How to Start That Blog...

You are probably reading this in the hopes of being inspired to start your own blog. I hope it will. Endlessly, blogging to me is so fun—there's so much freedom to explore new ideas and make your own website out of scratch. You can make it completely your own little space in the internet.

As I am a beginner myself, I thought I would enlighten you with some not-so-secret information and the process to how I went about to start my blog. However, I strongly advise you to find your own research on the matter and really think about what you need to do for yourself, as there is no one who knows what would be best for you but, well, yourself.

Find a site to host your blog on.

It's important to decide on a site that will allow you to host your site on. I use Wordpress. If that sounds familiar—it is. There are two Wordpress sites, the first is .org and the other is .com.

Now, the difference between these is that Wordpress.com is more basic—it is a basic version of its parent Wordpress.org. I use the basic version plainly because I have no idea how to use the bigger version and because I am not looking for anything too serious for my blog right now. It allows me to see my statistics and where in the world people have viewed my posts from.

Other sites for blogs include Weebly, Blogger, and Wix.

Weebly is a really great site for actually designing your blog, in my opinion. Personally, I found it a little bit confusing but it might be your cup of tea, even if it wasn't mine. However, many blogs say that if you are really serious about blogging, you should use wordpress.org.

Blogger is a Google site, which is easy to understand and use. However, I found that there was a limit to the themes you could use, and to me it's all about presentation. But, if you are looking for something simple then it might be the one for you.

I am sure you have heard of Wix—it is a pretty popular site hosting website and it is pretty good. I never actually considered it as I wanted to see my posts statistics and I don't know if Wix provides that.

Have a niche.

You are a blogger. That's nice, but what kind of a blogger are you?

Many people subscribe to a blog because that blog talks about something they are interested in. I'd be surprised if you could please everyone but in general, having a theme or a genre is what you need to be somewhat successful.

You can be a personal blogger, where you could write about daily experiences. If you're a mother or father, write about parenthood and share your stories. In my blog, I write a little bit about teenage life and struggles because, well, I'm a teenager.

Or you can do fashion/lifestyle/beauty—these are some of the ones that I see doing well, partly because I am a girl and that's what my gals and I seem to read but there are of course A TON of genres you can write about. Travel is one of my favourites!

Blog Name

This can literally be anything, of course. Make sure it relates to your theme or it has something to do with you. Don't make it too long unless you have to. Blog names are not like your usual usernames. We do not want pinkladytiger23 to be your blog name, do we?

Remember to add your personality to your blog.

As cliche as it is, be yourself when you are writing. You have to write an "about me" page because people have to know who you are, who is behind the posts written. Be funny, or intelligent, or whatever you describe yourself as most. You have to be transparent in this business.

An example would be:

"Hey guys! It's me Jessica, the girl behind this blog. I am 17 years of age and, well, already a striving cat lady........" - Blah, blah, blah; make it sound like you are literally speaking to the readers.

Plan your posts.

Make your posts planned and scheduled because you need to be organised. I suggest that before sharing your blog and getting the word out, you should have written at least... I would say five posts.

Show people what you have to offer. If they go to a page where there is nothing then people won't stay long, would they?

Design!!!!

Presentation, presentation, presentation, ladies and gentleman! You have got to make your blog stand out. When I say that, I mean it.

Even before someone starts reading your content, they are going to be seeing your blog as a whole, so they will see if your site looks unattractive or plain boring.

Although making it very beautiful and aesthetically pleasing will do, make sure not to overdo it—no one wants a cluster of a blog. We want aesthetic and simplicity.

Of course, if you want, add whatever you want. Colour is always a good idea and it'll bring people's attention.

When you're up and running...

You can read my two previous articles related to blogging right here:

"Why I Started Blogging, and Maybe Why You Should Too"

"Bring Traffic to Your Blog in These Simple Yet Effective Ways"