Writing About Wheels: How to Start an Automotive Blog
Did you know there are over 30 million blogs in the United States?
That means, when you roll up your sleeves and sit down to create the automotive blog of your dreams, you should take it very seriously. There are 30 million other people out there trying to do the same thing.
Alas, don’t let that deter you. Once you choose your focus, it’s a matter of organization and daily diligence. Sure, there are over 30 million blogs out there, but not every blog is a success. Yours, however, can be.
Here are nine steps to set you on the pathway to success.
1. Choose Your Niche
This might sound strange. Didn’t you already choose a niche — cars? That’s true. And you’re close. But, it’s important to niche down from there again.
For example, will you focus on a specific car brand? Or, will you focus on detailing tips or car reviews?
The point is, the more you niche down, the more you can seek out partnerships and other advertising opportunities. Once your niche is established, then you can branch out a little with exciting Nascar news updates or other topics slightly outside the realm of your niche.
2. Find Your Voice
Next, it’s time to find your voice. Will you opt for a highly professional tone? Or, will you be free-spirited and inject some humor?
Along with the voice, or tone, of your blog, will you inject your own opinion into each article? Or, will you focus on the cold, hard facts? Once you find a tone that flows naturally for you, it’ll be important to maintain that voice.
3. Design Your Site
Once you’ve niched down and decided how you’d like to present your work, it’s time to start designing. Nowadays, there are so many platforms that lend themselves to the total novice.
If you visit blogging.org, they lay out some of the biggest contenders. WordPress is a popular platform with many different themes to choose from.
4. Promote Your Site
Once you’ve designed your site and posted an article or two, it’s time to promote your hard work. There are several ways to go about this.
First, you can guest post on other industry blogs. Pitch various topics to the managing editors and be prepared to submit first-class work. Through your article, you can direct readers to your blog. This will also expose your byline to new audience members.
Then, get out there and work your social media magic. Try focusing on the top three — Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Start chatting with other industry pros and build a community.
5. Lean Towards Visual Content
The good news is, there’s plenty of visual content for automotive blogs. The more you post images and videos, the more likely you are to keep readers and encourages likes and shares.
Which leads us to YouTube. If you can post a video in conjunction with each new blog post, you’re looking at new followers, day by day.
Start out small with simple video content to supplement each post. Perhaps you’ll review new products or build up some hype for the next Nascar race.
6. Research Your Keywords
Once you have a baseline of content created, it’s time to take a more thoughtful approach to your site’s ranking. That is, it’s important to research proper keywords.
For example, if you’re writing an article about the new Porsche Cayenne, what’s the best keyword or keywords? What will people be typing into Google when they have the Cayenne on their mind?
The good news is, there are plenty of resources for just this sort of thing. You might want to consider KWFinder, AHREFs or SEMrush for starters. Whatever topic you have in mind, they’ll tell you which keywords you should include.
7. Be Smart About Your Links
As you write, it’s important to include both internal and external links in your articles. Of course, you’ll want to include internal links because you want to keep readers focused on your site.
But, believe it or not, it’s also important to direct them to other sites. Including external links to reputable sites builds your own credibility. What are some of the most reputable names in the car game? Cite their blogs where you can.
And, of course, there’s no need to overdo it on keywords or links. Don’t overstuff your keywords. Rather, use the proper keyword once in your title, once in your intro, in one of your headers, and the conclusion. That’s more than enough to cover all your bases.
The same with links. Try to aim for two or three internal links and two or three external links, depending on how technical the topic is. Anything more than this might alert Google, and not in a good way.
8. Focus on Long Content
It’s best to take your time on one long article than two or three short pieces. That is, aim for 2,000-word articles over short 500-word pieces. Google will look favorably upon your efforts.
More specifically, Google ranks long-form articles higher, along with image-driven content. And, after all, as a blogger, the service you’re providing is information. The longer the article, the more in-depth you can go.
9. Write for the Web
That sounds funny, right? You know you’ll be writing for the web as a blogger. But, did you know writing copy for the web is quite different from what we learned in school?
The long and short of it is this. Create scannable content. Even in your 2,000-word articles, you’ll want to write in short paragraphs and produce catchy headlines. Don’t hesitate to keep paragraphs as short as two and three sentences.
Headers will break up all 2,000 of those words and make it more reader-friendly. Feel free to include an extra image or two. You don’t have to limit yourself to just one opening image. Remember, Google loves the image and video-laden articles because they know that’s what readers want.
Create the Automotive Blog of Your Dreams
And that’s a healthy start! You can create the automotive blog of your dreams with a healthy shot of perseverance. Remember to niche down, select a platform that will work well with your technical skills, and then start promoting yourself!
Here at Certified Master Tech, we take our love of cars to new levels every day. We’ve niched down with a focus on auto repair, but continue to broaden our horizons. What will you choose?