Want to Start a Blog? | 6 Basic Blog Tips
Do you want to start a blog of your own? I wish I had researched just a tad more before I jumped in head first with my blog as the learning curve was long! I do think there are a few things I would tell pre-blogger me and I’m sharing 6 basic blog tips to get you started today!
One | Choose a Name
It seems somewhat easy but this was a big deal to me. Months after dabbling with the idea of starting my own blog I was still stumped on what to call it. I mean if I had a super trendy, catchy name I’d have just self branded but I wasn’t feeling it. I began by thinking what I wanted to share from my real life. Continually I came back to how in between I felt all the darn time. Boom! There is was, The Queen in Between (full story here). I would suggest choosing a name you feel will grow with you over time and not just your current season. Have your name? Head straight to purchase your domain!
Two | Choose a Platform
Especially if you are feeling unsure free sounds best right? I definitely wasn’t sure how deeply my love for blogging would run and did not want to invest many dollars upfront. At the time all the blogs I was following were on blogger so I jumped in and started there. Don’t get me wrong, it served it’s purpose for 2 1/2 years and worked very well with very few issues. You do not, however, own your blog and while blogger has been around a long time there was a point I decided to make the switch. To me WordPress has just been so much easier to work with and it is much easier to add and adjust my pages without the fear of messing something up or the need to fully understand html coding. Is it more expensive? Yes, there are definitely annual costs AND if you have to convert and aren’t so techy even more costs so my personal opinion for a new blogger is start with WordPress from beginning.
Three | Invest in Aesthetics
I don’t know about you, but seeing a clean and pretty blog page is always going to keep my attention. If you want to take blogging to the next level you will want to invest in a decent header and layout. I wish I could show you all what my blog initially looked like because I honestly can’t believe I had anyone showing up besides my best friend and my mom. Spending a few dollars on a blog theme or hiring someone to create a logo/header for you is a great investment. I promise not only will your readers notice the change, but you will love coming to the space every day! Using a quality photos and overall theme which work to support your brand will go a really long way.
Four | Be Authentic
When you are sharing a blog post you want the real you to shine through. For instance, I write the way I would speak if I was sharing an outfit or personal experience the same way I would speak it to a friend. I would hope if any of my readers encountered me in real life they would see the same person I portray online. Now, full disclosure, I may curse a little more in person but I keep this space as G rated as possible because, hello, kids. I also will not share every single detail of our personal life but what I do share will be from the heart.
Five | Build a Community
Building a community is so important. The best is meeting others you become real life friends with but they also can become a huge resource to you. Finding others who are willing to share tips and tools as well as more detailed aspects on growth when you are ready to take things up a notch is so huge. I think it’s safe to say, there is room enough for every one in this blog world and it will be what you make it! Read other blogs, comment when you are inspired and most of all interact with your own readers.
Six | Remember Why You Started
Above all else, my biggest tip is to remember why you started! For me it was a creative outlet and a way to show off my style after struggling for so many years with dressing myself. The biggest struggle for me has been learning to strive for quality over quantity. I want clear pictures, clear messages and relevant topics to be in the forefront on my blog. Reaching and inspiring others is the reason I started! If I’m over here forcing a post because I feel like I need one 5 days a week no one is going to feel inspired. Believe me, my first few years of blogging I did LOTS of forcing and I read those posts now and roll my eyes.
If your primary mission in starting a blog is to make money, I would suggest you head back to the drawing board. Is there money to be made blogging? Absolutely! Does it take a lot of work and hustle? YES!! If you create a blog for the soul purpose of making money you will be so disappointed! AND you will miss out on number five!
Bonus | Just Do It!
If you have been dabbling with getting started I say there is no time better than the present. Just do it! If I had to do it again the only thing I would really change would be to begin writing all my thoughts for topics in a word doc. It would have been much easier to have some built up content already written and ready to copy and paste into WordPress. This insures you have content to schedule instead of starting with a blank slate from day one.
I’m a visual learner so for me jumping in and learning as I moved forward helped me so much even if my first year was pretty bleak. Even after 4 years there is still so much I do not know!
So what about you? Are there tips you feel have helped you? If you are not a blogger what are some of your thoughts from an outside perspective?
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