After the positive reaction to my blog post last Sunday, I thought I'd make this whole blogging tips thang a regular occurrence. In the comments & on Twitter a lot of you were asking for more advice on where to start with setting up a blog, so that's what we're gonna talk about today. I'm going to talk today more about the decision making process than the technical stuff, because there's loads of information available on that (try searching how to make a blog on Pinterest!).
Setting up a blog can be pretty daunting, it's hard to know where to start. I think the most important thing is to remember that it doesn't have to be perfect right out the gate, hell it doesn't have to be perfect at all. I've been blogging for four things and there are always things I want to change and improve on - and that's a good thing. If you're always trying to improve, you're doing the best you can.
The best thing to do when thinking about starting a blog is to sit down with a big old piece of paper, and make notes. Create a big blogging brainstorm, right down every idea you have. The kind of posts you love to read and the kind of posts you want to write. The things you want to offer your reader, the styles of post you like to read. What you want your blog to look like and how you want to come across - all these things are so important. Get it all down on paper, and look at it as a kind of goal sheet.
Then take a smaller piece of paper and write down the topic, title and the date you want to have your blog up and running by. Stick it somewhere you will see it a lot, on your desk, in your planner, on your computer, so that you're always reminded of it.
And then, before you start doing anything, even creating a Blogger or Wordpress account, write a few posts. Figure out your style, how you want to address your audience, and what you find easy to write about. Doing this first will make style and name decisions easier down the line.
Contrary to popular belief, running a blog does not have to cost you a small fortune. You don't need a domain name, an expensive hosting service or a new camera to start a blog. Sure, somewhere down the line you may want one or all of these things, but they certainly aren't essential to having a blog. What if you start blogging and realise you hate it a few months down the line? Set yourself up with a .wordpress or .blogspot address to start off with (I personally would recommend Blogger over Wordpress for newbies as it's a lot more user friendly!). Nothing is permanent and you can make changes and investments if you want to further down the line.
So sign up for an account, find yourself a cute design you love (there are plenty of free ones available online that are great), and introduce yourself! Let your future readers know what they can expect to find there.
Don't forget that the whole point of blogging is to enjoy what you're doing and well, you're not going to get very far if you spend all your time doing what everyone else is doing, or only being in it for the freebies. Write a blog because you want to share something you're passionate about!
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