Last week, I really wanted to bring you the next steps showing how to proceed when you want to a start a blog. But I was quite busy doing this:
Nearly our every minute and dollar for the past week or so has been spent on my daughter’s graduation party. And we had a wonderful time. We shared a hot afternoon with 150 or so friends and family enjoying waffles, fresh fruit, eggs, muffins, sunshine, good conversation, hugs, some cute dogs, and friendly competition on the inflatable joust. I’m satisfied that we made our girl feel special, loved, and celebrated.
I’m in the post-party recovery phase but I’m ready to share with you part two in my three-part series of how to get your blog up and running. You’ll remember last week I shared the first steps I’d recommend to follow once you’ve decided you want to give blogging a whirl.
Now that you’ve found a name you love, a space to blog, and educated yourself at least a little with research or classes, I’d recommend hooking up with someone “in the know”.
Find a Consultant Your budget for blogging may be zero dollars. Mine really is too. I have not yet felt led to monetize so the money I pay towards my blog would be considered a “hobby.” I work hard at blogging though and it’s my “ministry” of sorts. I want people to feel warmly welcomed when they come here and since I write about abuse and how to stay away from and heal from unhealthy relationships, it’s worth it to me to spend a few bucks if my words can help even one person.
I pay for my hosting. I pay for images from time to time (put a pin in the subject of images because it’s super important and we’ll revisit that). I’ve purchased a theme (not necessary but certainly an option if you find one you love). And I’ve paid for help. I don’t know code. I’m learning SEO. But I do not know all the ins and outs of the back end of my blog. I wish I did. It would save me headaches and money, and even though I do know some things, I by far don’t know everything.
That’s where my sweet friend Barbie comes in. She’s of great help when I get stuck or something on my blog goes crazy and I can’t figure it out. I mentioned that I’ve changed my theme and appearance a couple of times. She helped me settle on my current look and I’ll be here for awhile. It’s with her expertise that my blog is what it is today and she is definitely someone I would recommend if you need some help on a reasonable budget. You can also check out Merri for blog design and she’s another option if you’re looking for a blog host.
Start Learning SEO (Search Engine Optimization) You may have a friend who can help you learn this. If so, that’s blogging gold. You’ll want to get your work “out there” and gain exposure and you want to have a great Google ranking. This is something that takes time and SEO knowledge. Yoast is a great plugin for your blog. Yoast will walk you through many elements that each blog post should and shouldn’t have. It will give you a sort-of virtual checklist of things you should be doing and others you should not. It will literally give you a green light when your post includes what Yoast considers enough correct steps to earn that green light. It really is a fabulous tool.
This is another area where you can perhaps find some webinars and inexpensive classes to help you really dig in to SEO. I’m told because it’s so technical and there’s so much to learn that there are few genuine experts in SEO, but anything you can learn about it will help you.
Learn How to Write Anymore, we have shorter attention spans. Maybe it’s because we can read what we need to know in 140 characters or less in many instances. Maybe it’s because of this digital age of ours. Maybe it’s because we’re so darn busy all the time that snippets are all we can handle. But we need short paragraphs of a few sentences. When you click on a blog post and you see massive paragraphs, it generally looks overwhelming. It feels like a big commitment of time and brain power so we often just close it down and move on.
Short paragraphs that make a point are what people like to see. It draws them in because it looks inviting. Simple. Pleasing to the eye and schedule. Even if you have several paragraphs, keep them sweetly short.
Use correct spelling and pay attention to grammar. Misspelled words will send many people running away so it’s worth your time to proofread at least once. Every one of us will miss a word or two here and there and it’s forgivable. I spent years as a medical editor and we all knew that the longer you stared at a document, the more likely you were to miss a word because your eyes and brains got used to what you were seeing.
Walk away for awhile. Come back and proofread again and you’ll likely catch anything you missed. I read my posts aloud before publishing because I’ve found when I do this, that helps me hear what I’ve said and any mistakes show up better that way. (My family loves this, especially when I write in the early morning hours).
How are you feeling? Overwhelmed? Scared? Excited? I feel like one more post this week sharing my favorite sites for images and blogging freebies will get you out the door and on your way. In the meantime and even after that next post, if you have questions, feel free to comment with them. I will answer them to the best of my ability or point you in the right direction to find what you seek.
Embrace the day!
