Blogging is a feasible marketing tool for professionals who are working on a personal brand or applying for work. Follow these tips to elevate your blog to professional standards to attract the right audience and impress your future employer.
Find an angle
Determine the focus of your blog, or your niche, before you start writing. The generic copy won’t impress interviewers or attract loyal readers. Use your expertise in the respective area to inform and inspire. Alternatively, publish a new take on the news in your industry. Make sure you’re adding value so your readers keep coming back.
Your tone should match the niche
The next step is having your blog posts reflect your personality. Don’t publish generic material. Add a personal touch with tales from your professional experience. Your tone should match your professional goals. Adding humor is great unless your goal is to establish yourself as a financial expert. Your posts should inspire if you claim to be a professional life coach. Reconsider your niche if your tone doesn’t match it.
Choose the right domain name
This is one of the first steps in making your blog appear professional. A good domain name might inspire PR reps and brands to work with you in the future.
Domain names can be challenging to come up with because they have to be connected to the name of your blog. The name should reflect the focus of the blog or the niche. It should be memorable, easy to write out, and easy to recognize.
Before getting to that, the domain name should be available. When you’ve thought of one that might work, check if somebody isn’t already using it. If that’s the case, consider a slight variation or a different domain ending.
Consider the near future when thinking of your domain name. Will it be current five years from now? Not if you’ve branched out into a new niche or your life circumstances have changed considerably. A rebranding is a lot of work.
Choose a hosting provider
WordPress is a solid blogging platform with tens of thousands of tools, plugins, and themes. Most aspiring bloggers who are also professionals in a certain area choose it to get started. Then, the issue of hosting comes up. Who will keep your blog online? Your choice of hosting is paramount.
What is WordPress hosting? This is a web hosting service optimized specifically for websites running on WordPress. It caters to the specific requirements of websites using this content system, offering tailored features and optimized environments to ensure intuitive use, security, and seamless performance.
Of course, you can opt for another hosting service. Keep in mind that non-specialized providers only support general use. Their offerings are not specifically tailored to any content management system.
Essentially, WordPress hosting supports the foundation of your WordPress website. It comes with specialized support, pre-installed software, enhanced security, and reliable performance optimizations.
Legal pages
Anyone who wants their blog to be on par with professional standards has to treat it like a business. In other words, you should take measures to ensure legal compliance. Your must-have legal pages: Disclaimer, Terms and Conditions, and Privacy Policy. If you fail to procure the content for these, you might get sued.
The disclaimer explains that your blog content is only for educational or informational purposes. It specifically points out you are not liable for anything the reader might do with the information. If you’re publishing paid product reviews, you will share a disclosure here as well.
The Terms and Conditions let readers know what they’re allowed to do with your blog content. Finally, the Privacy Policy informs how you collect and use visitors’ data.
Your logo
A visually appealing logo helps a blog look professional and doesn’t cost much. It’s the first thing your readers will see. You can create a simple but beautiful logo in minutes, even for free.