THE ULTIMATE GUIDE FOR BLOGGING FROM BIGGINERS TO ADVANCED ! WHY BLOGGING IS SO IMPORTANT FOR YOUR PERSONAL BRANDING ! IN 2020

Are you confused to understand how much you know about blogging ? Or is it annoying to realise what you need for blogging ? Here is the complete guide for you , What you understand about the word Blogging ? Or Blog ? 

I can understand for all those who wondered what you understand or what you need to know about blog or blogging.

I have tried my best to make you understand about Blogging .

" Blog itself is a website " Blogging is a biggest weapon for your personal branding as blogs are closely associated with search engine results page and helps you to drive organic traffic to your website.

Blog is like online consulting firm where you invite people to talk with you and to check out what you have offered to them.

It is a trampoline for your personal branding. Blogging helps you to curve your niche and provides a perfect foundation to make it more stronger. It is a demand fulfilment tool which helps you to sell yourself accross the internet.

Blogging is all about your ability to transforming your complex topics in to conversational pieces tailored for personal brand energy. 

You must be wondering ?Why Blogging is so important ?

a ) As I have maintioned earlier blogging helps you curve your niche , Blogging is a platform that allows people discover their core skills. This is only possible when you decide to write on a niche. People discover you by searching for you on the internet especially with Keywords that matter. For example people find me " Hotel Entrepreneur Development programmer " ,  "Hotel Entrepreneur Development Counsultancy " They don't come searching for Abhiraj Waghmare . But when they like my content after searching for basic keywords they slowly start searching for me. 

b) Blogging helps you to sell yourself accross the internet.

Once you start blogging and understand how the process of building traffic works you begin to set specific goals in order to drive organic traffic every month. It is a base of your online journey to become a great internet marketer. A smart Blogger should also master SEO ( Search Engine Optimization) in order to drive organic traffic to your website. Which helps you to position yourself as an expert , infact blogging makes your (SEO) journey lot easier. When you integrate Google analytics and Google search console - free tools Provided by Google - in your blog you atomatically gets insights on the most read articles on your blog and the keywords that brings traffic to your website and it helps you to understand your audience even better.

c) Blogging wins you followers .

Blogging is a platform where people discovers you , for example , every month I write one article on the latest trends in the hospitality management industry. For that perticular month I promote this one article across the internet especially through organic and paid means. Which helps me earn some Consulting enquiries from the organisations who have not adopted to these changes. One big mistake many bloggers make when they start blogging is that when they get traffic they don't aim to convert visitors into subscribers. As you blog , you also need to hold a vision for turning your traffic into potential prospects. That is only possible when you regularly hit your visitors with new content pieces.

If you visit my blog, www.abhirajskitchen.blogspot.com you will get various pop- ups that ask you for your email address , where I use multiple tools that trigger the visitors to submit their data to me to get regular updates from me. This is the list of tools I recommend for you.

* Collect Chat ( an artificial intelligence based chatbot )  This interacts with my followers and I offers them to invite for free ebook on Hotel Entrepreneur Development Program ( HEDP) 

* Hello Bar , Lead forms , Browser push notifications and exit Pop-ups are various other tools that helps you convert your first time blog visitor or a frequent visitor into loyal subscriber . 

There are also some paid WordPress plugins , like social Locker and Mash share to trigger your visitors.

Remember Blogging gives them a purpose to connect with you on social media channels. Where you shows off your knowledge.

d) Blogging helps you to make money.

Once you have built yourself a good blog and have started to churn out quality content you end up building creditability among your visitors. Which is very important when you decide to sell through your blog.

1) Google Adsense : Once your blog becomes 6 months old and you have been consistently blogging with no plagiarism , you can apply to Google Adsense and allocate a specific space in your blog for Google to place advertisement.

2) Selling a Space : Many bloggers sell a space on their blogs at fixed mounthly price. There are multiple jackets that bloggers can sell with banners of various sizes.

3) Sponsored Stories : Bloggers are paid to write blog posts , case studies , product reviews and are also given budgets to promote the same. For example I get regular requests to Sponsored Stories I send them quotes to close this conversation into a deal.

4) Affiliate marketing : As a blogger , your affiliate journey become a lot easier . Once you have your own affiliate link to a perticular product or service, you can review them and insert the link in the blog 5) Product sales : Your blog is a best platform for you to sell your products and services . I put up banners about my workshops, offers and discounts on the home page of my blog.

6) Training opportunities : When you position yourself as an expert in the perticular respective industry, you definetly find people approaching you to talk about a particular topic. I have been invited to speak at a good number of concerned institutions Specifically on the Hotel Entrepreneur Development Program.

7) Consulting Opportunities : You can create a separate page for your Consulting services , if you have proven track records and have built enough creditability , you're bound to find people who would enquire your guidance and Consulting services. I frequently recives enquiries me for consultations through the Consulting page of my blog .

8) Business leads : They come as a best source for organic business leads . For example recently I wrote a case study and a banquet hall that we have partnered with for social media marketing and branding. The blog made rounds among the people who are in the similar line of business and I have received fair number of clients pitches .

Blogging as a route to network with industry experts. As you start blogging, you start networking with hundreds of people across the world, especially with the people from same domain.

1) Infographics of other authors and refurbish quotes : Many blogging - Savvy individuals are notified about the monthly backlinks they gained from various people. You can also inform other authors by tweeting them .

2) Make a list of top influencers, companies and institutions : I personally recommend building list and featuring top organization's ( academics , companies and bodies ) For example , I have a list of top 10 Hotel Management institutions in India , Top 5  Houspitality Management Colleges in the state. This way I see a lot of institutions and colleges connecting with me and thanking me with mail or tweets for mentioning their organisations in my blog. 

3) Interview the experts : As I have mentioned earlier , giving quality backlinks ( a reference to other websites ) is a vital ( SEO) gesture in blogging.

Consistency is a key Success mantra in blogging . 

Blogging gives you authority and identity : Blogging is essential in building your personal brand as it shows what you were and what you are with access to every single piece of content.

What are the different types of blogs ? 

a) Personal blog : The first ever kind of blogging came into the market was in the form of an online diary - a personal blog/ dairy . It was started by the people who wanted to share their feelings, thoughts, knowledge and experience on the digital platform. This works as open page of their dairy . These bloggers make use of Blogger, WordPress or Tumblr .

b) Business blog : People who blog for their business or the company they work for are called business bloggers . This is entirely different from the personal blog as it is focused on the company or the industry it falls under. These blogs target ideal customers and cover relevant topics. A successful business blog helps the business to gain more coustemers , subscribers to their email list/ newsletters and even sale conversations .

c) Professional blog : Bloggers who makes money through their blogs are called professional bloggers . The Success of professional blog is measured on the basis of the monetisation goals.

d) Niche blog : Some blogs are focused on specific things or are narrowed down to a perticular topic and not written on broader ideas. Niche blogs are the blogs written on the digital media, travels and food.

Now the most important thing about 

How to get started with Blogging ? 

Define your calling that would serve as your Niche ?

This is a very important step in your online journey ; This is a Time to Brainstorm your Topic.

* Ask yourself this ; What you enjoy doing the most ? 

* What you want to be recognised as in the field of blogging / industry.

Your niche largely depends upon the three factors 

* Passion : how passionate are you about in perticular subject/ topic ?

* Skills/ Knowledge : how much skills/ knowledge do you possess in the subject/ topic you are passionate about ?

* Marketing opportunities / Profitability : what is the market opportunity for the subject/ topic that you have picked ?

Let's take an example , you might be passionate about worms and you might have more knowledge on this subject when compared to others . But there might not to be enough search volume on search engines for worms related keywords. This means there is not enough scope for this perticular subject on digital . 

While defining your niche these 3 elements will help you 

1) Passion : Make a list of topics/ Subjects you can talk about every single day and never get tired . ( Make a list of atleast 5 to 10 topics/ Subjects ) 

2) Skills and knowledge : Make a list of topics in which you are more skilled and knowledgeable than average person.

3) Profitability, Prospectiviti / Market Opportunities : This is the largest factor while selecting your niche.

* Not so popular niche ( i.e. B2B , IT , HR , Marketing Communication ) = Less Compitative.

* Very popular ( i.e. Fashion, gadgets, music, travel, making money online ) = Super Compitative .

Many people pick a niche on market opportunities they figure out their niche on the basis of earning potential . 

For example , Amazon say's if you become an affiliate with them and promote their products in certain categories you shall earn the commission % of the percentage i.e. kindle devices and ebooks 10% , Consumer electronics and accessories ext 4% like this. Many people pick their niche on the affiliate commissions based but that's not what builds their brand .

Your personal brand is built by choosing a niche that suits your passion and knowledge the most. 

For example one of the most successful blogger " Rahul Jain " runs a blog titled chennaiuniform . Com . He is one of the top uniforms suppliers for verious companies, hospitals and schools in Chennai.

Finalising your niche ?

Answer these questions before you finalise your niche 

1 ) what is the purpose of your blogging journey ?

2) What knowledge value you can add for your audience to start recognising you ?

3) Why should someone who doesn't know you follow you ? 

For reference : My purpose in this journey to help people discover the business potential ( Hotel & Catering Industry ) through social media platforms and reach out to rural and urban India and help them to understand the importance of ( HEDP) Hotel Entrepreneur Development Program , as job opportunities as well as the business owner. 

Finding your Domain Name ?

Domain name is your identity on the internet . It is the name board that you register your business with your followers will recognise with .

What is good domain name ?

* Easy to type and remember 

* Which is brandable 

* Easy for Keyword optimisation 

* It can be your name ( especially for the blog that focuses on personal branding ) 

1) Your full name .

( Example Abhirajskitchen . Com ) 

2) Your name + Keyword 

( Example digital abhirajskitchen . com)

3) Your business name 

( Example www . abhirajskitchen . blogspot . Com ) 

Best practices of booking domain name for blogging 

* Stick with . Com ( Major Priority ) 

* Use keyword 

* Keep it short and simple ( not more than 15 characters )

* Very easy to promote and spell 

* Keep it unique and brandable ( socialsamosa. Com )

* Avoid hyphens 

* Avoid double letters

* Leave room to expand ( chennaiuniforms .  com v/s uniformblog. Com ) 

5 Best blogging platforms and their purpose 

1) Blogger. Com

* Ideal for hobby bloggers who blog about personal things .

* Simple interface which is inclusive of hosting and subdomain name.

* There is started layout available and no external plugins.

2) WordPress . Org

* Perfect for proffesional bloggers who want to make money through their blogs.

* Available for free.

* There is no hosting and domain name available.

* A lot of free themes are available in the directory .

3) WordPress. Com

* The plan is available for free but there are other plans.

* Free hosting and has subdomain which can be customised.

* There are hundreds of designs to choose from, with customisation available according to the plans.

* While you can share and comment, there's no option of plugins available.

4) Medium. Com

* A exlent space for bloggers who want to build their brand through blogging .

* It is available for free and is inclusive of hosting.

* You get subdomain and can customise it.

* No option for types of designs or plugins extension. But you can get a great typography setting.

5) LinkedIn .Com 

* It is not a blogging platform . It is a networking site for proffesionals .

* It allows you to publish blog post.

* It is free of cost.

* You can publish whenever you want.

* Has ability to rank on Google search results.

* Gets traction with your existing audience ( in your network).

You can choose from a variety of free and paid thems. If you are great with designs , you can design one or can hire designer to do it for you. 

Remember : The website builders are very user friendly and mostly consist of drag and drop features. So you don't have to be tech - savvy to design your blogs layout.

Important Tip : Use sites like Generatepress , Themeforest or Athemes They have ample themes to pick from.

Reference : Log on to Sourav Jain .com/ WordPress themes . He has picked up some of my favourite themes that perform really well.

Very important : Choose the best plugins for your blogs.

* Plugins makes life easier for bloggers.

* May free or even paid you can add them while creating your blog or later in the process . For example , Use plugins like Yoast For SEO , which enables specific functionalities that makes your job as a blogger a lot easier.

Following is the list of some free and paid WordPress plugins that I would recommend for you on the basis of their names , benefits and price 

 *Yoast SEO , SEO Customisation , free.

 * Shared Counts, Social share Button , free.

 * MaxCDN , Increase the speed, free .

 * Envira Gallery , For Gallery , free.

* SEMrush , For Competitor analysis , free.

* Social Locker , To Lock The Content, $27 * Mash share, For Social share button, €39

* Smart Slider , For Slider, $25.

Note : Always get started by Writing Compelling Content that would attract a large number of audience.

The best way to garner your audience is to talk about whatever is in trend. Because topical content works wonders.

While writing your blog, make sure you have following things in your mind.

1) Title : Be precise while selecting your blog title is to the point and conveys the highlight of the article. No matter if it is a list of blog or Step by Step tutorial blog don't forget to add numbers to make it look more credible.

For example , Some of the blog titles works really well like How- tos, guides, interviews, list of top 10, best 20 etc.

Keep updating the old list with your new articles .

2) Keywords : I personally use tools like Ubersuggest , Google keywords planner, AHREF , SEMRUSH, Keyword.io. , Once I curated a list of all relevant keywords I make sure to include them in the article.

Because it makes your your blog " Keyword Rich" and easier for search engines to find them.

3) Word Count : Search Engine don't rank shot article at the top for any given topic , I recommend you to make your articles elaborate - includes of examples, case studies etc. I make sure I have a word count of atleast 1000 ,  I usually write articles of no less than 2000 words.

Remember you should be consistent while blogging .

4) Tone of your blog : Blogging is not a news coverage or it's doesn't have to be serious , The secret to good blog post is ability of " CONVERSATION" . You should write a way you talk to your friends. That's way how your blog post should sound. It should be first- Person approach Simple.

5) The body of your blog : A blog post should consist of following things.

* A keyword reach title.

* Introduction

* Sub- headings

* Bullet points ( use wherever possible) 

* Conclusion and call to action

* Images/ Reference screenshots 

* Use of bold and italics

* Anchor links to related/ reference blogs

Now What Kind Of Content Works For Blogs ? 

There are many styles of Crafting a perfect blog post , here are the few styles that have worked really well for most of bloggers .

a) How- tos : One of the main reasons people search on the Google is to learn process and crack a certain situation they are stuck in. For example, you are more likely to search for " How to become best Successful hotel Entrepreneur " if you want to become one. So, as Blogger, if address this on my blog and if the blog post starts ranking on the top, you are more likely to visit my blog.

b) I frequently handle email interviews with some knowledgeable people in the hospitality industry and these all go up on my blog. As mentioned earlier , with right kind of SEO done for the name, every time someone Google's the same name, the blog atomatically appears on the top. It is also best way to build an initial audience and direct traffic to your blog. Because once you have picked your niche and interview people who have already audience base. The chances are they share the interview on their social media channels and give you the opportunity to get organic traffic to your blog post. This is the easiest way to generate content.

c) Infographics : There is no surprise that visuals works better than text. The fact is that readers are more likely to remember information presented in the form of infographic than otherwise. Another advantage is that infographics garner the maximum numbes of shares on social media. Infographics have a higher chances of ranking on Google Image search results.

d) Case studies : Storytelling and Success stories make for Compelling case studies.

Case studies can be done in various formats , But using it exclusively for storytelling can be a added value. Case studies doesn't talk about your journey, it's products/ clients journey and shows how your products/ clients have aided people.

e) Guide and Resource : How to guide is another type of content that can work well on your blog. Because they focuses on the perticular topic and Provide solutions if needed but remember guides may get complicated at times and may loose readers attention. Hence it has to be written in a captivating way.

f) Listicles : Adding numbers to blog titles attracts lot of people. Readers love numbers. When I say 21 mind blowing weekend destinations in state , it attracts people has ability to rank higher and has great click through rates. Listicles are easy to build as it's matter of reasearch and compilation ( in your own words) . There is no perfect number for it. You can try different variations as you can such as 5, 7, 10to 25 etc.

Case study : Example , How one blog turned into an overnight Success.

" Tamilnadu Weatherman" from 2015 , has been doing rounds on Facebook with his timely weather updates. He is phenomenon, and have been analysing how he turned out to be famous despite of there being numerous other weather bloggers and meteorologists .

Conclusion : Many bloggers treat blogging as a business and so minimal activity wouldn't help you become a great blogger. However, people continue to blog as a hobby . Some people blog to become thought leaders and use platforms like Medium or LinkedIn and check list for ' heavy blogging to treat blogging as business'. The perfect moment to start is when you decide to start with it, no matters what's so ever little you know about it or how much you have it. All is matter with your vision " A clear Goal" 

" Remember it all depends how you use Blogging ? What you share and what you don't like to share is all responsible while shaping your identity on online journey. " The human brain is like a image processor we tend to remember things that we see than what we read" I hope eventually now you have understood and have read this guide then you are all set to dive into Blogging and rock it ! 

Thanks me later ! 

My best advice how to succeed in personal branding please visit https://Sourav Jain.com.

Or you can refer to Ankur Agarwal and Nile Patel .

DISCLAIMER : The Options Expressed In This Article Are The Personal Views Of The Author . They don't necessarily reflect the views of perfectionist Any omissions or the errors lies on authors responsibilities.

For further any support please mail me on 

NAME : Abhiraj Waghmare

MOBILE NO : 8830798050

EMAIL ADDRESS : waghmareabhiraj23@gmail.com