Update: this post has been updated and compiled with other similar posts into ProBlogger’s Guide to Your First Week of Blogging – a week long guide into getting your blog going on the right foot.
“What should a blogger do in their first week of blogging to get their blog on the right track?”
I’ve been asked to write on this topic for a while now and while there is no one way to launch a blog I thought I’d jot down a few starting points over the coming weeks.
By no means is it an exhaustive list but I hope it’s helpful for those starting out.
Note: I’m presuming you’ve already set up a blog on a platform, domain and have a template sorted. Some of these tasks will be done by some bloggers before they go live – others after. I guess all I’m suggesting is that they are done early on as one starts blogging. Also note that the order I cover these tips in is not necessarily the order you’ll want to do them in.
Lastly – before I kick this off with the first post – thanks to the many bloggers who have added their own tips to my call for advice to bloggers in their first week. I’ll using some of the comments left on that post in posts on this series in the weeks ahead so feel free to keep adding your advice there.
I’ll update links to each of the posts in this series below (stay tuned for post #1 shortly):
Update: this series has been updated and compiled with other similar posts into ProBlogger’s Guide to Your First Week of Blogging – a week long guide into getting your blog going on the right foot.
Looking forward to this, even though I have my blog established. But maybe we can all learn from these posts, I am definitely going to read them!
Nice List. Harder you work to start a blog. the easier it will be to maintain it.
Thats a great question to answer!
I think establishing a base of quality content would be a bloggers first concern. Everything will fall into place after that. Without good content, your base could crumble and your whole blog could fall apart right before your eyes.
Just my .02 cents,
-Paul Roekle
This should be interesting.
I’m sure this will be a handy list for everyone, whether just starting out, redoing their blog, or simply looking for some tips to up their game. Looking forward to it!
Looking forward to this, I just started my blog within the past week and have NO idea what I’m doing.
Well in first week of blogging the blogger should go for register their site on search engine, networked blog, blog catalog, technorati and other major blogosphere sites and after this he has to register the site for google webmaster tools, google analytics. After setting up all the things he has to go for the layout of the blog he wants to make.
after layout he has to make his privacy policy and his advertisments, about me page and other pages after all this he has to target some top notch blog in his niche and start doing commenting on these so that he can earn the attention of other bloggers and after all this he has to go for unique content
Hope all this will help out
Write, write, write and write some more. Then, get authentically involved in forums/communities related to your topic.
@Vivek, you have listed down unique content at the very end of the list. For me, all the other things can wait, but content should be the foremost priority.
This will be invaluable for newbies, but also helpful for everyone. It’s important to go back to the fundamentals and our roots. I’m looking forward to stepping back and seeing what I can learn from this series. I know I’ll come away with ideas on how to improve what I have.
i started with a blog recently which showcases my blog work basically explaining the troubles users and newbie bloggers face with their wordpress self hosted blogs and giving away them few useful tips in “How To Start A Blog” queries . This post was really useful for both me and my readers .
Thanks
I am about to launch my blog, so I will be very interested in this series.
So far, I am planning to launch my blog with a contest.
I loooooooooove blogging!
Time flyes when I write, I hope my blog has good value for people
Does it???
Ami
Looking very much forward to your advice. Thanks for paying it forward buddy.
I’m about a month into my new blogging effort so I look forward to this discussion. I’m sure there will be better late than never ideas. I’ll be interested to see if my content-appearance-monetize approach will be inline with those from proven winners.
Good to see a ‘back to basics’ article that will undoubtedly include new tips and tricks. Thanks
Good to see this kind of post again here and i’m sure it will help many new bloggers this year
Currently using WordPress to get it started then… who knows.
L
making a great post listing for a month, it should be grow up my blogs!
Darren its great to see you are putting together such an informative series.
I would suggest that this be made easily accessible on your blog as I am sure that not only would this series tackle a new blog, but also blogs that may be wanting to re-launch and take the right steps this time.
From my experiences,my first week of blogging,I provided around 10 posts,use a good design,make sure all links working and put my adsense code for every single posting.
For me the first week is a preparation week.Meant here we are preparing and ready to receive people to come to our “new home”…
We have to make sure all parts is OK and on the second week,we can start promoting our blog at forum,email,or make up review blog contest to get traffic faster… :)
I will keep my eyes glued to the future additions to this post since right at this moment I am planning a blog for my website.
Being new to blogging as well, I am anxious to see what recommendations will come from this series. My plan is to make the blog postings not only interesting, but pertinent to what is going on in the world at that moment as well.
I am taking the Python approach. Fairly straight and focused, but allowing room to expand for related topics.
Great post, Can’t wait to see the next batch of posts since it’s greatly needed for people like me who are new to the blogosphere. =)
I just stumbled upon your website and im pretty new to blogging, Im also having a hard time coming up with stuff for my niche. I hope I can get some ideas reading your posts. Probably get inspired too cause i tend to procrastinate alot.
Just starting out (again) – so looking foward to what you have to say.
I just read your first tip. Great work, Darren. A lot of people have wanted to start blogs of their own but don’t know where to begin. It’s nice to have a hand to hold you when you don’t know what to do.
Amy Cameron
BuildMySiteforFree.com
Great post, Can’t wait to see the next batch of posts since it’s greatly needed for people like me who are new to the blogosphere. =)
Good to see your touching on the top topic next: content.
When I started I made a goal to post each day for a month. It’s probably easier to do this with scheduled posts these days. My tip would be to get 5 articles scheduled for your launch.
You got a really useful blog I have been here reading for about an hour. I am a newbee and your success is very much an inspiration for me. The first page doesn�t need to be just a dream anymore…
It seems like work at first, but it can turn into an “easy conversation with friends” if you go about things the right way.
When I began blogging back in January 2010, I did a lot of research covering the beginning stages of a successful blog. I realized that the key to attracting and satisfying the user experience is to accommodate the different navigation and search habits of your potential visitors. People want to find links easily, and ultimately, you want these visitors to complete a task, such as leaving a comment, purchasing something, or subscribing to your RSS, etc. etc. Since blogs have become such a popular medium for online communication, I would recommend focusing on creating unique content at the forefront.
Good read, I really enjoyed reading it. Ta muchly for posting this up, could be very useful in the future for me!