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Getting traffic to your blog is not as hard as maintaing it. When you start a blog, you might think you are the only person blogging on that topic - you are wrong. There are literally hundreds and thousands of others who write on that very topic. Out of that pool only handful make it big time. You may ask- How to know if others are blogging better than you on that niche. Just look around, they are already successful and you are not. If readers do not visit your site, make them. To do this, make every post interesting. Think outside the box and give them a twist. For example, if you are a blogger about making money online, you do not have to invent something to write to get traffic. If you cannot find new materials, just rewrite the old stuff floating around the net and spice them up. Be creative. Change the tone of your articles to more sarcastic and humorous. People like funnies. It keeps them coming back for more.

To inspire you folks, I have included an example of a “different” writing. This is a old piece and (written more than a decade ago) if you have already read it, read it again. I am sure it will make you smile again.

This essay was written as a college application essay by Hugh Gallagher.

Essay Topic: Are there any sinificant experiences you have had, or accomplishments you have realized, that have helped to define you as a person?

I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. I have been known to remodel train stations on my lunch breaks, making them more efficient in the area of heat retention. I translate ethnic slurs for Cuban refugees, I write award-winning operas, I manage time efficiently. Occasionally, I tread water for three days in a row.

I woo women with my sensuous and godlike trombone playing, I can pilot bicycles up severe inclines with unflagging speed, and I cook Thirty-Minute Brownies in twenty minutes. I am an expert in stucco, a veteran in love, and an outlaw in Peru.

Using only a hoe and a large glass of water, I once single-handedly defended a small village in the Amazon Basin from a horde of ferocious army ants. I play bluegrass cello, I was scouted by the Mets, I am the subject of numerous documentaries. When I’m bored, I build large suspension bridges in my yard. I enjoy urban hang gliding. On Wednesdays, after school, I repair electrical appliances free of charge.

I am an abstract artist, a concrete analyst, and a ruthless bookie. Critics worldwide swoon over my original line of corduroy evening wear. I don’t perspire. I am a private citizen, yet I receive fan mail. I have been caller number nine and have won the weekend passes. Last summer I toured New Jersey with a traveling centrifugal-force demonstration. I bat 400. My deft floral arrangements have earned me fame in international botany circles. Children trust me.

I can hurl tennis rackets at small moving objects with deadly accuracy. I once read Paradise Lost, Moby Dick, and David Copperfield in one day and still had time to refurbish an entire dining room that evening. I know the exact location of every food item in the supermarket. I have performed several covert operations for the CIA. I sleep once a week; when I do sleep, I sleep in a chair. While on vacation in Canada, I successfully negotiated with a group of terrorists who had seized a small bakery. The laws of physics do not apply to me.

I balance, I weave, I dodge, I frolic, and my bills are all paid. On weekends, to let off steam, I participate in full-contact origami. Years ago I discovered the meaning of life but forgot to write it down. I have made extraordinary four course meals using only a mouli and a toaster oven. I breed prizewinning clams. I have won bullfights in San Juan, cliff-diving competitions in Sri Lanka, and spelling bees at the Kremlin. I have played Hamlet, I have performed open-heart surgery, and I have spoken with Elvis.

But I have not yet gone to college.

Step-by-step guide to setup up your blog powered by Wordpress

1. Choosing your niche and getting a relevant domain.
2. Finding a web host that supports php script and provides MySQL database.
3. Installing Wordpress.
4. Designing your blog to look professional and authentic.
5. Writing good content.

Now that you know what a blog is, let’s see how to setup a blog powered by Wordpress. As mentioned in the previous post, Wordpress is a blogging software which can be downloaded free. Before you install wordpress, make sure your web host supports php script and provides MySQL database. You will need them. If you are finding it hard to find a cheap web host that fulfill these requirements, I suggest you visit 1and1 web hosting (aff) because compared to other hosting sites, it is dirt cheap and more reliable. This site is hosted on 1and1 and I have never had any problems with them (It has been two years now). Don’t pay for your hosting yet, you will need something else first.

Choose your niche and get a relevant domain name:

You might say, “hey, I know I need a domain name, tell me something I do not know”. Getting a domain name might be obvious but obvious is usually the hardest thing to see. It is always better to register a longer domain name easier to remember and that makes sense than a shorter one that doesn’t. Try sticking with just letters. Numbers, hyphens and other unknown characters can confuse your user. And register the ‘.com’ domain rather than ‘.net’ or ‘.org’. Last point about registering your domain- It is always helpful if your domain name is related to the niche of your site. For example, if you want to blog about celebrities, then having a word celebrity or something related with help your site gain SERPs ( search engine result page). And hopefully, I do not need to tell you how does ranking at the top help your blog. Your site’s niche defines its content. Blog about stuff that you know inside-out and love to talk about. If you choose your niche that you have no knowledge on, you will soon run out of stuff to write and there goes your blogging career down the drain.

Installing Wordpress

Now that you have registered a relevant domain name, pay your hosting fees and download Wordpress. Unzip the file and upload all the files to your server then enter your database details in wp-config-sample.php file and rename it to wp-config.php. Point the browser to the directory where your have uploaded the files and Wordpress will install itself and you are good to go.

Look and feel of your site

You will now need to find a good Wordpress theme that makes your site look professional and authentic. This is very important. Although the Cliché “Don’t judge the cover by its book” is absolutely true, good cover does attract more customers. There are literally thousands of ‘Wordpress theme’ sites. Just Google it. If you cannot find a decent theme, ask for professional help. There are many coders who will do it for you for a reasonable price. Remember: if your blog looks professional, people perceive you as a professional. And, if you cannot maintain that image among your readers, then you, my friend, will learn it the hard way.

Finally, sit back, relax and write good content

As important as site design is, if you do not provide good content, you might as well sell books with just pretty covers and empty pages. So, write good content relevant to your niche. If you are finding it hard to get started, find a free lance writer to do it for you. Make sure you have a legible writing skills in whatever language your blog is in, else the unprofessional factor will come to play again. Write regularly and try to make it original. If you are just worthless in creative writing, find an article written by someone else and paraphrase it or rewrite it. Never copy directly from others and not only for moral reasons but also for legal and search engine’s hatred reason.

I will provide some composition and formating rules in the upcoming posts.