Just the other day I hit me - my blog has just had his birthday four years last week! I thought that now would be a good time as any to talk about starting and maintaining a successful blog! It 'something I get asked all the time, and honestly something I feel is still a matter of "I-don't-know-anything-about-this-topic". Half the time I feel as if I know nothing about blogging, but when all I ask questions about blogging or talking to friends or family about it that I realized I have a few things to share that can be invaluable for Some of you. Or maybe not. But we're going ahead anyway! I share this as more of a "how I started my blog" post with some tips thrown in for when they are really experienced.
Know your purpose
I would say that first of all, to know why you want to start a blog. If it comes to making money, I recommend pursuing a different hobby, how to make money through a blog really takes a huge amount of time (and money) in investments. Unless of course you already have a high quality camera DSLR, laptop, photographer, affiliate marketing, and large community of followers, etc. (which most of us do not do it for a lot 'of time). So, apart from the unrealistic expectation of making money quickly, you still want to start a blog? Understanding why. Is it because you love to cook and want to share recipes? Is it because you have to overcome some obstacles and want to share your story with others who may be going through it right now? It's because you love fashion projects or do it yourself? Whatever it is, try to get a good grasp on it, as this will also help not only concentrate your posts at first, but will also help you identify your blogging community.
Find a platform that works for you
I run my blog with Blogger (hence the bit .blogspot the end of my web address). I did buy the actual domain name for my website (alittlebitoflacquer.com), but have yet to transfer things. I thought it was a necessary part of having a successful blog, but it turns out that it's not really. So I have not really gotten around to it yet. I decided on Blogger mainly because there were no initial costs, it was relatively easy to see how to create places, and when I started, there was a large community with Blogger. I still think it's a great platform and will probably continue to use it because I do not really have time to switch to something different, but a platform that is gaining a lot of traction lately and really makes beautiful websites is Squarespace. I like the blog of Elle for his advice on Squarespace, I certainly toyed with the idea of switching thanks to you! Wordpress is the other big name when it comes to creating your own blog, and most of the big time bloggers swear by it. It has a lot of power and plug in for everything imaginable (in practice that lets you design your blog really the way you want it) - but for me it was too overwhelming. Some people, like Tumblr, but "blogs" are a whole different breed Tumblr blog (more like blogging) - essentially all photo-based, and not necessarily the kind of blog that I'm talking about in this post. I honestly believe if I were starting a blog now I would go with Squarespace (did not exist when I started).
Invest in a good web design clean and photos
As for my current web design, I always bought pre-made templates Etsy shops (here and here are some favorites - the shop that made my blog current design is unfortunately now closed). Although I did not want to spend too much in advance the money on something that was just a hobby, the models can be super expensive and really change the whole feel of your blog. As the blog has evolved I moved to designs cleaner and cleaner that I love. Other things to look for when buying a model? I like header float - as you scroll down on my blog in the top menu comes down with it. Ensure that include customized social media buttons (most do now) and the instructions for installation. For my first couple of models that the designers had purchased them from their installation for me, for my most recent that I chose one that I could install myself (with instructions awesome course) that allowed me to personalize my menu and other things using a little 'of html. As you get more comfortable with blogging and a few pieces of html here and there you'll really appreciate the opportunity to change things on your own as you need!
The photos are a huge part of blogging, and learn a bit 'of good photography and developing an eye for good pictures will help you develop a strong following! About a year and a half into blogging I finally asked for a DSLR for Christmas and was so happy to be able to step my game up pictures (I use this camera). Regardless of your camera, try taking beautiful, sharp images with natural light (still the best). Many bloggers use Photoshop for editing that has tons of features and capabilities, in the end I'd like to learn how to use it, but for the last four years I used Picasa is a free download and allows for simple changes and creating collages (like the one I created here).
Find your voice
Ok, so you've signed up for a blog and also installed a new beautifully designed blog. Now, what really after? In principle, it depends on the purpose of your blog. For myself, I started with fashion, interior design, and recipes (blog overall lifestyle). Write messages as if you have a huge audience to read even if you do not. Once you start building a community (see below) and get feedback from them, and the statistics, you'll start to learn what they like and how to find your blog more useful. With this blog, although I still classify as a blog lifestyle and still: Fashion and recipes, which now includes much more "med school" than I ever thought it would, and that because of all that and this amazing community! I discovered that my blog can be very helpful when I include pieces of me enjoying my life, but even more important when I show that I am doing this while pursuing the rigorous training involved to become a doctor, and help those of you who want to pursue something similar along the way. This blog has become something much more powerful than I ever imagined and I have you all to thank you for helping me find my voice.
Building a community
One of the best parts of blogging (and why most of us start in the first place) is to connect with people who have similar interests or are going through similar life experiences. Whatever it is, I can almost guarantee that you will find a community on the internet! Sometimes this can be a bad thing (that troll the Internet), but for the most part find an online community is amazing! So how do you find it? Search online for blogs that interest you - chances are if you started a blog you can already following some - comments those blogs! And please, do not just write "great post" or "come check out my blog," write something that actually means something, showing the blogger your piece really resonated with them! It does not hurt to include your website at the bottom so that they can find, but just make sure to leave a genuine comment! Do this for many blogs as you like, whenever you like, and you will soon find people who comment on your blog as well. Many blogs also host link up, which is another great way to meet other bloggers - some for fashion, food, ideas do it yourself, you name it! Once you find the interaction that appeals to you the most stick with it! Early in the life of my blog I did a lot of comments on the blog, but now find other bloggers through Instagram it is actually easier for me, just find the one that works for you!
Pay attention to your stats
At the beginning, it probably will not have much to see what the statistics. I remember looking at my stats page on Blogspot and seeing that I was 12 page views and then remembering that I was probably 10 of them. And my mother was probably the other 2. But then I'd start getting page views from Virginia or New York and get so excited! Once the excitement wears off a bit ', start paying attention to what viewers are doing on your website, and what brings them there. I certainly had more visits when I attended up links on other blogs, but this does not always gain new followers. I started to realize that my most popular posts were posts life / advice, then even if I did not initially intend to it, I started including most of those messages on your blog. Instagram is currently my biggest source of traffic (other than Google), so be sure to keep the social media outlet most up-to-date. Pinterest is another great traffic generator, but because it's all based on the image, it will only bring traffic if you have quality images! Another reason to look your best to start taking good photographs.
Listen to your readers
Along the same lines, when you start getting followers and comments from readers, listen! Hopefully that will see them as a community and not as a "result", and treat them as such! This does not mean you have to write each post based on what they say (there are still a lot of things I asked that they never made it to the blog!) But it means paying attention to what I'm curious about. If you are a budget of fashion bloggers and people are always asking how to find your offers, you would probably make a great post! If you are a blogger mom and a couple of other bloggers have asked how you're coping with the transition from a crib to a bed, it would probably help out a few (one ton) of other moms too! Although blogging is not necessarily like running a shop, I like to think of it this way - if you're offering apples and oranges for sale, and people are buying all the apples, you offer more apples, right? And if you have something similar to apples you could also start offering this and see what people think, maybe it would be interested in that too! Ok maybe an analogy horribly, but I hope you get my point!
Try to post regularly
At first, this is easy, but as life gets hectic and things get busy it's all too easy to stop posting all together and let your blog wither and turn to dust. This is the fate of most blogs. I certainly can not preach the gospel of a program of regular posting, because I do not follow one, but I can say is that it is really a great idea. I think 1-2 posts a week is perfect for someone just starting out. If you have other ideas, which is great, write them! But then save them as drafts for later, it is always nice to have a quota of posts for the times when you are too busy to take pictures or come up with something to write. At the moment I try to keep myself accountable for 2-3 seats per month, which is certainly less than when I started, but it's a good balance for now! It also depends on what you're sending - a post every day dress may take 10-15 minutes to throw together a collage of gift ideas may take 1-2 hours, and a longer post as this may take a few days to put together! So keep that in mind as well when you are thinking about how you want to publish regularly.
Fun
I think this goes without saying, but make sure you enjoy it. Once you have found your voice and your niche blogging is really a wonderful hobby. When you stop to feel fun or feels more like sharing online, think about why, and what you can change if anything, but if it's time to hang your hat blogging may just be time to hang your hat blogging! There is nothing wrong with that either.
I hope that if you're interested in starting a blog post this may have helped a little '! Feel free to ask any questions in the comments section below!
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