Are you ready to take the next step with your blog? Do you want to set your blog up for monetizing it in the future? Then, there are a few things you need to change about it before you go forward. Here are my five steps to helping you make your blog look more professional.

1. Get away from Blogger and WordPress.com. Yes, there are some blogs that do very well and have a ton of traffic and they use Blogger and WordPress. But, they are the exception to the rule. It’s time to make your blog grow up and get it’s own domain name and hosting. For about $100 bucks a year, you can buy a domain and hosting from a web host such as Dreamhost, Media Temple, or Site 5. I like Dreamhost, because they have a 1-click install for the self-host WordPress install. It makes life very easy for setting up a new blog.
2. Use the self-hosted WordPress software. It’s free and it’s the best software for blogging. It has thousands of free and premium themes, like the Thesis WordPress theme, which is the theme I use for this site. By the way, WordPress has an extremely easy import/export feature, so you can keep your current content if it’s hosted on a free blog platform like Blogger, LiveJournal, or WordPress.com.
3. Pay for a custom header or logo. Your site will stand out from the amateurs if you pay for a graphic designer to create a logo or header for you. You can easily find a freelance graphic designer on Craigslist, Facebook, eLance, or many other freelance websites that will do one for cheap.
4. Create focused content. It’s ok to talk about random stuff every now and then on your blog, but if it’s a company blog or a blog you want to start making money online from, then you need to pick a few topics to start writing about and stick to those topics. Find a niche that you enjoy writing about like a hobby or activity that you already spend a lot of time researching.
5. Do research. I started blogging on niche websites 4 years ago, and I have learned everything I know by doing my own research, reading other blogs, analyzing what other blogs are doing, and getting my hands on any materials that could teach me how to blog better. ProBlogger and Copy Blogger are great places to start.

If you’d like help with migrating your existing blog to a self-hosted domain with WordPress, consulting on how to blog better, or help with customizing the Thesis theme, feel free to contact me for a discount quote