So I was going to do this post for Youtube, and still might, but Jesus must not have had it in my favor to record tonight because my throat is on fire and feels like it's closing up. I probably shouldn't be blogging and should be resting but I DON'T GET TIRED (in my Kevin Gates voice lol). But anyway, I felt it was important to talk about the essentials of blogging I mentioned in my Rebranding post since a lot of people reading this blog might be potential bloggers. You might be asking yourself "well how do I even go about starting a blog?". Well hopefully these steps I give you, solely from my experience, can guide you and make it easier on your journey of becoming a blogger!
What are you going to blog about?
This is the most important question to ask yourself when it comes to blogging. What are you going to be talking about? When you're readers come to your site, what should they take away from your blog. Now in my opinion, narrowing specifically on a "niche" does not have to be done right now, and can be accomplished later in your blogging career. For example, when I started off I knew I wanted to blog about fashion. That's it. I didn't specify myself as being a style blogger, editorial fashion blogger, makeup blogger, etc. I just knew I wanted to talk about things going on in the fashion and beauty industry, and for me just starting out that was ok. Later down the road once I found my "blogging voice" I began to see what topics worked and what didn't, and more so what I wanted to write more about such as women's fashion trends vs. men's fashion trends. Once you start to get in the grove of things you'll discover the category you fit in with, or notice you fit in with a category all on your own.
What do you want to be called?
Thinking of a name to call yourself can be hard. I honestly don't remember how I came up with Mind of a Fashionista, and to this day I still don't like it and think it's corny. But whatever you choose make sure it's something you can live with for awhile because you don't want to change your name over and over, It shows inconsistency and sometimes readers are lost that way.
Where to start?
Once you've decided you're going to actually go through with the idea of being a blogger, you have to decide where to start? Meaning where your content will be located and published for the world to see. The two most popular blogging sites are Blogger and Wordpress (including self hosted). Now every blogger has their preference and this debate will probably split us half and half on if Blogger or Wordpress is better. I personally choose Blogger for beginning purposes. We started out on Blogger and we still use it. It's easy for us to understand being we have no experience in web design and don't have the time to sit and figure out what to do. And despite what people say, you can create some beautful templates on Blogger yourself. My first template, not compariable to our current template, was something I was proud of and that I constructed myelf so it's definitely possible. I hear that Wordpress is better for analytic reasons but I am still researching that myself. Wordpress to me is just a little too complicated and more so more costly than maintaining a Blogger blog. There are other options you can utilize to host your blog such as SquareSpace, Wix, Weebly, Tumblr, etc. Most of these are monthly subscription web site services but offer a free trial basis, so I would play around and see which works best for you.
Domain?
Now you have to decide if you want to purchase your domain. A domain is a web address. When you start off on Blogger, you have your website as "www.yourblogname.blogspot.com". Eventually that gets annoying. I would suggest buying your domain now for two reasons. First reason you want to make sure nobody else takes your url. Trust me, you aren't the only person who has thought of the website names you have come up with, and to avoid having to change or alter your blog name into something you don't want, claim it ASAP. Second reason is that when you buy a domain, you have to wait at least 60 days before you can transfer it to another website. So if you choose to not design your website through the service you bought your domain from you'll have to wait to use it. In this instance you'll already have it ready to go for when you can. Domains usually run between $.99-$5.00 for the first year depending on who you use, I personally like Godaddy.com and 1and1.com.
Design?
Your blog design is something that will be changed numerous times I hate to say. And until you decide that you want to be a blogger for the long haul do not spend hundreds of dollars on a template, it's unneccesary. I thought that a $250 template would put us over the top when in fact I ended up finding our last two templates for under $10 ($6 and $7 to be exact). To start off just go for a general minimalist theme, because the focus at first is to create quality content and get yourself exposed. Once that is done, stick to a theme that speaks on you but isn't too overwhelming. Google is your best friend when it comes to template finding and you'll be amaze at what you discover.
Content
When you first start blogging it's going to be so hard not to follow suit and report on the same thing everyone else is doing so that you can get comments, likes, shares, and most of all views on your blog. But it's important to know at the beginning that being original and authentic will get you further in the long haul. Write about what speaks to you and interject your voice into your post. Make your readers believe what you say and crave for more. Trust me, your blogging career will thank you by staying true to yourself and being authentic.
Social Media?
Social media is the most important marketing tool a blogger can use. Without social media it would take you 5 times longer to reach the status you want to be at because you wouldn't be able to reach as many potential readers and clients. First, create a social media account for all of the major sites including Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram. Depending on what type of blogging you will do, Youtube, Pinterest, Vine, and other sites are helpful too. Also it is important to join blogging communities that encourage and help promote your blog as well. You can google different groups and choose the ones that suit your blog and your brand. Once your accounts are good to go, share your content and share it regularly. I suggest making your personal social media and blog social media separate so you don't "annoy" anyone with all of the posts you will be sharing.
NETWORK!
It's going to take time for others to recognize you as a blogger. In order for you to thrive and eventually work with others in your industry including companies that pay for content, you have to network. This can include spending your own dime and attending events to get your face and your name known. First, acquire some business cards, very affordable through Vistaprint.com. Make sure to have your blog's name, your name and title, blog's mission statement or slogan, major social media handles, and contact info on your cards. You never know who you will meet and it would be a shame to miss out on an opportunity.
BE PATIENT!
You're not Kim Kardashian, so people might not take to what you are trying to say the first few months of blogging. But in order to be successful you must understand that successful bloggers hold what is called "influence" that they have built by mastering all of the basic steps above plus some. They have spent hours, days, months, even years gaining influence to where companies utilize them because they have more of a chance of convincing someone that a new garment is trending than someone who doesn't have influence. Building your influence takes time, and you must be patient to see the results you want!
I think for this purpose, these steps will get you through the first part of blogging but to my established bloggers I would love to hear your thoughts!
What do you want to be called?
Thinking of a name to call yourself can be hard. I honestly don't remember how I came up with Mind of a Fashionista, and to this day I still don't like it and think it's corny. But whatever you choose make sure it's something you can live with for awhile because you don't want to change your name over and over, It shows inconsistency and sometimes readers are lost that way.
Where to start?
Once you've decided you're going to actually go through with the idea of being a blogger, you have to decide where to start? Meaning where your content will be located and published for the world to see. The two most popular blogging sites are Blogger and Wordpress (including self hosted). Now every blogger has their preference and this debate will probably split us half and half on if Blogger or Wordpress is better. I personally choose Blogger for beginning purposes. We started out on Blogger and we still use it. It's easy for us to understand being we have no experience in web design and don't have the time to sit and figure out what to do. And despite what people say, you can create some beautful templates on Blogger yourself. My first template, not compariable to our current template, was something I was proud of and that I constructed myelf so it's definitely possible. I hear that Wordpress is better for analytic reasons but I am still researching that myself. Wordpress to me is just a little too complicated and more so more costly than maintaining a Blogger blog. There are other options you can utilize to host your blog such as SquareSpace, Wix, Weebly, Tumblr, etc. Most of these are monthly subscription web site services but offer a free trial basis, so I would play around and see which works best for you.
Domain?
Now you have to decide if you want to purchase your domain. A domain is a web address. When you start off on Blogger, you have your website as "www.yourblogname.blogspot.com". Eventually that gets annoying. I would suggest buying your domain now for two reasons. First reason you want to make sure nobody else takes your url. Trust me, you aren't the only person who has thought of the website names you have come up with, and to avoid having to change or alter your blog name into something you don't want, claim it ASAP. Second reason is that when you buy a domain, you have to wait at least 60 days before you can transfer it to another website. So if you choose to not design your website through the service you bought your domain from you'll have to wait to use it. In this instance you'll already have it ready to go for when you can. Domains usually run between $.99-$5.00 for the first year depending on who you use, I personally like Godaddy.com and 1and1.com.
Design?
Your blog design is something that will be changed numerous times I hate to say. And until you decide that you want to be a blogger for the long haul do not spend hundreds of dollars on a template, it's unneccesary. I thought that a $250 template would put us over the top when in fact I ended up finding our last two templates for under $10 ($6 and $7 to be exact). To start off just go for a general minimalist theme, because the focus at first is to create quality content and get yourself exposed. Once that is done, stick to a theme that speaks on you but isn't too overwhelming. Google is your best friend when it comes to template finding and you'll be amaze at what you discover.
Content
When you first start blogging it's going to be so hard not to follow suit and report on the same thing everyone else is doing so that you can get comments, likes, shares, and most of all views on your blog. But it's important to know at the beginning that being original and authentic will get you further in the long haul. Write about what speaks to you and interject your voice into your post. Make your readers believe what you say and crave for more. Trust me, your blogging career will thank you by staying true to yourself and being authentic.
Social Media?
Social media is the most important marketing tool a blogger can use. Without social media it would take you 5 times longer to reach the status you want to be at because you wouldn't be able to reach as many potential readers and clients. First, create a social media account for all of the major sites including Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram. Depending on what type of blogging you will do, Youtube, Pinterest, Vine, and other sites are helpful too. Also it is important to join blogging communities that encourage and help promote your blog as well. You can google different groups and choose the ones that suit your blog and your brand. Once your accounts are good to go, share your content and share it regularly. I suggest making your personal social media and blog social media separate so you don't "annoy" anyone with all of the posts you will be sharing.
NETWORK!
It's going to take time for others to recognize you as a blogger. In order for you to thrive and eventually work with others in your industry including companies that pay for content, you have to network. This can include spending your own dime and attending events to get your face and your name known. First, acquire some business cards, very affordable through Vistaprint.com. Make sure to have your blog's name, your name and title, blog's mission statement or slogan, major social media handles, and contact info on your cards. You never know who you will meet and it would be a shame to miss out on an opportunity.
BE PATIENT!
You're not Kim Kardashian, so people might not take to what you are trying to say the first few months of blogging. But in order to be successful you must understand that successful bloggers hold what is called "influence" that they have built by mastering all of the basic steps above plus some. They have spent hours, days, months, even years gaining influence to where companies utilize them because they have more of a chance of convincing someone that a new garment is trending than someone who doesn't have influence. Building your influence takes time, and you must be patient to see the results you want!
I think for this purpose, these steps will get you through the first part of blogging but to my established bloggers I would love to hear your thoughts!
No comments
Post a Comment