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Blogging is one of the best way to increase a website’s traffic and if you’re a Virtual Assistant and you’re not doing it, I suggest you start now or hire someone who can do it for you.

If you’re an aspiring Virtual Assistant and want to offer blogging as a service, congratulations because you have found a niche that will never run out of customers! Blogging is like pancakes! They sell! Entrepreneurs need new content at least every week and I compare it to selling purified water!

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They’re the online business’ basic necessity so what I did is collate a few tips to help you get started.

1. Decide where you want it to be seen. If you haven’t built your website yet and really want to start blogging, first you have to identify where you want it to be seen. Here are your choices.

a. BlogSpot

b. WordPress

If you don’t have the budget for a self-hosted domain and website, BlogSpot and WordPress are your only choice though I’ll be citing a few examples of their pros.

Your blogs can be seen right away. Both BlogSpot and WordPress can be set up in minutes and your blog/s can be posted right away. No need for programmers and no expenses, too!

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c. Your own self-hosted domain

According to a few sources, you can readily transfer the blogs form your WordPress.com to your self-hosted site, however, whatever audience you built with either BlogSpot and WordPress.com can not be transferred to your self-hosted website. It is very important for a starting blog because it’s not easy to build an audience and you might want to take that into consideration especially if you really want to make money out of it.

If you’re going to create and use your own website, you can setup the SEO foundation of your site (or have your designer do it) so you’ll have more chance of being seen unlike in BlogSpot and WordPress, you can’t control it.

Having your own domain looks more formal, serious and credible though I understand that it’s the content that matters most, sometimes, your own domain also counts and it’s better not to risk “not having it”.

2. If you already have your website and has chosen your “niche”, write about it. Write about anything related to it.

3. Your niche reaches to your “ideal market”, think about talking directly to them. answer their questions, give solution to their problems and don’t be scared to give out information.

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4. Write like you talk. You can be yourself when writing! Come on! It’s a blog and not a “thesis” so you can be less formal if you want to. You can crack a joke, show your personality and share your own story

and views.

5. Plan your blog topics and titles for the month. You can change anytime but it’s better to have a list of topics and titles to guide you before you write. It also compels you to write and not procrastinate, one of the greatest enemy of bloggers.

6. Create your blog calendar and make sure to follow it!

7. Use your own cellphone/camera for the blog pictures and don’t forget to create a disclaimer if you get pictures online. Using your own picture is always best though if you really can’t avoid it, crediting back to its owner is the best thing to do as a courtesy.

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8. After writing it, leave it for a day and get back to it for editing. After reading and final edit, ask a friend or someone to just read it for final proofing before posting it. Two pair of eyes are better than one so if you have someone who can help you with it, why not just ask?

9. Share! What’s the use of your blog if no one will see it? You can’t expect others to just find their way to your site without you promoting it! This is one of the hardest part, even harder than making the blog itself. You have to be present in social media. For this part, I suggest you watch the Free VA Training Videos I’ve created on how to start a VA business to give you more idea how to do it.

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10. The best part of the tip is, START NOW There is no better time but now. Just write and start planning for it, then work your on your plans.

Your business will not be built without HARD WORK and you need lots of it! Happy blogging and don’t forget to comment if you like the post or share it to your friends!