The global sports industry is one of the biggest businesses. It’s estimated that it’s worth approximately $1.3 trillion. Sports lovers are always on the lookout for updates, and you could make a kill from a sports blog.
The industry is full of passion, euphoria, feelings, and sometimes, disappointments. Most Americans pass time talking, watching, and playing sports. If you’ve got a desire to write about sports, you could reach a bigger audience than just friends and family.
The internet provides a massive opportunity for sports blogging. You don’t need to be a trained sports writer to start your sports blog.
Here’s how you can go about it.
1. Choose Your Niche
You might not know this, but just because you’re into sports doesn’t mean you should write about everything. Again, it’s best if you only write about what profoundly interests you. Remember that this is something you’ll regularly write about, and you don’t want to mix issues.
For example, if you’re a school football coach, you’ll excel in school-based football than MLB picks and betting predictions. Let your focus be as specific as possible, and don’t try to outdo the experts in the field.
Once you find your niche, do some research online to find out what other people are saying. You might find a site providing the same content as you want to write about. Instead of giving up on starting a blog, determine how yours will be unique.
2. Choose a Name For Your Blog
Finding the best domain name for your sports blog can be quite a challenge. The competition for unique names is high. It’s very likely that the name you choose is already taken.
For this reason, flex your thinking and stretch your imagination. However, settle for a name that indicates your niche. Here are some tips you can use to come up with a good URL
- Choose a memorable name
- Go for short URLs
- Avoid hyphens or dashes in your URL
- Go for a .com domain since it’s the standard
After making the decision, use Bluehost to check if the domain name is available.
3. Decide the Hosting Platform You Want
Once you get your URL, the next thing is to decide where you want to have your blog hosted. The leading players in the field are Blogger, Wix, and WordPress.
Try them out to see how they operate. For starters, choose a platform that’s easy to use and doesn’t require technical coding skills. Each of the hosting platforms comes with unique features. For example, WordPress offers excellent customer support, while Wix is known for exceptional images.
While thinking of the hosting platforms, decide whether you want to have free or paid service. By using a paid service, you’ll retain the ownership rights to your blog. You’re free to sell ads on your site to make money.
The downside with this option is that you’ll need a lot of involvement in maintaining the site. It’s up to you to update the software when updates are released.
With a free hosting platform, you give up the rights to your site. Many restrictions limit your growth and the possibilities of monetizing your sports blog.
If you’re not ready to have a self-hosted blog, consider using WordPress.org for a start. You’ll later be able to transfer it to a self-hosted platform free of charge. Note the difference between WordPress.org and WordPress.com.
4. Choose a Design Template and Theme for Your Site
How your blog looks will determine how many people read your content. You probably want to have a blog that lets you post screenshots of scoreboards or game photos. Alternatively, you may want a blog that enables you to post long articles and detailed reports.
How you envision your blog is one factor that determines the platform you choose. If you want a primarily visual blog, Tumblr would be an excellent choice for you. It’s a form of a social media platform that has mobile compatibility and helps drive traffic to your site.
A platform like Medium would be ideal for a text-driven sports blog.
While at it, you’ll also decide about your logo, menu layouts, featured images, and the overall design. This is an excellent time to think about plugins that can help with website optimization.
5. Choose a Team to Follow Closely
Being specific about your blog content is essential. At this point, decide whether you’ll blog about multiple leagues, the sport itself, or a particular team. You can even narrow down your choice to an individual player.
Unless you’ve got vast knowledge on a particular sport, you may want to focus on individual teams.
6. Write Your First Post and Plan for the Others
If you want to blog full-time, it’s recommendable to have an editorial calendar in mind. In other words, as you write your first blog, determine how often you’ll post a blog entry. In the beginning, it helps to have frequent entries as you build an audience.
As a tip, each blog post should not be less than 300 words long. Sometimes, there’ll be exceptions, and in such cases, you can use visuals and videos. Check on Google how to embed a YouTube video; you’ll like the results.
Once you start with your first blog post, the rest should follow naturally
How to Have a Successful Sports Blog
Having your blog set up is just the beginning of a long journey. How long it lasts depends on how successful it becomes. For your blog to stand out from the crowd and get a following here are things to consider.
1. Think of Your Audience
As you sit down to compose your blog content, think of the readers. What is it that they want from you, the blog writer? Who are the people you’re trying to reach?
It’s worth deciding the demographics of the audience you want to reach. This will help you tailor your content in a way that meets the interests of the audience. One thing you can’t deny is that they want to find content packed with useful information.
2. The Length of Your Posts
As a new blogger, it’d be ideal to begin with short posts. Most readers wouldn’t want to commit hours to read long posts, especially blogs that are just coming up. Keep your posts between 300 and 750 words.
Within those few words, ensure you pass your message, and make it punchy. The aim’s to keep the reader hooked to your content.
3. Add Some Personality to Your Posts
With time, you’ll realize that no two posts will be the same. This is despite them being written by the same person. What this means is that you should let your personality reflect in your writing.
Readers will enjoy your posts if they can relate to your personality. Let your blog make your readers feel like they’re having a conversation with you.
4. Stand for Something
Don’t just create content for your sports blog for the sake of it. The ideal way to go about it is to take a stance and defend it fiercely. You’ll gain popularity among readers who have the same views as you.
On the other hand, you’ll also attract opponents to your position. With time, you’ll create a community of fans who come to express their views and defend what they believe. As a tip, take note that this type of defensive writing isn’t so common.
It’ll earn you an audience within no time if your content is relevant.
5. Let Your Readers See Something the News Won’t Show Them
Sometimes, sports can be under-reported in news items. Readers will keep coming back to your blog if you can expose a good scandal. Bad behavior by players or athlete drug use can give your readers something to gossip about, hence raising their adrenaline levels.
Be creative in your approach. You don’t want to taint anyone’s image.
6. Choose a Good Title
Each of your blog posts should have a title that stands out. How you phrase the title determines whether it’ll draw the interest of your readers or not. You can formulate a title by
- Starting a controversial debate
- Using relevant keywords
- Using humor
- Communicating something the readers might not know
If your title can get your readers to read the few lines, you’ll have caught their attention.
Final Thoughts
Having a sports blog is not only exciting but also profitable. If you have an interest in sports, consider excelling in it by starting a blog. This is a platform that allows you to express your views to a bigger audience.
Starting a blog isn’t an easy feat, but you can do it with the right steps in place. Choose the niche you want your blog to be about, and take a stand. The more engaging your content is, the more interested your readers will be.
Other factors to consider are the name of your site, the hosting platform, and design of the website. Once all these factors are in place, work on making your blog better. Remember you need to stand out of the competition to win.
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