How You Create a Unique Blog in Just 5 Steps

"Writing is easy. You just have to leave out the wrong words." If you adjust this quote from Mark Twain to the topic of blogging, the proverb could be: Blogging is easy. You just need to find the right platform. And define the target audience. And create the appropriate design. And plan the right content. And, and, and…

You can already tell: To create a blog, it's unfortunately not enough to sit down and just start typing. Because even if it is easier than ever to set up your own blog today, there are some steps to be taken to ensure that your posts are read at the end of the day. The work can be worthwhile, because especially for companies, having their own blog offers many advantages. In this step-by-step guide, we therefore show you how to get started with your blog.

Step 1: Define your target audience

Your blog is the perfect platform to talk with others about what moves you. But before you can start, you first need to decide on your target audience.

If you want to create your blog to achieve something specific (e.g., more click-through rate on your website or more sales for your online shop), then you should try to define your blog's target audience. One way to do this is through customer analysis. 

If, however, your blog should be more of a personal nature and not necessarily serve a specific purpose, then you can simply have the target audience be "everyone" or "anyone". Even in this case, you should still try to focus on a specific group of people. This will make your blog more interesting for your readers and provide a higher added value!

Step 2: Choose a blogging platform

If you want to create a unique blog, it's important you choose the right blogging platform. There are many different platforms on which you can create your blog, but not every one of them is ideal for you. To find the right platform for you, you should consider the following factors:

1. Budget: Have you already budgeted money for your new blog? If so, how much? Many platforms also offer free versions; so check out this option as an alternative.

2. Features: What features are most important to you? A mobile app? Social media integration? Google search integration? An intuitive CMS system? Also consider contract conditions, such as any minimum terms from the provider.

3. Support: Test the customer service and question the support in relation to available tools and instructions when you create your blog. Make sure the platform is easy to use and that you can get help with technical problems.

4. Security: Do you have concerns about the security of your new blog? Would you like a secured/private place for your content, or would you like to be open/be open for other users? When choosing the platform, consider aspects like GDPR.

Overview: 5 blogging platform providers

Platforms to create a blog are plentiful. Here we have brought you a preselection of some of the most popular blog and website builder on OMR Reviews providers:

WordPress: WordPress is one of the most well-known and widely used blogging systems. It offers many themes and plugins that allow you to easily customize your site. It is also very user-friendly and offers excellent SEO optimization.

Jimdo: Jimdo - Der Websitebaukasten für Selbstständige is another excellent tool for creating blogs. It has an intuitive interface that makes it very easy to experiment with the design. It is also very scalable

Wix: Wix is another fantastic option for bloggers. It has drag-and-drop tools and prefabricated templates, making it very easy to create pages. Here too, you can very easily perform SEO optimization and customize the design.

IONOS by 1&1: IONOS Hosting & Cloud is a great tool for creating websites and blogs. It has an intuitive interface and many features for optimizing the design of your site. In addition, the costs for this platform are extremely affordable compared to many other providers.

Squarespace: Squarespace is a good option for professional blogging. With Squarespace, you can create responsive pages that automatically adapt to different screen sizes - so your blog will always look good! It also offers many features for customizing your page even more and making it search engine optimized.

Step 3: Determine design and layout

After you now have a platform, it's time to think about the design and layout of your blog. Depending on the web host you use to create your blog, you can choose from hundreds of different themes or even create your own design. If you choose a theme, you can customize it to match the content of your blog and use any options it offers.

The rule is always: Mobile first! Even if you might write your blog on a computer, it's important that the texts and layouts also look good on small screens. Therefore, when choosing the appropriate design, be sure to select one that is responsive.

Also, it's important that your design is user-friendly and nicely laid out. If visitors to your blog don't immediately understand where to find certain things, they may not stay long enough to see what's in there. So, always check the navigation of the blog and make sure everything works the way you want it to.

If you're unsure or have no idea what design would best suit your blog or which theme to choose, seek professional help when creating the design and layout. Professional designers can help you build the right structure for your content and assist you in implementation. So it's definitely worth it to get professional help!

Step 4: Plan and create content

Now that you've already done the technical groundwork for your blog, it comes down to the most interesting part of it all: the content! Before you start writing articles, it's important to have a plan and structure.

To organize your content, you should ask yourself a few questions. How often do you want to blog? What topics do you want to cover? If you have a photography blog, then the topics should obviously be related, in some way, to photography. Are you on Instagram? Then you could use your Instagram account as inspiration and go into more detail on your blog.

Another tip is to create a Content Plan. Make notes about the various topics and when they should go online. You'll always have an overview of what's coming up.

When it comes to implementation, you should focus more on quality than on quantity. Rather write less, but longer articles with more information instead of short articles with no substance more often. The readers will thank you! Also, always check your posts for spelling errors and grammar before they go online - this will ensure that your content always appears professional. Our freelance editor, Carolin, has written a comprehensive guide on how to write a successful blog post.

Last but not least, you need to determine which image or video should be added to the post. Beautiful images make the text more interesting and help readers understand the content better or remember it more vividly - so take your time when choosing!

Step 5: SEO for your Blog

Admittedly: This fifth step should not happen last. After all, search engine optimization is strictly speaking important at every stage when you create your blog. SEO is an important factor for your online presence, because the better you rank in search engines, the more people you reach. Therefore, pay attention to the following aspects:

1. Use relevant keywords: Search for relevant keywords and integrate them with the help of Quaro into your posts. This will help Google better understand your blog and index it more accurately.

2. Create high-quality content: Since search engines need to scan the content on your blog, make sure it is informative, interesting, and unique.

3. Use a responsive design: Many people nowadays use mobile devices to go online. So, make sure your blog looks and works properly on all devices.

4. Add internal links: Link older posts with newer ones to promote visitor retention on your blog.

5. Regularly check the load time: A long load time can reduce visitor numbers and also has an impact on the SEO performance of the blog. To fix this issue, you should regularly test the load time and make necessary optimizations.

If you follow these 5 steps, you can be sure that your blog is attractive for both search engines and visitors! A good SEO strategy will help you attract more readers and generate more traffic!

Conclusion

The success of a blog largely depends on detailed planning before starting. The choice of topics, writing style, and design are among the most important components to create a successful blog. The goal should always be to create an interesting and appealing platform that attracts and retains readers.

By considering these 5 steps, you can successfully build your own blog. Make sure that your content appeals to your target audience and focus on an individual writing style. It's important to regularly obtain feedback and thus get in touch with other people. Especially in the beginning stages, it's important to reach out to users and experts to further develop your ideas.

If you follow the above guide, you should be able to build your own blog, laying the foundation for a successful online business. So, what are you waiting for?