How to Start a Blog? Today I'm sharing with you Easy to Use Beginner Guide on how to start a blog. Less than a month till my 1st Blog anniversary and I’m very excited about it! Almost a year ago I’ve started my Blog and I would say, this year has completely changed my life. There were ups and downs, but I did it, I overcame all my fears and I did it right.
So I decided to sum up all the information and to write an article for those of you, who is just at the beginning of their blogging way. I collected here some tips and tricks for newbie bloggers or bloggers-to-be. And I’m pretty sure you’ll find something really helpful here! Let’s go and start with the Part I!
WHERE TO START?
When you're starting a blog, the first thing you should do is to choose, which platform you want to base your Blog on. There are a couple of giants like Blogger and WordPress, either self-hosted or not, to choose from. Of course, you could choose any other blogger platform, but I recommend you to start with one of those two.
Pick a good name, which is not like a whole sentence long, because it can be very tricky. Make it easy and catchy, so people could remember it. Think straight about your future, if you're planning to make your Blog growing and recognizable.
HOW OFTEN TO POST?
You don’t have to write every day if you don’t want to. But I highly recommend you to make a schedule. For example, choose two or three days a week, when you feel convenient to write, and make it permanent. So your readers would know that they can visit your Blog in these particular days for some new stuff to read. Even if you have a lot of posts prepared, don’t publish everything that you have in one day.
Believe me, there will be the days, when you stuck with new ideas. That’s why you need a plan, a schedule and some posts, prepared beforehand. So it will help you to avoid this lack of inspiration and to skip such days if needed because you already have a prepared post to publish. And always remember, it’s your Blog and you make the rules – you to decide what goes on it.
TOO COMPLICATED?
You have to teach yourself, how to use this or that tool because blogging is all about learning. Maybe you think, it's very hard to do, but, believe me, when you start to deal with SEO and Analytics, suddenly you understand that setting the blog is the lesser of two evils. So just go for it and everything will be fine and settled.
Don't miss — Tips and Tricks for Newbie Bloggers
WHAT TO WRITE ABOUT?
Choose what you are going to write about, because most newbie bloggers always doubt the main theme of their Blog. Be unique! And write what you’re passionate about, write about what you like. Don’t copy other bloggers; try to provide a unique, interesting content, so people will follow you.
Start your Blog as a little space to talk about what’s in your head and you want to put down onto your little piece of the internet. Because your blog is basically a personal space on the internet, so make it personal. Don’t push or force yourself to write about things, you feel not sure or uncomfortable to write.
WHAT ABOUT DESIGN?
It’s always the question number one. How to choose a proper layout, how to do header and etc. I would say — everything depends on you and your situation. There are a lot of people and companies offering various custom templates both for Blogger and WordPress. I started my Blog with normal Blogger layout, after a couple of months I’ve bought my first semi-custom template for Blogger, and a bit later I switched my Blog to WordPress and bought a custom template for that. You can follow my experience here — From Blogger to WordPress. You have to have at least a bit HTML-coding knowledge to figure it out and to make your Blog look fine. And don’t forget, that Google is your friends, so if you’re stuck with something, just google it. There are a lot of people around with the same problems and questions, so don’t give up quickly.
And about the header, everything is up to you. I made my own in Photoshop by myself straight from the beginning. But, once again, there are a lot of Etsy-designers, offering you their services. It’s your Blog and you to decide which design to choose for it. And just as a personal preference, don’t do an orange/black or bright yellow background for your blog. It’s very hard for eyes to read the information from this type of backgrounds. Always think about your readers, they are your audience. The majority of people would find a white background more pleasant to the eye and easier to read. Make sure to create a cosy, easy-to-navigate and clean blog, so your readers can enjoy being on your blog.
