If you’re thinking about taking the leap into blogging but don’t quite know where to start, good for you! You’ve already taken the first step by reading Apollo Media’s social media blog. But what next? With all this blogging information here and on the Net, where do you start?

We thought we’d help out a bit by simplifying the process and sharing our blog start-up formula. This way, blog newbies have a clear, step-by-step guide to starting a blog that they can follow. Here it is:

1. Define your target audience. This is probably the most important step as all your decisions from here will be based on this point. Building a successful blog means you must build a relationship with your audience. To do this, you have to know them so that you can give them what they want, when they want it and in the way that they will appreciate it most.

Even though your audience may not turn out to be who you think they will be, you have to start somewhere. Think of one person who you believe will get the most value out of what you have to offer. That’s your main reader. Here are a few questions to help you out:

i) Age
ii) Sex
iii) Geographic location
iv) Income
v) Personality type

2. Ponder a theme. What impression do you think your readers will relate to the most? People usually decide whether or not to stay on a website within seconds of entering. The overall tone of your blog should tell your readers immediately that they are in the right place. Are you starting a woman’s health blog? Try soft green colours. If you’re starting a company blog, stay consistent with your brand.

3. Define objectives. What do you want to accomplish with this blog? How do you make your decisions today if you don’t know where you’re heading? If you plan to eventually monetize your blog, do your research and set some realistic financial goals. Do you wish to help people with your content? You could decide on a personal (or promotional) goal of connecting with at least 5,000 people within 6 months (you can measure this in subscribers). It’ll also help you to set up milestones which will assist in your progress and get you to your goals faster.

4. Choose a domain name. Thinking of your readers, you need to come up with a catchy name that will instantly communicate what your blog is all about. It’s helpful to keep in mind keywords that your readers will be plugging into search engines to find your information, but don’t make it your first consideration. Here are a few tips:

i) Brainstorm
ii) Try for 2-3 word URLs
iii) Simple and to the point
iv) Aim for terms easy to remember and brand

5. Purchase domain. Once you have a list of possible domain names, you’ll have to check to see if they’re available and then purchase it. A couple of good places to do this: www.mydomain.com, www.godaddy.com and www.hostpapa.ca. Watch your stress level here, though. Most of the best names won’t be available because sometimes other people buy domain names and sell them for a higher price.

6. Choose a blogging platform. Both Blogger and WordPress are free but have major differences that may affect your blog, as well as your blogging efforts, later on. We use WordPress and if you click on the link, you’ll find out why.

7. Write an `About the Author’ and `About the Blog’. Again, thinking of your readers, you’ll have to write up a description about yourself and the blog. You can do this on one page or two; the real importance lies in the content. Make sure to put yourself in your readers’ shoes when writing. What information will convince them to stay and become avid readers? What is it about you that make you a trustworthy source? And what is it about your blog’s purpose and/or information that will be important to your readers’ lives?

8. Write a Welcome post and/or page. This is a great way to greet your readers, connect with them and introduce yourself and your blog. Basically, summarize all the work you’ve done so far in a short post. Make it good – it’ll be your first post!

9. Brainstorm article titles (about 50) and select categories. Go for a walk, a relaxing bath, a half an hour jog, drink a beer, whatever you need to do to open your mind and slip into a creative mood. Then brainstorm article ideas in the form of brilliant titles. Once you have a healthy list, look through them and create categories for them. This will organize your efforts and help your readers find what they are looking for easily when they visit your blog.

10. Start writing! Take your list of post titles, choose one and get writing. There’s no time like the present. Before you publish anything, you’ll want to have at least 5 posts ready, not including your Welcome post and About pages.

11. Hire a reliable hosting company. Take your newly purchased domain name and register it with a hosting provider. Here are a few to investigate before making a decision: www.bluegenesis.com, www.canadianwebhosting.com, www.1and1.com and www.isqsolutions.com.

Hosting packages include a certain number of emails. Make sure you have at least one email account setup with your new domain name before you launch your blog so you can provide your readers with a way to contact you.

12. Install blog platform & upload to host’s server. If you’re using Blogger, click here for a 6 step installation guide. WordPress users can view a YouTube video, “Install WordPress in 5 Minutes (or your money back)”. These instructions will help you upload your new blogging platform to your new web host’s server.

13. Choose a design theme for your blog. Reference your thoughts from step #2. Again keeping your readers foremost in your mind, choose a design theme for your blog.

14. Setup up a few appropriate start-up plug-ins and widgets. For WordPress users, some of our suggestions are: AddThis Social Bookmarking widget, All-in-One SEO pack plug-in and most popular posts widget. Try going through some of your favourite blogs and see what elements you enjoy most.

15. Research an online image resource and sign up for an account. There are several places online where you can legally download quality images for free or for a small fee. See this post by Robin Good for a few examples.

16. Launch your blog! Upload your About and Welcome pages, and publish your Welcome post with an attractive accompanying photo and you are now open for blogging business! Congratulations, fellow blogger. J

Bonus steps:

17. Setup Google Analytics. Once your blog is up and running, you’ll want to see what’s going on with your traffic. Google has regular analytics and new Webmaster Tools that will help you know who’s finding you, how and other essential information that will eventually help guide you in your blogging efforts.

18. Install Feedburner. Burn your feed with Feedburner. Why? The simple answer is that it helps you keep track of your subscribers. People have many options in how they would like to subscribe to your RSS feed. Feedburner will track all your subscribers no matter which subscription method they use.

Whew! That’s all the pointers that’ll fit in this post. We hope that this is a clear enough guide to help you start your own blog. If we’ve missed a step, let us know in the comment section below.

And when you get through the setup procedure, come back Apollo’s blog for loads of helpful tips and tricks to making your blog a success!