How to Become a Web Publisher

                                  

Web publishing is becoming an increasingly big part of businesses in many different industries and niches. But it can actually be a business in and of itself. Ivan Widjaya has been a web publisher since 2008, running sites such as Noobpreneur, Biz Epic and Previso Media, among others.

If you’re interested in building your own business as a web publisher, you can take some notes from Widjaya’s experience over the years. Here’s how you can start your own web publishing business.

How To Become a Web Publisher

Choose a Domain and Hosting

To get started as a web publisher, you first need an actual website. That means you need to choose a domain name that fits with your brand.

Widjaya told Small Business Trends in an email, “ My first and foremost is deciding on the right domain name. It’s a crucial part of your branding effort.”

You’ll also need to choose a hosting provider. There are many options out there that you can compare based on your own needs. But Widjaya says that he usually focuses on quality and value instead of just choosing the lowest price.

Create a Design

From there, you need to actually design your website. The design elements that you choose should fit with the niche and brand you are creating for your business. But there are plenty of tools like templates and themes that you can use to get started even if you’re not a professional designer.

Widjaya says, “Don’t forget about design — again, it’s a crucial part of your brand. I usually purchase premium theme/template, and customize it accordingly.”

Build a Social Presence

So you’ve got a website and a basic brand. But now you need to find the people who will actually be interested in what you have to offer. Widjaya suggests starting at least with accounts on Facebook and Twitter. And once you create some content, you can use those platforms to promote your website.

Focus on Great Content

Once you’ve got your site up and running, the most important thing you need to do as a web publisher is to create great content. Your content should be relevant to your readers and fit with the brand you’ve created. You can also sometimes outsource your content creation to other writers. Widjaya does this sometimes, but still writes for each of his sites as well.

Market Your Site

Then, you need to make sure people are actually going to see that great content you’ve created. Widjaya suggests using those social accounts you set up, interacting and engaging with relevant accounts. But you can also consider using Facebook ads to help get the word out.

In addition, SEO is a big part of getting your website found. Widjaya suggests using content to build links. And you should also make sure that your own site is optimized for SEO early on and then take that into account as you create content as well.

Keep It Going

Building a business as a web publisher is a long process. You can’t just do the steps above one time and expect to be a success right away. You have to continually create quality content and then continually promote it. And be patient — because success isn’t likely to come quickly.

Widjaya says, “Start with the right mindset. Web publishing is a long game. I start seeing rewards (e.g. income) after 12-24 months of content publishing, marketing and management.”

Written by Annie Pilon

Annie Pilon is a Senior Staff Writer for Small Business Trends, covering entrepreneur profiles, interviews, feature stories, community news and in-depth, expert-based guides. When she’s not writing she can be found on her personal blog Wattlebird, and exploring all that her home state of Michigan has to offer.