How To Start Your Own Psychology Blog in Less Than One Hour (5 Simple Steps) by psysci.co by psysci.co Whether you are simply a psychology enthusiast or working as a fully qualified psychologist, running your own psychology blog is one of greatest things you can do to enhance your psychology aspirations. By running your own psychology blog you can: Develop and strengthen your psychology knowledge and share what you ve learnt Add unique and valuable experience to your CV to give yourself the edge when you re applying for your next post Network and connect with psychologists from around the world Establish a name for yourself and offer online services THE 5 STEP PROCESS TO START YOUR OWN PSYCHOLOGY BLOG STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3 STEP 4 STEP 5 Come up with an Idea! (I ll show you how if you don t have one) Technical set-up (easier than it sounds, I recommend bluehost.com) One-click blog install (very easy!) Configure (have a play!) Get blogging! Now it s time to go through the 5-step plan in more detail.
STEP #1 # Come up with a Unique Idea (or At least Improve an Old One!) Probably the most difficult step! Unless you already have your idea, coming up with the Unique Selling Point for your blog will take a bit of creativity. The USP will form your domain, blog name and brand concept. For example: My own psychology blog www.psysci.co combines psychology and science. TIP: If you re struggling to come up with your USP try combining two concepts that you re interested in. For example here is a table that I might draw out if I wanted to come up with an idea for a new children s toy. Action man Frisbee Robot Helicopter DIY Build your own action man Frisbee with changeable parts Build different robots together Add different parts Remote control Remote controllable! One person tries to send the Frisbee off course with a remote Fighting robots Already is :) Ok so I might not have come up with the next big seller in the toy market, but you get the idea, with some thought drawing out the above table can release some great ideas.
STEP # 2 Set up your Domain and Hosting When it comes to setting up your domain name and hosting its actually MUCH easier than you might think. I strongly suggest using bluehost.com for your domain and to host your blog for these 3 simple reasons: - You get a free domain with your hosting - They offer a 30-day money back guarantee if you re not happy - And most importantly you can install your Wordpress blog with one click To get started simply: 1) Head over to bluehost.com (or click here) 2) Select your plan (the Starter plan is a great staring point) 3) Follow the instructions and wait for your instruction email from bluehost You re ready for the next step! TIP: Having problems? Use the bluehost.com online chat support!
STEP #3 # Install Wordpress and set up the Blog Once you ve received your domain and hosting confirmation email you re ready to log in and one-click install Wordpress. Wordpress is the software that will make your blogging life painless. To one-click Wordpress simply: 1. Navigate to the MOJO Marketplace section inside cpanel 2. Click the One-Click Installs icon. Follow the instructions and your Wordpress site will be ready in minutes! Once Wordpress is ready then log in using your new Wordpress URL, username and password. Remember, your Wordpress username and password will be different from your Hosting (bluehost) username and password. At this point you will have two sets of username and password. TIP: Your wordpress login screen will be at: http: //www. yoursite. com / wp-admin
STEP # 4 Install a Wordpress Theme and add any Plugins Once you ve logged in to Wordpress have a little look around and familiarise yourself with the different menus and settings. The main thing you will want to do at this point is decide on a Wordpress theme: this changes how your blog will look. To do this, on the navigation menu on the left click Appearance > Themes and then Add New at the top, browse through the themes until you find one that takes your fancy. Secondly you will want to configure any Plugins. Plugins do helpful things such as add contact forms, create newsletter signup forms and add photo galleries without having to know how to code anything! My current favourite plugins are: - Optinmonster: Well designed and very easy to use popups to add people to your mailing list. - W3 Total Cache: Speeds up your website with just a few clicks! - Jetpack by Wordpress: Made by the developers of Wordpress, adds lots of great functionality. TIP: Don t worry too much about choosing the perfect Theme at this point, they are easy to change and the content of your website will remain the same even when you switch between different Themes.
STEP #5 # Time to start writing! You ve done all the hard work now its time to write your first blog post. Simply go to Posts > Add new and start writing. There is plenty of advice out there detailing how to get more visitors to your blog and what to write about. If you re stuck I recommend finding articles online that discuss blog promotion and content creation in detail. But here are my top tips to get you started: - Write about what you are interested in and passionate about - Post new blogs regularly, once a week if possible - Let your Facebook fans and Twitter followers know when you publish a new post You re done! Have fun blogging!