I’ve mentioned building your own blog time and time again here, but I realize I never really laid it down in detail. When building your own blog, you can opt for free blogging platforms such as Blogger or WordPress.com. If you’re using those, you don’t exactly need much help, as they’re very easy to use. However, it can be a bit confusing for a complete newbie to delve into self-hosted blogging. Here’s a simple checklist for you to follow:

1. Decide on a Niche.

The first thing to think of when you plan to build your own blog is your niche. If you’re already an expert on a subject, then that’s no problem. But for those who’re only just starting and have a variety of interest, there’s much to decide.

2. Look for a web host.

Read around for the web host which you think would suit your needs perfectly. Go for general web hosts. You won’t be needing VPNs or private servers anytime soon.

3. Think of a Name for your Blog.

As trivial as it sounds, the name of your blog is important for branding. Think of something catchy, something which could catch readers’ attention yet capture the essence of your blog.

4. Buy Domain Name.

You can now think of a domain name and buy one. Make sure the domain name you think of isn’t owned by anybody yet by checking on a Whois service. I’d recommend using .com, .net, or .org, and steering away from the .info names. You should also decide where to buy domain names from. Although you can probably purchase them off of your web host, I won’t recommend you do so. In case you get into conflict with your host, your domains might be locked in. I’d advise using GoDaddy, Netfirms, or Namecheap instead.

5. Decide on the CMS to be used.

There’s Wordress, Movable Type, and Typepad, to name a few. I’d recommend WordPress since it’s the most user-friendly and has got tons of free templates available online.

6. Do basic SEO on the Blog.

You don’t need to be an expert. Just the usual SEO techniques such as title tags, header tags, keyword density, etcetera, would do at first. Of course, don’t forget link building.

7. Write your preliminary content.

Before you promote your blog, write some preliminary content so people have something to read when they click through. First impressions last, so put great thought on what you write for your blog.

8. Promote

After everything, you can now start promoting. Do some social networking and social bookmarking, as I always say.

Monetization efforts might come later when you’re more used to tweaking your blog. One of the most newbie-friendly type of monetization effort is Google Adsense. All you need to do is apply for an account, and once you get approved, you can start earning money. Of course, there are different ways to increase your Adsense income, but that’s a topic for another post.