5 Blog Investments Worth Making
It’s harder than ever to become a successful blogger. The competition is steep, and you have to bring your “A-game” if you want people to take your website seriously. A large factor in blog success is credibility. If you want people to read what you have to say or buy products/services you’re promoting… well, you need to make some investments in your site that tell others that you know what you’re doing.
Here are 5 blog investments worth making that will provide you that level of credibility from the start so that you too can see success.
A great domain name
The first thing anyone will notice (especially when sharing your blog with others) is your domain, or website address. The great news is that not only is this an easy fix, but it’s also a relatively affordable investment. Most “dot com” domains are under $15 annually.
Choose a name that reflects your content and blog/business. For example, if your business name just happened to be Hello You Designs, you of course would want the domain name that reflects that. If for some reason the “dot com” domain extension is not available, consider a moment that perhaps that name isn’t right for you. While there are other domain extensions, the “dot com” is the most credible and widely used.
Appropriate Web Hosting
There’s no shortage of web hosts to choose from. There’s a lot to consider when choosing a web hosting provider, and your choice has a great impact on your website’s safety, long-term capabilities, and loading speed.
While free blogging platforms are certainly a lot better than they used to be, they severely limit users when it comes to things like growth, customization & design, and monetizing.
Siteground is my personal favorite. Not only do they have an extremely affordable options, they have excellent custom service. WPEngine is another option – especially for more experienced users.
Professional blog design
Okay, so being that I love Hello You Designs so much, I might seem a bit biased. But seriously, you only get one chance to make a great first impression, and having a professional blog appearance is a huge part of credibility. Once you’ve done all of the hard work of writing an awesome blog post and even getting people to click to read it… well, it’s a real shame if they are met with a poorly designed website that isn’t pleasing to look at.
Hello You Designs creates versatile WordPress themes that work with any blog niche. They are feminine, gorgeous, and incredibly affordable given the amount of customization options (seriously, check out the showcase at some of the work others have done).
Further Reading: How to Choose a WordPress Theme
Beautiful Images
We can’t all be pro photographers (although it certainly helps if you’re good behind a lens). Still, having beautiful, eye-catching images on your blog is important. Lucky for people like me who only recently discovered settings on my smart phone that make my pictures suck a little less… there’s no shortage of stock photography sites to choose from.
Some of my favorites:
Social Media Presence
They say if you build it, they will come. Unfortunately, that’s not true of a blog. It’s important that you invest the time and energy into establishing yourself on social media so that people can begin to recognize your name and face. Grow a following of people who are interested in your content. They will be the ones willing (and excited) to share your content and make your blog grow.
What has been your greatest investment?
Tell me what investment has proven to be the best one for you in the comments below.
