you should make sure you have your business plan before you execute them.

#2 Lack of website security:

Website security is one of the biggest threats in this 20th century and it is still a surprising factor that business owners are not much bothered about the website security.

This needs a little attention from the website owners in order to withstand the threats against their business and there comes the need for SSL certificate.

 

What is an SSL certificate?

In simple words, SSL certificate is used to secure credit card transactions, data transfer and logins. It is required for website owner to install an SSL certificate to their server through which an application protocol will change to HTTPS.

The ‘S’ in the HTTPS denotes the security. Based on the type of certificate you purchase and the browser you surf on, a green padlock symbol appears in the browser along with the domain name that you have entered.

If your business website has multiple subdomains then buy Wildcard SSL Certificate. This single certificate can secure the main domain and it’s subdomains easily. You don’t need to buy separate SSL for every subdomain which saves your money.

By this, you not only secure your website from disasters but also build trust among your users which indeed helps to improve your Google ranking.

#3 Not much concerned about the money:

Be hopeful – only not about cash. “There’s a decent shot that your organization will come up short on cash before it makes any,” alerts Tobak. “Realize how much money you must maintain your business, what you consume rate is and ensure that you have the arrangement to endeavor to get more before you run out.”

Again, and again entrepreneurs scramble to raise finances when it’s now past the point of no return. Rather, authors from the get-go ought to make a budgetary arrangement, enumerating achievements and how much cash it will take to achieve these objectives.

#4 Lesser concentration on Social Media:

When you are aggressively into building a brand, then you need to try a few social media platforms as well. You may not know where your target audience are. So, you can make use of these social media platforms to find your audience or even build a customized audience.

That doesn’t mean you need to light your advertising budget to the peak. All you need to do is, “ANALYZE”.

Facebook and Pinterest are the best platforms for product sales. LinkedIn is well known for business personality and self-branding. And at the same time, you can repurpose your content on the same platform.

#5 Neglecting customer service:

With such huge numbers of our business exchanges occurring over the Internet, it’s simple but difficult to overlook that clients are individuals who are much bound to come back to your website on the off chance that they have a decent affair.

“Ensure you have some method for interfacing with the general population visiting your site,” Experts says. “Whatever domain – through live chat, survey, email or telephone.”

Additionally, screen social-media destinations for brand assessment and look at survey locales like Yelp to see who isn’t content with his or her experience and connect.

#6 Build a powerful message:

The biggest mistake ever done is, not understanding the actual need for the business. I have come across most of the businesses that have stepped in with full energy but lost in a very short span. It is because they do not know the purpose of their business in the long run.

Before you could start with your business make sure your build a powerful message. Make sure that your business answers one of the questions of your potential customers. Only then you will know the direction in which your business travels.

In case if you do not know the purpose of your business then there is no purpose behind launching a website which does not answer any. So, you need to build a powerful message behind your brand and website.

#7 Understand your market and focus on your customers:

There are numerous instances of organizations that don’t have the best product/service or are not first to advertise yet are extremely effective in light of the fact that they have aced marketing and deals.

Research the socioeconomics and psychographics of your potential customer base and comprehend their purchasing propensities.

Watch contenders, converse with comparable organizations, peruse your rivals’ websites, and comprehend what their customers are stating about them in social media.

Wrap up:

Starting a business is important, at the same time understanding the need for the business is way to important than starting a business. Most business holders do not understand its need and try to directly dive into the market which indeed puts them into trouble.

Understanding the shortcomings of most business heads, I have come up with this post. The above-mentioned 7 points are the most important ones that every business owner should concentrate before starting their business website.

These points indeed help them to analyze their need for a website launch and help them sustain in the long run without losing their business. Have I missed any of the valuable points? Then let me know through your valuable comments. Do not fail to let us know about your success stories.

Simple Ways to Improve Your Problem Solving Skills

Simple Ways to Improve Your Problem Solving Skills

Ways to Improve Your Problem Solving Skills

There are people in the world who seem to have no issues with solving problems. Any problem that comes their way they can look at it and come up with a solution effortlessly. For many others, finding themselves faced with a problem can be a catastrophe. If you happen to be one of them, don’t despair. It is possible to significantly improve your abilities in this area. Many of the ideas that follow you’ll laugh at. However, give them a try because they are designed to help you devise more strategic ways of thinking and train your brain to engage more.

Get a Good Night’ Sleep

woman sleeping

Your body goes through various sleeping and awake states, but it is Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep which directly enhances the creative processing in the brain. It stimulates associative networks and allows the brain to make new and useful associations. There are various strategies you can try to help you get a better night’s sleep.

Give Your Brain a Workout

rubiks cube

 

Your brain requires exercise just as much as the rest of your body. How do you do that? By playing games which require mental agility such as chess, Sudoku, Rubik’s Cube or other brain-boosting games. An Escape Room is another way in which you can exercise your problem-solving skills, by cracking codes, solving puzzles and following clues to help you escape your adventure of choice.

Keep an Idea Journal

This is somewhere you can quickly record important thoughts, personal experiences and explore ideas. It is especially effective if you keep it with you at all times. Rather than having all your thoughts rattling around in your head, sorting them on paper will help you to work out problems. This is because you’ll be viewing them objectively.

Yoga

Improve Your Problem Solving Skills using yoga

This is a form of exercise that combines body awareness, breathing, and meditation. These three features have been shown to significantly increase cognitive test scores. Other studies have shown improvements in reaction times, more accuracy and increased attention. You can practice it at home, with the help of an app, or look for yoga classes in your neighborhood.

Use Mind Maps

Using mind maps allows you to create a visual snapshot of a problem and its possible solutions. It also focuses the mind, stimulates the brain, increases its capacity for creative thinking and generates more ideas. Your problem is drawn as the central idea of your Mind Map, with main branches for all the reasons for the problem. Sub-branches are used to explore further details.

A couple more ideas to inspire you to include dancing your heart out. Dancing has a positive impact on neural processing. It is thought it can help to develop new neural pathways to go around dopamine-depleted blockages in the brain. Work out to some tunes is another idea work mentioning. Studies have shown that listening to music when working out stimulates and increases cognitive arousal and helps organize cognitive output. There are plenty more things you can try. There are even problem-solving workshops and courses for those of you who are really serious about improving this skill.

Moving from Hobby Blogger to Career Blogger A Guide

Moving from Hobby Blogger to Career Blogger: A Guide

There’s no denying that blogging is incredibly popular, and while many people dream of becoming a full-time blogger, working from wherever they wish, it’s not an easy career move. Whether you are currently a professional writer looking for a new challenge, or you blog on the side of your current job role, deciding to begin your own journey is scary and difficult. But, it’s not impossible. With the correct preparation and following a number of steps, you can move from blogging as a hobby to blogging as a career.

Start-up Capital

While you may be able to begin your budding blogging career from the comfort of your own home, there are a variety of things you need to get you started on the right foot, and this requires capital. For example, you may currently have a blogging platform, but does it portray the professional image you want? If not, you may need to invest in expert web design and development to create the perfect website. Start-up capital for a blogging career may not be as much as it would be for an eCommerce business, but there will be a certain amount you will need, and whether you choose to approach a family member or a bank for a loan, this is something you will need before you begin.

However, if you currently have a bad credit score, it can be difficult to secure investment, even if the investment you are seeking is small. If you are unsure of your credit score, and you are hoping to secure financial help, it’s worthwhile to use a free credit score checker, like the one available through Credit Sesame. Knowledge is power, so by being prepared and armed with the information you need, you have a better chance of receiving a loan to get you started.

Creating Your Website

As mentioned above, to become a professional, you need to look professional, and your website is the first port of call. You may currently use a blogging platform such as WordPress, but your very own website is where you can truly show off your creative skills and your writing portfolio. Whatever type of blogging professionally you aspire to be, whether it’s lifestyle, tech, or business, your website is where you can show off your expertise and create something memorable. Of course, you can use WordPress and create your custom domain name and site address, but this is for a fee of $99 per year. There is a variety of hosting websites where you can source a unique domain name and avoid generic web templates. By working with a professional website designer and developer in particular, you can ensure your website reflects the brand and persona you wish to reveal to the world.

Developing Your Brand

A brand is what will be your unique selling point when you are selling yourself as a blogger. Your brand is something you want people to remember; it needs to draw them in and keep them interested in what you have to offer. It’s your online, professional identity, and as such, it needs careful development and consideration. Your brand encompasses a range of features, which include the colors you use, your logo, your name, and essentially for the current consumer’s, your ethos. Your brand will form the basis of your blog tone of voice, it will create trust between you and your audience, and it provides a face and a personality to who you are. To create your brand identity, you need first to know your audience and who you are hoping to attract. For example, if you want young moms to visit your blog, having a black and red color scheme may be off-putting. Likewise, if you are creating a gaming blog for millennial males, pink hearts and flowers may not evoke the response you want.

Defining Your Niche

Much like your branding, your niche is where you are going to truly make your mark, so it stands to reason that this isn’t a decision to make quickly or take lightly. After all, if you begin your blogging career writing about the latest news in the tech industry, but decide you instead want to talk about interior design, you may need to overhaul your website and your branding. How to define your niche can be relatively simple. What are you truly passionate about? What gets you up in the morning, and makes you happy? If you choose a niche which doesn’t ignite a spark within, it’s all-too-easy to lose the motivation and determination to create award-winning content. While one blogging niche may appear to generate more revenue, this isn’t the best way to decide what to focus your efforts on. Just because blogs which focus analytical research on the latest stocks and trades is bringing in $1,000’s a month, doesn’t mean this is where you should place all your effort, especially if you know nothing about the industry! If you love reading and books, choose a book review blog, despite how much revenue you expect to make. After all, blogging isn’t a get rich quick scheme. It requires dedicated time, effort, and sometimes money to get it off the ground and bringing in a healthy profit.

Growing Your Audience

How will your blog make any money if no one is visiting it? It’s a common query, and it’s one which needs addressing. By growing your audience, and continuing to expand, you can start to generate a healthy revenue, making this decision the best one you made. But first, you need to attract the audience. How you do this will depend on a number of factors, one being who your target audience is. You need to undertake specific market research to define who you want to share your content with, and who you want visiting your site. It’s similar to defining your niche, and it will stand you in good stead to do it earlier on in the development process. Where you reach your audience will also be determined by this. For example, are they young moms? If so, Facebook may be the best platform to market yourself on. Are they business professionals? LinkedIn is the way forward if yes.

know your wordpress theme safe

How to Know If Your WordPress Theme is Safe

Hackers have been looking for weaknesses to exploit in their effort to infect websites and users’ computers with malware. Hackers have likewise been exploiting WordPress themes offered to bloggers who unknowingly install plugins and code on their websites. Here is advice on how to know if your WordPress theme is safe.

Use Reputable Websites

One of the simplest solutions is relying on websites that test and verify the quality of WordPress themes to find WordPress themes for your own website. There are a few free options on these websites, so you don’t have to trade off cost for quality, or in this case, safety. Note that you’ll want to do an internet search on the quality of the “reputable” website, since they may virus scan the themes for malware but let badly coded products be uploaded as safe.

Manually Review the Theme Files

If you’re looking at the WordPress theme’s associated files, you may be able to see obvious added, malicious files. You could find backlinks to a malicious website when you review the footer.php file or style.css file. However, this isn’t something most bloggers and hobby website admins have the training to do, though someone who has completed an online master of science in information security from Norwich University would.


Virus Scan It

You can run a virus scan of downloads as a check for malicious code. Do this after you’ve downloaded the zip file but before you open it. You can also use reputable antivirus websites to scan the zip file of the WordPress theme. Another option is using the Theme Authenticity Checker to scan the theme for the unwanted code. This is the last resort, though, since you have to upload the theme to your website before you can run the check – and now you have to clean up the website or your system if it did contain malicious code.

If you’ve already installed the WordPress theme and you’re unsure of its safety, use the Google Safe Browsing diagnostic followed by your website name to let them virus scan it. The side benefit of this process is that it can tell the difference between malicious code and merely bad code that causes problems in its own right. Norwich University Online offers training in how to check existing websites and files for malicious code as well as how to debug sites.

A better choice is ThemeCheck; this service can scan for both IT security concerns and bad code. Another benefit of this site is that you can search for the WordPress theme by name and see if others have reported security concerns about it. Security can be used to scan a WordPress theme zip file as well as a website that already has the theme installed on it.

The first step would be to use reputable websites that vet themes as the source of the WordPress themes for your website. Another option is searching the internet to look for complaints about the security of the theme. Manually reviewing the theme file may reveal an obvious hack. Scanning it or using a third-party service to scan it for malicious code is the safer choice.