This is the theme of this new blog post I am working on.

And instead of completing an entire article behind the scenes and then sharing it with the world, what I have decided is to write it live in my blog.

This is going to be a living post, where I will get back from time to time and discuss about this topic.

The Ultimate Guide to Blogging.

Your pathway to express yourself and create impact, influence and income while progressing towards your goals and freedom.

Who am I?

I am Dr. Maharaja SivaSubramanian N. I have been a Blogger since 2011 and have more than 11000+ Blog posts. This blog post is part of a series of blogs I am writing sharing my knowledge, experience and expertise, results, perspectives and best practices related to blogging. I do blog about various topics and regularly share them through my email newsletter too. And yes, from time to time, I do conduct programs on Blogging like the Blogging Fundamentals Program.

A Quick Intro and a Disclaimer.

Hi, I am Dr. Maharaja SivaSubramanian N. Blogger, Coach, Consultant, Speaker, Trainer, Investor, and Mentor. I work with people using various frameworks for coaching, consulting, and other services which I have learned, developed, recreated, and improvised upon. And I share as much information as possible through my blogging and other online presence too.

And yes, here’s a disclaimer too. This is part of my own experience, and education and is subjective to change, evolution and improvisation. If you feel it can be empowering and you are ready to take responsibility for the consequences, then give it a try. All the information and materials are for education and training purposes only and are not meant to substitute any professional guidance. There could be certain materials that may not be in the public domain and any part which may be copyrighted has been used for purposes of illustration and or explanation for personal reference, education, and research work only and not to create any infringement of intellectual property rights. Please do not share or copy it in any manner and infringe intellectual property rights. Any part reproduced or taught is my understanding of the subject which I have learned, researched, and applied. Use your discretion while applying these techniques and I am absolved from any liability whatsoever.

Who is this post (The Ultimate Guide for Blogging) for?

This guide is for you if you are a:

? Entrepreneur, Solopreneur, Startup Founder?
? Lifestyle Entrepreneur, Online Business Owner, Digital Nomad, Polymath?
? Business Owner, Business Leader?
? Founder CEO, C-Suite Executive?
? “Self-Employed Professional, Freelancer, Service Provider?
? Blogger, Coach, Consultant, Speaker, Trainer, Mentor, Subject Matter Expert?
? Affiliate Marketer, Community Builder?
? And others interested in learning about blogging.

Why am I writing this post?

I personally feel that there is a huge scope for people to understand about blogging and how they can leverage it to accomplish their goals.

I regularly get questions from people including my prospects about blogging and how it can be helpful for them. So, I have wanted to compile this ultimate guide for them to have a better understanding at their convenience. I have personally benefitted a lot from being a blogger in various aspects of my life.

And this is my way of sharing and contributing towards your progress, growth and freedom.

What are we going to discuss?

Here are the topics discussed in this Ultimate Guide to Blogging:

• Benefits of Blogging.
• What is Blogging?
• And much more…

Why should you continue reading?
To understand the benefits of Blogging.

Let’s start with a comprehensive list of benefits of blogging. I will discuss some of the aspects in detail in the article.

Let’s discuss about the benefits of blogging for personal or business use. Here are the some of the areas where blogging can be leveraged:

• Brand Awareness.
• Business Development.
• Collaboration Opportunities.
• Community Building.
• Connections.
• Content Marketing.
• Creativity.
• Feedback.
• Global reach.
• Hobby.
• Impact, Influence and Inspire.
• Improved writing skills.
• Income.
• Knowledge sharing.
• Lead Generation.
• Learning.
• Marketing.
• Networking.
• Passive income.
• Personal Branding.
• Personal Growth.
• Portfolio building.
• Problem Solving.
• Professional Development.
• Public Speaking and Professional Speaking opportunities.
• Reflection and Self-Awareness.
• Reputation Building.
• Sales.
• Self-Expression.
• SEO.
• Skill Development.
• Social Media integrated growth.
• Team Building.
• Thought Leadership.
• Time Management.
• Traffic generation.
• Training.
• Trust Building.
• And much more…

What is blogging?

Blogging is the process of creating content. While it started as a process of creating short form text content, and focused more as sharing about events and important pieces of information, overtime, it has progressed to include creating content in various formats including text, audio, video, images, etc. and also being in short form and long form.

Through Blogging, we can share information, our knowledge and about thoughts and perspectives including our knowledge and experiences with the world. This will help us to inform, inspire, educate, and in some cases also entertain our audience. And as we are able to reach and add value to a larger audience, it also helps to increase the impact and influence we have. And with an appropriate monetization model and/or funnel, it helps to earn income too.

Today most of the subject matter experts, and individuals and businesses have a blog for sharing various information and to leverage blogging for accomplishing various goals.

Define your Purpose.

Blogging is a way to document your knowledge, perspectives, etc. And in a way, it’s a digital version of a part of you which you can share with the world inviting others to connect with you.

And it is important here for you to reflect and understand what benefits you are looking for? Based on the different outcomes and benefits you are looking for, you need to then
1. Frame your blogging goals and purpose.
2. Design a blogging strategy.
3. Develop your blogging framework and metrics.
4. Implement, review, improve.
5. Repeat.

Evolution of Blogging.

The concept of blogging has grown incredibly over the years. In the beginning it was more similar to journals / diaries for some of the individuals. And today, it has become a powerful part of your online presence and also an influential platform for your personal and business growth. And with evolution of the social media platforms, blogging has also grown along to include native content creation in those platforms too.

Why should you consider blogging?

I had shared the various potential benefits from Blogging early in this article. If you are looking forward to accomplishing those goals, then Blogging is going to be a very important step.

When I started blogging, there were hardly any individuals who were having their own websites or blogs. And it could be seen with most of the businesses too. However, over a period of time, with various social media sites and also changing market landscape, individuals and businesses alike have started creating and sharing more content and have seen an increase in number of websites, blogs and social media usage. Today content marketing and social media sharing is considered an essential part of life, work and business for almost everyone.

In such a scenario, it is becoming one of the important aspect for lots of individuals and businesses to give blogging a serious thought. And done right, like having your own blog or website with a blog (with domain and hosting), your blogs can form the fundamental foundation for your entire online presence.

Getting started with blogging.

So, are you ready to get started with blogging? Then continue reading this article.

In this comprehensive guide I will be covering almost all possible aspects about blogging which will be useful for you, irrespective of whether you are a beginner or an expert blogger.
And also check out the other resources on blogging and also check out here for details regarding the Blogging Fundamentals Program.

How to start your blog?

Ready to start your blog? It is easier than most people think.

Based on your blogging goals and strategy, you can choose:

1. A free blog from one of the free blogging platforms.
2. A blog from one of the social media sites.
3. Blog using your social media.
4. Get a domain and web hosting and have your own hosted blog.

Blogging Selection System. More than niche.

This is an integral part of my Blogging training and one of the most important topics I cover in the Blogging Fundamentals Program.

How do you select the topics for your blog? Is it based on your Niche or more than that?

Here are the key factors to consider:

1. Topics you are considering.
2. What are you passionate about?
3. What are the ones you have or can acquire and demonstrate expertise in?
4. Which are the ones aligned with your niches (primary niche and secondary niche)?
5. Which are aligned with your offers?
6. What are the top searched and in-demand in the market and also in online Searches?
7. Which are the ones aligned with your goals?
8. Which topics will help you generate your desired income according to the monetization model you have?

 

 

 

 

 

 

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This model will help you to come up with various ideas which will set up the right foundation for you to:

1. Not be limited by your niche.
2. Open up to multiple possibilities and opportunities.
3. Helps generate a good amount of blog post ideas. And also which topic clusters you can create.
4. Give you a comprehensive set of options to work on in developing your blog.
5. Provides a significant opportunity to work on topical authority.
6. And much more.

What to blog about? How to come up with your blogging topics?

So, based upon the Blog Selection Model I shared, when you invest the right amount of time and effort, you will end up having a list of topics and keywords. Here is a step-by-step framework to progress forward:

1. Look for themes and commonalities among the keywords and start to group them into clusters.
2. Prioritize them and choose which one you are going to work on? (If you are in business, I would recommend to choose those clusters and topics which are aligned with your current hot offer that you are selling or looking forward to sell. That will help you get more motivation and also to bring some much needed cashflow which you can re-invest for various business activities.)
3. Engage in social listening and also look for possibilities to collect feedback from your audience and clients. And choose which topics will be highly valuable for them.

Where to Blog? Selecting a blogging platform.

Selecting a blog platform is one of the most important steps for your blogging journey.

As I had shared before,

Based on your blogging goals and strategy, you can choose:

1. A free blog from one of the free blogging platforms.
2. A blog from one of the social media sites.
3. Blog using your social media.
4. Get a domain and web hosting and have your own hosted blog.

What are some of the criteria to choose the blogging platform? Create a scorecard and evaluate your blogging platform choices based on the following criteria:

1. Ownership.
2. Your goals and strategy.
3. Your budget.
4. Ease of blogging.
5. Features and customization options.
6. Alignment with various monetization models including sponsored content, ad network, affiliate marketing, etc.
7. Security and Scalability.
8. Support and Community.

These are some of the criteria against which you can evaluate various options both in a quantitative and qualitative manner and make an informed decision.

WordPress Blogging Platform.

One of the best platform or CMS (content management system) is WordPress. You can go with the free WordPress option or you can get your domain and hosting and have WordPress as CMS in your self-hosted website and blog.

WordPress also has the following benefits:

1. Of having a community.
2. Lots of support forums.
3. Easy to use.
4. Lots of options (both free and paid) in terms of themes and plugins. Thus providing huge set of options for design and functionality.

Domain and Hosting considerations for blogging.

According to few expert bloggers, the selection of domain and hosting plays a major role in your blogging journey.

Some important criteria to get the domain:

1. Find a reliable domain name provider.
2. Choose a name which is aligned with you, your business and is available. If for your personal use, get it in your name, if it is for your business, get it in your business name. And for other purposes, choose a name which is simple, memorable, short, and easy to pronounce.
3. Choose the appropriate extension like .com, .org, ,in, .net, etc.

Some important criteria to get hosting:

1. Choose a reliable hosting provider.
2. It should be secure and reliable.
3. Uptime and speed of loading is important.
4. Scalability based on usage is important.

Creating a blogging team.

So, if you have decided to go ahead with blogging, you can start individually. At the same time, it does help to have a team too.

Let’s look at who all can be part of it? Here are few probable roles:

1. Blogging Coach. Having a coach to support you, guide you, at times mentor you, hold you accountable to the process, and also to help you crystalize your vision and goals, to help you design and develop your blogging strategy and system are some of the potential benefits that are valuable to have.
2. Accountability Partners. Mostly fellow bloggers, accountability partners hold you accountable and at time both motivate you (when you need that extra motivation, and also at times give you the hard push (when you are slacking around) can just be invaluable.
3. Technical People. Including content writers, researches, SEO expert, video editors, graphic designers, proof readers, editors, social media managers, etc. as required.

A Sample Blog post outline.

Here is a sample Blog Post Outline:

1. Headline.
2. Sub-headline.
3. Image.
4. Author info and disclaimer if any.
5. What is this post about?
6. Who is it for?
7. Why is it important? Benefits and outcomes.
8. Introduction to topic.
9. Detailed Blog post. Use headings and subheadings.
   1. Minimum One paragraph per heading / subheading. Maximum three paragraphs per heading / subheading.
   2. Use images wherever appropriate.
   3. Key summary and recommendations.
10. Conclusion and call to action if any.

Process to write a blog post.

Here’s a step-by-step checklist for you.

1. Identify the keyword or topic you are going to blog about. And who is the intended audience.
2. Do the initial research and come with an outline. If you are using AI, use it strictly for research purpose only and generate at least two outlines.
3. Go through all the outlines and recreate a final outline. Use Blog Post templates to enhance your outlines.
4. Write. Write. Write.
   1. Write as many points that are coming up.
   2. Write one paragraph at a time if you are not able to write it all in one shot.
   3. Write without worrying about how it will all fit together. It can be handled in the editing part.
   4. If you are using AI, use it strictly for research purpose only and generate at least two paragraphs for every paragraph that you are planning to write.
5. Proofread and Edit. Now wear the proof-reading and editing hat and go through all the work and then arrange it properly.
6. Simplify and close the gaps. Make your blog post simple and focused for the intended audience.
7. Post. Share. Get Feedback. Improve.

Setting up your blog.

Based on your vision, goals and strategy, choose a blogging platform. While you can do-it-yourself, it is always helpful to have someone with experience helping you set it up.

Based on the platform, You can also check on step-by-step tutorials that should be available from YouTube and also in the websites and blogs of various technical experts and also with most of the platforms, they have a resource or two with guidelines on how to set it up.

And based on my experience, if you have the necessary money to invest and also able to find a proper technical person, get it done for you rather than having to figure it all out.

Remember, when it comes to blogging, it is more important to focus on creating content than to focus on setting up the blog.

If you are doing it with a self-hosted domain, and using WordPress, here are some tips:

1. Your hosting provider will mostly be having a one-click option to install WordPress.
2. Ensure you have the necessary themes and plugins installed, activated and with the right customization and settings.  It is helpful to have some paid themes and plugins. I personally use Divi WordPress theme and also some of their plugins. 
3. And after you have installed it, ensure you tweak the settings for your preferences.
4. Also work on setting up the necessary pages and the basic posts.
5. And also ensure to take care of creating the necessary categories and tags to better organize your blog.

Design and Layout of your Blog.

Now, let’s say you have done all the basic setup of your blog. And you have also got some blog posts ready and have also published a few. Or you are yet to prepare the content. Either ways, the next logical step or question that a lot of bloggers will have will be working on the design and layout of your blog.

Here are some tips for the same:

1. Choose a theme with a layout which is aligned with your goals and also suitable for your intended audience. As much as possible, go for a responsive theme which can adapt to various devices and screen sizes.
2. Second step is to customize the appearance factors like color scheme, margins, widgets, font types and sizes, etc.
3. Have a well structured navigation system for your readers to get the most from your blog. Use multiple menus as appropriate in the header, footer, etc.
4. Have a good mix of words and visual elements like images, colors, etc.
5. Lastly, remember that simplicity is the most important aspect.

Premium WordPress themes for blogs.

Premium WordPress themes for blogs have their own benefits.

Design and customization being the chief factors, security, support and regular updates are also an extra added benefit. And it is the support and security which can save you lot of hassles as your progress along your blogging journey.

And some of the Premium WordPress themes come up bundled with Premium WordPress Plugins. Which create more ease for your blogging journey.

Like I shared before, I personally use Divi Theme along with plugins like Divi Builder, etc.

The key is to ensure that as much as possible, get a Premium theme, please ensure you get it from the right place.

Essential Plugins for Blogs with WordPress.

Now, that the theme portion is completed, what about the plugins that will help you. I am sharing below a comprehensive list of plugins categories and you can choose the best ones available with simple search across the web for various options, details and reviews.

1. Tracking Plugin for analytics.
2. Plugins for site builder.
3. Plugins for SEO.
4. Security plugins.
5. Plugins to compress images.
6. Plugins to increase speed of the site.
7. Based on the functionality intended, you can go for some plugins like for forms, email newsletter, ecommerce, comments, social media integration, etc.

What are some I use? Here are few names:

1. Divi Builder.
2. WordFence Security.
3. Yoast SEO.
4. Google Site Kit.

And just like all the other features, wherever feasible, go for the premium plugins for security, updates and support.

Crafting compelling content.

Okay, all good. Then how to create compelling content for the blog? Well, if you follow all the possible instructions discussed in this article, you will find that your content is already compelling. Here are some additional questions that will help you gain more clarity:

1. Who is the intended audience?
2. Is the content valuable?
3. Is it relevant for them?
4. Have you written in a tone and voice that resonates with them?
5. Is the choice of words appropriate and simple?
6. How well have your organized the content?

Understanding your audience.

One of the most important step of your content creation journey. Here is a checklist of questions that will help you understand your audience better.

1. Who are the different target segments who will be part of your audience?
2. What are their psychographics and demographics?
3. Also, Where are they from, what do they do, what is their hobbies, what do they find valuable?
4. What are their biggest goals and dreams?
5. What are their major problems and challenges?
6. And What content would they find relevant and valuable?
7. Do they like short form content or long form content?
8. And would they prefer text, video, audio, visuals? If multiple, then which are they?
9. What type of devices and screen sizes will they be using?

Answering the above questions will give you a good level of understanding about your audience. While some information may not be readily available, you can always get the necessary information by online research, surveys and even by talking to some people from your target audience.

And yes, it is important for you to understand your audience, especially when  you are blogging for business growth.

Crafting engaging headlines.

Your headlines can make or break your click-through-rate and also to a certain extent your engagement rate. 

Ask any copywriter as to what they feel is the most important part of any written content, and almost all of them will say it to be the headlines. It is based on the headlines that people will decide if they want to click and read it or not when they see your posts in the search engine results page, or social media or even when shared. 

So, it is important that your headline is powerful and engaging for your intended target audience. 

Another important aspect about headlines in blogging is about using various headlines and sub-headlines throughout the content in an appropriate manner. Especially if you are writing a long article like this one, then most people will just scan and skim through the article. 

In such a case, the headlines and sub-headlines will be important to grab their attention and also to point them to the right sections of the article. 

And of course, there are the heading tags also in form of H1, H2, H3, etc. Use them appropriately for SEO results. 

Building and Engaging Your Audience.

Here are some tips for growing your audience.

Community Building and Blogging.

Let’s discuss about how to build a strong community around your blog.

Will you like to network?

Earn Money through Blogging.

One of the important topics to discuss will be about how to make money through blogging and monetizing a blog. 

Can you earn money through blogging? 

The answer is, with the right system, yes, you can earn money through blogging.

So, what are the components required in the system? Some of them are:

1. A blog having valuable content.
2. Good quality and quantity of content.
3. Regular, predictable and consistent traffic flow.
4. Regular content updates, with new blog posts.
5. And a few more depending on cases to cases basis.

How to monetize your blog?  What are the ways to earn money through blogging? Here are a few methods:

1. Selling your own products and/or services.
2. Sponsored content.
3. Ad network.
4. Affiliate marketing.

Keywords related to Blogging.

Here are some keywords related to blogging. I will be adding few more from time to time.

Advanced Blogging, Advanced Blogging Strategies, Advanced Strategies for Blogging Success, Best Blogging Platform for Beginners, Blog, Blogger, Blogging, Blogging 101, Blogging Advice, Blogging Best Practices, Blogging Bootcamp, Blogging Business, Blogging Community, Blogging Content Ideas, Blogging Course, Blogging eBook, Blogging Essentials, Blogging Experts, Blogging for Beginners, Blogging for Business, Blogging for Creatives, Blogging for Students, Blogging Growth Strategies, Blogging Hacks, Blogging Ideas, Blogging Insights, Blogging Inspiration, Blogging Lifestyle, Blogging Masterclass, Blogging Mastermind, Blogging Mastery, Blogging Mastery Course, Blogging Mindset, Blogging Niche Ideas, Blogging Platform, Blogging Platforms Comparison, Blogging Product Reviews, Blogging Productivity Hacks, Blogging Productivity Tips, Blogging Resources, Blogging Secrets, Blogging Side Hustle, Blogging Strategies, Blogging Strategies 2024, Blogging Success Stories, Blogging Success Tips, Blogging Techniques, Blogging Time Management, Blogging Tips, Blogging Tips for Growing Your Audience, Blogging Tools, Blogging Trends, Blogging Trends 2024, Blogging Trends and Insights, Blogging Tutorial, Blogging Webinar, Blogging Workflow, Blogging Workshop, Building a Strong Community Around Your Blog, Community, Content Marketing for Bloggers, Creative Blogging, Creative Blogging Ideas for 2024, DIY Blogging, Effective Blogging, Effective Blogging Techniques, Engaging Blog Content, Essential Tools for Blogging, Fashion Blogging, Food Blogging, How to Monetize Your Blog, How to Start a Blog, How to Start a Blog and Make Money, Ideas, Lifestyle Blogging, Lifestyle Blogging Tips, Make Money Blogging, Micro Blogging, Monetizing a Blog, Money, Personal Blogging, Platform, Professional Blogging, Professional Blogging Techniques for Increasing Revenue, SEO for Bloggers, Successful Blogging, Successful Blogging Tips, Tech Blogging, Tips, Tips for Successful Blogging, Tools, Travel Blogging, Writing, Writing a Blog

Hashtags related to Blogging.

Here are some hashtags related to blogging. Will be adding a few more from time to time. 

#BloggerLife #Bloggers #BloggersCorner #BloggersOfInstagram #BloggersTribe #BloggerStyle #BloggersUnite #BloggerSupport #Blogging #Blogging101 #BloggingCommunity #BloggingForBeginners #BloggingForBusiness #BloggingGoals #BloggingIdeas #BloggingInspiration #BloggingJourney #BloggingLife #BloggingResources #BloggingSuccess #BloggingTips #Blogosphere #ContentCreation #ContentCreationTips #ContentCreators #ContentMarketing #ContentStrategy #DigitalMarketing #DigitalNomad #EntrepreneurLife #Entrepreneurship #FacebookBlogger #FacebookMarketing #Influencer #InfluencerMarketing #InstaBlogger #InstaBlogging #PinterestMarketing #SEO #SEOStrategy #SocialMedia #SocialMediaMarketing #SocialMediaTips #WritingCommunity

Guest blogging and collaborations.

Let’s discuss about leveraging guest blogging opportunities to expand your reach and grow your audience. 

And about networking with other bloggers and brands for collaborations and partnerships. 

Blogging tools and resources.

Let’s discuss about some tools and resources for blogging including for:

1. Content creation tools. 
2. Content distribution and content marketing tools. 
3. Analytics tools.
4. Blogging and social media schedulers. 

Evaluating your blog.

It’s important to Analyze key metrics to measure the success of your blog. 

Some of the key metrics are:

1. Number of blog posts.
2. Categories of blogs. 
3. Traffic. 
4. Engagement metrics for each blog. 
5. Revenue generation. 

More Content to be updated soon. 

More Content to be updated soon. 

More Content to be updated soon. 

More Content to be updated soon. 

More Content to be updated soon. 

More Content to be updated soon. 

More Content to be updated soon. 

More Content to be updated soon. 

More Content to be updated soon. 

More Content to be updated soon. 

More Content to be updated soon. 

Dr. Maharaja SivaSubramanian N.

Do check out my blog:
https://www.drmaharajasivasubramanian.com/

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