So you want to start a blog…
I’ve been asked several times lately how I began blogging and I’m sure if my other friends have questions about where and how to begin, I’ll bet many others do as well so I’m going to answer those questions here in one easy place to both find and refer back to.
First, let me emphasize that blogging isn’t for wimps. It’s time-consuming and can be quite complex once you really get into it. There are plug-ins and code and updates. Oh my!
But I’ve been blogging for a couple of years now so while there’s always something new to learn, I have gained a ton of knowledge since day one.
WHERE TO BEGIN
Discover your passion. What do you want to write about? Do you homeschool? Are you a DIY expert? Whatever your wheelhouse and passion is, consider writing about that because you want to enjoy blogging and you want ongoing and endless material. Essentially, write what you know.
You may be tempted to come up with a catchy name for your blog and that’s fine. Consider using your own name if you want to publish a book someday. You’ll want to get your name “out there.” Also, you’ll want to check and see that whatever name you’d like to use is actually available. If not, it’s back to the drawing board.
Research, research, research. Read articles on the platform you want to use, whether it’s Blogger or WordPress or something else. Read and research. Don’t start a blog and invest time and money if you don’t have at least a frame of reference what you need and want.
Start simple. If you really don’t know how to begin, try WordPress, “the free one” as it’s commonly referred. It’s “the free one” because it’s literally free. The alternative is self-hosted which is not free. I do the latter. I do believe WordPress is pretty easy to use. I’m told the free option is self-explanatory and walks you through starting a blog. You have lots of free theme options and so on. Consider starting there.
Self-hosted. This is another great option. It might take some more time and self-education on your part, but self-hosting offers more freedom, so to speak. There is a wider range of themes and plug-ins and you don’t have the “wordpress.com” attachment to your site name. I started this way from the get-go so I can’t speak to any more comparisons between self-hosted and non other than what I’ve been told.
I use Blue-Host. My husband used it for years and had good success with them and I’ve had no complaints in the two years I’ve been with them. They’re very inexpensive, in my opinion. I pay less than $10 per month and once a year I pay around $35 to keep my site name. Also, if I need to call them, I immediately get an actual human who is quite helpful and knowledgeable.
TAKE SOME CLASSES
Don’t panic. You don’t have to get a college education in order to blog. My college years have benefited my blogging by giving me some great business sense but, I digress. There are many solid resources online to help you. There are some actual online blogging classes you can enroll in that are very inexpensive and not as time-consuming as one might think. I once took a blogging class that was 99 cents and an hour per week. I’ll give you some more great resources in my next post. But classes and free webinars will be a tremendous help and I’ll share some with you.
There are the mechanics of blogging, all the tech stuff. Then there’s also the content. You need to know how to write in order to successfully blog, in my opinion. Grammar, spelling, etc. are all important. You want to be appealing, fresh, and easy to understand.
WHO’S YOUR AUDIENCE?
Who do you want to write for? Who do you want to reach? Will you be writing to an audience of parents because you’re writing about homeschooling? Or will your audience be (like me) men or women who’ve endured domestic abuse or perhaps are still enduring it? Are you writing for women who want to get in shape and you’re sharing fitness knowledge and motivation?
Whatever you’re writing about, consider your audience and what appeals to them, what they need and want to hear, and how you will reach them. What type of look will catch their eyes and draw them in?
There are many things to consider before you commit to a blog. Devise a business plan of sorts: who are you writing for, what do you want to accomplish, what do you want your look to be. Check out dozens of blogs, even if it’s for their look alone. What appeals to you. Busy? Simple? Clean? Modern? Vintage? What looks catch your eye? That might be the look that will appeal to your readers as well. What represents you. Find that and then you can dive in deep and get to the meat and potatoes of blogging.
Know that you will evolve. I started with a theme and look that was almost cartoon-y. I even had a different name. But I’m writing a book and I rebranded so everything is my name. Don’t panic. If you begin and in three months decide “I’m really not feeling this theme, this look, this name anymore”, change it. It’s your blog. Make it your own.
Come back for the next post and for more blogging nuggets. As I began writing this, I discovered that I couldn’t do this topic justice in just one post. There are many important facets to blogging so I’m going to split this up into two or three more posts, so please come back so you don’t miss anything. I want to make sure I fully address consultants, social media presence, and free resources that you absolutely will need. Each of these are absolutely essential to blogging. Don’t miss out!
Happy blogging!
