13 Principles To Follow If I Had To Start A Blog From Scratch

You have seen me and hundreds of other bloggers making money with a blog. If you want the same then you must read this article. Here, in this article, I have shared the best way to build a successful blog.

To build a successful blog, the very first thing you required is to set up the blog correctly. If your blog is not properly setup then nothing will work.

Next, by term ‘Setup‘, I do not mean any technical configuration but instead, I am talking about its foundation. If your blog foundation is not proper then all your future strategies will go in ruined. Let us understand this with an example.

Suppose, you start a blog on Vijay Rupani, the Chief Minister of Gujarat. In this case, the Gujarati people and the most probably the Indians will visit your blog.

Now, if in case, you want to get US traffic, then it is not possible. No matter, how hard you work or do the marketing, your blog will not drive traffic from western countries like the USA, Uk etc.

Hence,  the blog foundation plays an important role in your blog’s success.

Now, a question may arise. How to set up a blog properly, without actually starting it?

I know, it is not possible to know the future in advance. This is something you will learn with trial and error method.

But, instead, I suggest you learn from someone else mistakes. Hence, I have decided to write an article, where I will list out all those principles which are required to build a strong foundation for the blog.

If you follow these principles of effective blogging then I am sure your blog will get on the top position in the future.

Tips to Start a Blog From Scratch

I have written this article assuming, I am starting this blog from scratch. Hence, it also includes all those mistakes which I have made before in my previous blog. This blog is a must for all those people who are planning to start a blog and make money.

Their chances of getting failed will decrease if they follow the below-mentioned tips before starting the blog. I am writing this article so that you don’t need to repeat the same mistakes that I have made before.

Next, besides mistakes, I have also included all my learning from more than 7 years of online experience.

So, What are we waiting for? Shall we begin with all principles for starting a successful blog?

#1 Create a Micro Niche Blog

Go for micro niche, if you really want to build a successful blog and make huge money with it. Trust me, a micro niche topic always works online.

Micro Niche is nothing but a subset of the boarder topic. For example, if you are interested in Health and Fitness, then instead of writing on all related topic, it is better to write on a specific and more particular topic say Cough and Cold.

In short, the more specific your niche is the more chances that your site will rank on the first position of the search results.

Are you wondering? Why it is so? Why Micro Niche Blog is more favorable than Macro?

The answer is very simple. Micro Niche is more focused than the Macro. Next, when you are planning for a long period, starts with small and then slowly and gradually move on to larger parts.

Let us understand this with an example. Suppose you started an online store like Amazon. What will happen in this case?

Since you are selling multi products on your store. You will receive the orders in the cluster. Hence, you will not have the bargaining power and thereby you will get out of business.

Instead, if you simply start an online store on micro niche product than you will be more focused and you may have the bargaining power.

Products	Orders in Macro Niche Online Store	Orders in Micro Niche Online Store
A	1
B
C	1
D	3	8
E	2
F	1
Total	8	8

If you are a beginner, What will you select in the above-mentioned example? Of course, I will go with the second one. It is better to deal with one big order rather than small clustered orders.

Start with small focused micro niche and then slowly move on to Macro level.

Note: The above example is just for the understanding purpose.

Next, it is also very important to pick up the perfect micro niche topic for your website. This is because, even a wrong micro niche topic has to go with many limitations like availability of monetization program, competition, keyword suggested bids etc.

The same example (discussed earlier at the start of this article) will apply here. If you have selected a micro niche which mainly drives traffic from low CPC countries then you will never make good money with your blog.

Hence, it is very important to consider all these factors at the time of selecting the best micro niche for your site. To know how to select the best micro niche for your site, I request you to please follow the below article.

Blue Print To Select Best Micro Niche Topic

#2 Avoid Multi Niche Blog

It is also not advisable to start blogging on Multi Niche topic. Multi Niche blogs are not SEO optimized site. Hence, there will be a very low chance that it will rank on the first page of the search engine.

When you do the Google Search, you will find a very focused and expertise site on the first position instead of the multi-niche site.

This is because Google also loves expert knowledge over generic. Hence, it shows focused site in the first position.

To sum up, if you really want to build a successful site or blog then start with micro niche instead of macro or multi-niche topic.

#3 Don’t Write Like A Book

Blogging is something that needs to be informal. If you write like a book then no one will like to read it.

People want to read real stories and experience. If they want to read books then why they will check online.

Actually, they want to be involved in conservation while reading the article on your site and the best way to do is using the word ‘We‘ in your article.

To sum up, make sure you write informally like a story instead of a book.

#4 Keep It Simple

Keep it simple. This is the best mantra to build a successful blog.

It is a human tendency. When we start a blog, we enabled all the features to in-built it. But, trust me, this is really not a good idea.No one like a website with lots of complicated features enabled on it.

Next, this logic also applies when it comes to designing your blog. Make sure, the user interface is easy to use. Avoid very complicated designing of the blog. This will confuse the users visiting it.

#5 Think Twice before Selecting Domain Name

Domain name is the only thing that you can’t change on your blog. Hence, it is always advisable to think twice before purchasing the same.

Next, make sure your domain name is related to content on your blog. Purchasing a domain name called ‘Technology’ for writing on ‘Health and Fitness’ niche is not a good idea.

Further, it is also advisable to include the focus keyword in your domain name. This will boost the SEO performance of your blog.

#6 Update your Old Post

When you start a blog, you only think of writing and promoting it. But, when your blog has grown older, your responsibility will get increased.

Google and other search engines don’t like the outdated content. If your blog posts have been not updated since a long time then it will get out of the scene anytime.

Next, not all the content will remain relevant after one or two years. If they are not updated then it will be of no use.

For example, Google webmaster has recently redesigned its dashboard. Now, if you don’t update the posts written on Old Webmaster then it will become useless.

Just think,  Who will read your posts written on Old Google Webmaster? Of course, no one. Hence it is very important to update the old posts regularly on your blog.

#7 Do not Forget Search Engine

Earlier in this article, I have said, write for your online users, not search engines. But, that does not mean you will forget them.

You will succeed only if when you drive organic traffic to your site. Hence, whatever you write, always do some basic keyword research before writing the same. Make sure you include all those keywords in your content.

This one simple thing will help you to drive enough organic traffic to your blog or site.

#8 Select The Best Permalink Structure

Permalink is nothing but the URL structure of the blog.

Yes, it is simply a URL structure. But it could impact your blog so badly that it can throw you out of the business.

Change in the URL structure will lead to 404 errors. Next, if 404 errors are handled properly then it will lead to loss of traffic to your blog.

For more information with an example, please refer the below link.

Which is the best Permalink Structure for Your Website?

#9 Do not Forget Social Media

If you really want to build a successful blog then do not forget Social Media websites. Share your content on these websites from the very first day of the blog. This websites not only provide you free backlinks but also drive free traffic to your blog or site.

Social Media Sharing is the best way to make your blog popular and get noticed.

Trust me, for a beginner, Social Media websites are boon. It provides you a very large audience base for promoting your site for free.

#10 Do not forget On Page and Off Page Optimization Technique

The next principles for starting the blog is On Page and Off Page Optimization Techniques. I know these techniques will come once you start the blog. But, if these techniques are not properly used then your blog will not get successful.

Hence, it is very important to focus on these techniques from a very fast day of the blog. Below, we have mentioned few important On page and Off page techniques which are very important to your blog.

On Page Optimization Techniques

1. Ensure you include the focus keyword in a) the First Paragraph of the Content b) Meta Description and C) the Title of the article.
2. Write a Catchy Headline and Title for your blog posts.
3. Write unique meta description for all blog posts
4. Ensure you do not forget to add alt text to all uploaded images.
5. Write a very long post say 1000 to 3000 words.
6. Make optimum use of Internal Linking while writing the content.
7. Use Heading tags properly that is H1, H2, H3…..so on.

Off Page Optimization Techniques

1. Share your content on various Social Media Websites
2. Contribute as Guest Author.
3. Submit your blog to all popular search engines like Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, and Yahoo.

That’s all. If you follow above-mentioned techniques on your site then it will definitely boost the performance of your blog.

Of course, there are many other On page and Off page Optimization techniques available online but we have included only those techniques which are important and a prerequisite for building a successful blog.

Trust me, for a beginner or one who is building the blog from scratch the above-mentioned techniques are enough. Next, all other techniques can be learned later after starting the blog.

#11 Monetize Your Blog At The Right Time

Next, do not monetize your blog either too early or late. If you monetize your blog too early then you will end with zero earnings. This is because, at the initial time, your blog will not receive enough traffic to turn your blog into a profitable business.

And, if you monetize your blog lately then there will be an opportunity lost to you. Hence, it is very important to monetize your blog at the right time.

But, a question may arise? What is the perfect time to monetize your blog?

Well, there is no perfect answer to this question. But, if you ask me then according to me the best time to start monetizing your blog is after 6 months.

After 6 months you can apply for the Google Adsense request and start exploring other options for monetizing your blog.

But these monetizing techniques will work only if you are dedicated to your blog and working hard from the very first day of its establishment.

This technique will not work if you have started a blog just for the sake of starting and have not written an article on it in the last 6 months. In this case, 6 month time period will not work.

#12 Loading Speed of your Blog

Improve the loading speed of your blog if you really want to make it successful. Loading speed of the site is directly related to your site ranking.

If your site takes too long to load then there is a very lower chance that it will rank on the first page of the search results.

If you are a beginner and planning to start a new blog from scratch then I strongly suggest implementing below techniques to improve the loading speed of your blog.

1. Use a very simple theme for your blog
2. Enable Caching on your blog
3. Use lazy load effect to load your images
4. Disable un-used and unrequired plugins or features on your blog
5. Add your site to Cloudflare

For more information, you can refer the below article

8 Ways To Improve Loading Speed Of Your Online Store

#13 Optimize Your Image Before Uploading

The last but very important principles for building a successful blog is Image Optimization.

Do you know? Images play a very important role in loading speed of your blog. You can improve the loading speed by optimizing images before uploading.

Remember, there is always a good scope to decrease the size of the image is optimized. By optimization, you can decrease the size of the images.

Hence, if your uploaded images are light in weight then it will consume less space on your server and thereby loading easily on your blog.

For more information, please refer the below articles

5 Best Image Optimization Plugins for WordPress in 2018

The best way for optimizing images for the web

Wrapping Up Principles Of Effective Blogging

If you check online there are tons of article written on technical setup of the blog. But, no ones talking about the principles of effective blogging.

If you follow the above-mentioned principles then I am sure you will not find yourself spinning the wheel and struggling to promote your blog.

Trust me, the above principles are enough to build a successful blog. The only thing you need to do is follow them before starting the blog. I mean you should follow these principles from the very first day of starting the blog.

At last, if you face any problem in understanding any of the above principles then feel free to contact us. You can leave your message in the below comment box or contact us directly through the Contact Us page.