As an aspiring blogger, starting a blog on WordPress is one of the easiest ways to learn the bolts and nuts of blogging while growing your blog. The reason behind this is not far-fetched. WordPress leads, others follow!

Yes, WordPress is by far, the most widely used blogging platform for bloggers globally. It also has one of the easiest learning curve for beginners.

According to a report by optinmonster, as at 2020, WordPress has over 60 Million bloggers and currently powers 35% of all websites globally; making it the most widely used content management system ever.

Besides this stats, lots of top popular brands are also using WordPress. For instance, websites like; The New York Times, BBC America, MTV News, Times Inc., CNN among many others, including some popular news websites in Nigeria are all using WordPress to power their platforms.

These brands are using WordPress not just because it is easy to use, over the years, with its popularity; WordPress has helped millions of bloggers to create over 70 million posts, every single month.

You see, regardless of whatsoever shortcomings it may have, when it comes to blogging, WordPress is the platform to beat. Considering its simplicity, ease of use for beginners, to its popularity, using WordPress for your blog, you’ll have a lot of options to learn, build and grow your blog.

Now, I’m going to share with you 7 simple steps to start a WordPress blog in Nigeria....

But, before we dive in, to discuss these in details, I’ll like us to discuss briefly about the things you need to put in place before starting your WordPress blog…

What it takes to start a WordPress Blog in Nigeria

With a content management system like WordPress, you don’t need to be a tech guru before you start a blog. Also, you don’t need to be an academic expert on any topic before you can begin to explore that topic or share it on your blog.

So what exactly does it take to start a blog you ask?

The first thing you need to start a blog is a platform, a laptop or smartphone, some basic writing or content creation skills and your effort. Now, let’s talk about this in details

How to start a WordPress blog

The following are the important steps you need to take to start a blog on WordPress;

Set Up your Blogging Goal

Before you decide to start your WordPress blog, you need to have a specific goal you want to achieve with the blog.

This goal could include things like; building a thriving platform, launching a business, making money online, growing a brand, making your voice heard etc.

In a nutshell, your goal is the thing you want to achieve with your blog. No matter what it is, your goal is the center piece of your blog. It is the primary reason why the blog will be in existence so, you need to figure out your goal and then build your blogging strategy around this goal.

PS: You need a clear idea about the reason behind your decision to start your WordPress blog, so you can plan out how you’re really going to build a blog that will achieve the goals you have in mind.

Create a Strategic Plan
When you’re done setting out your blogging goals and objectives, the next thing you want to do is to make a plan based on those goals you’ve set out.

For instance; if your goal is to use your blog to become a thought leader, in this step, you want to create some strategic plan that will help you decide on the right blogging steps you need to take to grow the blog until you become recognized as a thought leader.

Your plan should also give you clear ideas on important decisions that will affect your blog like the kind of content you’ll be creating for instance, your posting schedules, promotion strategies etc.

If your goal is to make money with your blog, for example, your blogging strategy should also include plans on building possible income streams that will favor you, based on your location, blogging niche and audience.

PS: Inasmuch as your blogging plan is supposed to contain strategies, concepts and ideas on how to achieve your blogging goals, your plan does not really have to be rigid.

Like your business plan, your WordPress blogging strategy should be a guideline that will streamline your actions. You should be able to change it from time to time, to reflect the new realities on ground. It should also contain practical steps that will help you to grow your blog.

Buy a Domain Name
After setting up your business plan, your next step is to get to work on building the blog. And the first thing to do at this point is to get a domain name.

Having a domain name is one of the most important things you’ll need before starting a blog. This is because your domain name is going to be your identity on the internet.

So you’ll want to be very careful about choosing a domain name. For this reason, you’ll have to consider what you’re going to be blogging about in the long term. This will help you to settle on the right domain name.

Now, while choosing a domain name, majority of the bloggers use their personal or brand names as the default domain name. But this is not always the best approach to take in some cases.

You have to choose your domain name based on the brand you want to build for your blog. So, if you’re projecting your personal brand, you can choose to use your name, nickname, full name etc. as a domain name.

On the other hand, if your blog is going to be promoting a business, idea or concepts different from your personal brand, you can choose the domain name to reflect the topic you’re blogging about or the business you want to promote.

To illustrate this further; supposing you’re blogging about health related topics, with a focus on young adults, you can think up a domain name like healthforyoungadult.com, youngadulthealth.com etc. or any other name that will clearly distinguish your brand in relation to your target audience.

This platform here can help you with your domain name research… As soon as your research confirms that your preferred domain name is available, pay for it as soon as possible then head over to get a web hosting account.

Be sure your domain name gives people a good grasp of what your blog is about without much stress.

Get a Web Hosting Plan
[/b]You’ve probably heard about people using free blogs on platforms like blogger, etc. Yes those platforms exist. People are using them. And they are free. You can settle for them if you’re not planning on building something serious with your blog.

But before you go ahead with the free blogs, you have to understand that using those platforms comes with serious limitations. And you’ll not be able to maximize the use of your blog.

If you’re interested in evolving a successful blog that can also be easily monetized, then you’ll need a paid hosting plan to host your customized domain name.

There are a handful of web hosting companies with affordable monthly and yearly hosting plan. There are also options you can choose from, including monthly, yearly, bi-annually hosting plans etc. Be sure you choose a web hosting plan that will be suitable for your budget. You can always get a better plan as the blog continues to grow.

[b]Set up your Blog

When you’re done choosing your domain name and web hosting plan, you’ll need to set up your blog so you can begin to actually create content on the blog.

Now, this is where WordPress comes in. Since you’re going to build your blog on WordPress, you want to start with installing WordPress on your hosting account through the one click installation on your Control Panel, choose a template, set up your pages and then use the follow up instructions to set up the blog.

This collection of tutorials on how to set up your blog here will help you get started. If you need further help, on setting up your blog on WordPress, you can hire us to build your blog.

Optimize for SEO
After creating and setting up your WordPress blog, you want to optimize your WordPress blog for search engine optimization. This is very important for your blog as a whole, your pages and your blog posts in particular.

Considering that the WordPress CMS comes with an already built in SEO compatibility and your blog can still rank in search engines without much optimization, to get in the best benefits and better ranks, there’s need to optimize your blog for SEO.

In this post here, you'll find a complete guide on how you can optimize your blog for SEO. Read it here.

Create Content
Now that you've successfully set up your blog on WordPress, the next thing you want to do is to create content for your blog. This is where the actual blogging takes place.

Considering that every audience has their own preferred content formats which may be; Text content, Video or Audio content etc. or a mixture of more than one, you want to carefully choose the Content format that will be suitable for your audience.

In some cases, you may not know the content style that will be suitable for your audience so, to get around this you may have to research some existing blogs in the niche you want to blog about and then find out their content format and how it is working for them.

Above all, ensure that your content style reflects your blog’s topic, your audience, and your goals.

So for example, a blog post about computer programming may need to include a combination of video and text content while entertainment content for gossip blogs may focus on creating mostly text content.

How to Create Your Blog Posts
The following are important tips on how to create blog content that will drive results for your blog…

Don’t make your posts too long or too short

Write your blog posts in such a way that it’s long enough to deliver value. Avoid making it so long that it’s intimidating or overly time consuming to read.

Though depending on your audience, it might be necessary to add some details or embellishments but the thumb rule is, make it simple and easy to read.

Get straight to the point, but make sure you’re adding enough content and detail. Most bloggers aim for about 1000-2000 words. Sometimes if you’re writing a tutorial on your WordPress blog, like I’m doing here, it could take more than 2000 words to deliver adequate value to your readers.

And if you’re creating entertainment content or gossip, celebrity blog etc., your content might have far less text. In whatever niche you are, you want to keep everything at optimum levels.

You can easily find out the content length that’s suitable for your audience by checking out other established blogs in your niche.

Use Attention Grabbing Titles

Your post title is the first thing a reader sees when deciding to read a post. If the title is interesting and attention grabbing it is more likely to get clicked.

So you’ll want to use a unique title that clearly explains what the blog post is about and what value the reader will get from reading it.

If you have a blog post that lists out steps that will help anyone cook noodles for instance, don’t title it “Cooking Noodles.”

Instead of that, consider using a title like “How to Cook Noodles with Chicken Sauce.” Such title would give your reader some good idea (or context) about the content thus making it more clickable.

PS: Be sure your titles are well optimized for the search engine. Also, understand that compared to others, titles that start with “how to” , “tips” etc. are very popular. And people search for them more often.

Create Valuable Content

Your blog posts, and all forms of content marketing, should deliver educational or entertainment value to your audience. This is what will make them stick with you.

The more value your readers get, the more likely they are to return for more, engage with your blog and potentially buy your product, or share your blog links with their friends.

Connect with your Audience

Authenticity is a great trait to have. Share your unique opinions, personal experiences, lessons or perspectives through your content.

Don’t be afraid to use jargons, slangs etc., if it adds to your brand personality, depending on your audience. I regularly use ellipses and emoticons in my blog posts sometimes as you’ll also notice in this tutorial.

Where possible and if necessary, share your personal experiences and opinion in your blog posts. It makes your content more relatable.

Use the Right Keywords

Keywords research helps you to optimize your blog posts with the right kind of words your audience will most likely use when searching for stuff that relates to what you’re writing about.

A keyword tool like Google Keyword Planner and other keyword research tools can help you determine which keywords and phrases you should be using in your title and the body of your blog posts.

Using keywords and phrases that match what people are searching on the internet can improve your search ranking, increase your blog traffic and post views. You want to research and plan your keywords effectively before writing a blog post.

Make your Opening Paragraph Captivating

Your opening paragraph can be the deal breaker in determining the success of your posts. If it’s great, readers will be intrigued to keep reading. If it's uninteresting, they may lose interest instantly and browse away from your blog.

For this reason, you want to pay adequate attention to your opening paragraph. Make it both entertaining and captivating for your potential readers to keep reading.

Use Sub Headings

Including sub headings in your blog post makes it more readable and well organized. It’s also very effective as part of your Search Engine Optimization effort.

Break up your blog posts with a different sub heading to highlight and separate the main points or topics of the post.

Create a Content Schedule
Even though content is king when it comes to blogging, in between writing great contents consistently and promoting your content, you’ll need a great deal of time.

For this reason, you want to create a schedule that will keep your blog updated with fresh content at regular intervals.

You don’t want your readers to forget about your blog so, you want to keep the blog updated in a way that will be suitable for you and your audience.

Final Words
Now, there are many other ways you can conveniently start a blog on WordPress and make money blogging. But, these are the most important steps you’ll have to follow…

In a nutshell, if you want to start a successful WordPress blog, you’ll need a realistic plan, domain name, a web hosting account and some important blogging tips to get started.

Also, remember real success takes effort, consistency and time. And this will be demanded of you as you work on building a successful blog for yourself.

Now, over to you. When it comes to starting a blog, what is your most important blogging tip?

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