So you want to get started blogging - well you're in the right place. I've been blogging for over 10 years and I have lots of tips and tricks to get you started.
Blogging can be daunting, but it doesn't have to be. My experience is with food blogging, but these tips will work for any kind of blog.
1. Pick a Topic
Choose what you want your blog to be about - this can be anything! Some of the most popular blogs are:
- Food Blogs
- DIY/Craft
- How-to
- Lifestyle (which includes fashion, style, home, decor, etc)
- Mommy Blogging
But you're not just limited to that - what do you love to do? Blogging should be about something you love because you'll be dealing with it a lot.
You don't have to have all the fancy equipment and a fancy design to just go for it and start. All that will come - but you can't know if it's what you want to do unless you actually do it.
2. Pick a Name
The name is probably one of the most important parts about blogging. It's how people will find you, how they'll know what your blog is about.
When I started my food blog, Crazy for Crust, I first thought about doing it all about pie...but that changed really quick. Now people know me as a baking blog but if I was starting over again, I'd probably pick a name that was more generic.
First, brainstorm all the words that work with your them. Use a thesaurus if you need to!
If you're starting a food blog, you might come up with a list like:
- recipe
- cooking
- gourmet
- dinner
- eating
- comfort
- taste
- yum
- delicious
- easy
And so on. Then pick your favorites and go from there.
Domain Name
The most important part of picking a name: make sure you can get the .com. I recommend GoDaddy for domain names (I own so many through them).
It's important to adjust your name to fit the domain that is available. You really want a .com, not .net or other domain.
Social Media Name
It's also really important to pick a name that is available on social media. Check all the platforms: Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter.
There is a little wiggle room for this:
Say your blog name is going to be RecipeLove. You got the domain but RecipeLove is not available on one of the social media platforms. In that case, chose the handle with a different end not beginning.
Example: RecipeLoveBlog is a good handle, but Dorothy_RecipeLove is not as good. If people are searching for you on social media they will search by the name of your site. They probably don't know your first name is Dorothy, but that's what pops up first. Make sense?
3. Use WordPress.org
When deciding on a platform to house your blog, go with a self-hosted site on WordPress. We'll talk more about the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org in another post, but you want to go with self-hosted WordPress.
If you use GoDaddy, you can get started using their platform and self-host right in your account. Now, I don't necessarily recommend hosting with them for a long time, but it's easy to get started and you can switch hosts as you grow.
Self-hosting is more expensive, but it gives you complete control over your site.
4. Pick a Theme
You have SO MANY options when starting a site and they can be overwhelming - and expensive.
If you're just starting out I recommend starting with a free WordPress theme through GoDaddy or your hosting platform, if that's possible. Free themes aren't super customizable and can be a bit boring, but really you need to just familiarize yourself with the platform.
If you are familiar with WordPress (at least a little) and like doing a bit of DIY, I recommend installing (Studio Press) Genesis with a Child Theme. (More on that in another post!)
Genesis is a framework and a child theme is what you see. Genesis is the skeleton, the child theme is what you see when you look at a person.
I have used StudioPress for several websites and love all their themes, and they are affordable.
5. Just Get Started
It seems cliche but it's the truth - just start! You'll learn as you go. Play around, publish some posts. Play on social media, post over there, learn.
You can always delete or edit things as you go - but you can't learn if you don't DO.
If you want to be a blogger, then you need to get started blogging now. Why wait? Just get going!