Blogging 101: How to Start a Blog
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I get a lot of questions about why I started a blog & what tips I have for new bloggers. For those of you who followed me early on, you know that “Revenge Bakery” has transitioned quite a bit over the past few years. It started out as purely an online bakery. I sold cookies once a month and shipped them across the country. As it became more popular, I started posting recipes. Then, I started adding new types of content to try to draw in more readers and keep things interesting. Today, I don’t bake and sell cookies. Mainly because it was so time consuming and stopped being fun. Sometimes, when you have to do something, it loses the magic.
Blogging isn’t easy. It’s not just as simple as posting some stuff and sharing it on your social media. It’s a whole new ball game and continues changing. It can be really disheartening seeing the “shady side” of blogging and watching people basically pay for followers / engage in boost groups to gain commentary. When you’ve hustled to build your dream & you see other people taking the easy way out, it can be really frustrating. At the end of the day, you need to find something you’re really passionate about so that people want to keep coming back and reading what you post about.
So, if you’re thinking about starting a blog, here are a few of my tips:
Figure out your niche
What do you want to write about? What get’s you fired up? What are you passionate about? You’re probably asking yourself, why do I need to decide on one? There are ton of lifestyle blogs (like mine) that talk about a ton of stuff. When you’re first getting started, I think it’s important to stay focused. It will help you build your blog up and look cohesive.
Choose a Platform
I use WordPress (.org not .com) for my blog. There are tons to choose from though, like Square Space, Wix or even Tumblr.
If you want to use WordPress, you’ll need to set up hosting & get a them. I recommend WordPress because it’s really flexible and has a ton of options/updating potential. There are also a ton of posts, Pinterest boards & youtube tutorials for WordPress, which makes it even easier.
Register Your Domain & Choose Hosting
After you pick out a blog name, you’ll need to register your domain name (aka your website). I highly recommend using Bluehost, they have amazing customer service and it’s super easy to use. You can register your domain and host your account with them. It’s also really inexpensive (under $4 a month). They also have a ton of awesome tutorials for getting your wordpress site started.
Pick a Theme
What do you want your site to look like? Spend some time checking out blogs that you like and making a list of “wants”, whether it’s theme ideas, colors, fonts, menus, etc. From there, you can either build your own site using a free them or one that you purchase, or hire someone else to build it.
If your’e going the DIY route, I recommend searching for themes on Pinterest or Theme Forest.
If you’re going to hire someone, make sure you do some research. You don’t want to get taken advantage of. A lot of the time, I recommend people searching for help on Upwork, a site you can hire freelancers on from around the world.
I also recommend creating a Pinterest board and brainstorming before you get started. That way you’re not just building it as you go. Map it out and get a good game plan on paper before you start designing.
Create your first post
Now you just have to start posting! I recommend starting with some sort of a welcome / intro. From there, be sure to post regularly and use social media to share your posts!
Let me know if you’d like me to talk more about blogging or share any specific tips!