Have you been reading these blogs and feeling inspired? A lot of people start getting the blogging bug by seeing some totally high-quality content out there, such as Dani (Blonde In The District) who has been instrumental in the Bubbles + Bloggers scene here. But it’s only one side of the life of a blogger. A lot of people look at the glamorous side of blogging and think they can do it too, and yes, anybody can do it, but it’s about having the tenacity to push through with these things. There have been some bloggers out there like Zoella who have been instrumental in the blogging side of fashion for the younger audience. And it’s great to start thinking about getting yourself a pursuit or a career that you are genuinely excited about, a lot of people roll their eyes at the prospect of leaving school and falling into a job which, let’s face it, is going to be the height of tedium! So, it’s not surprising that you want to follow your dream and get blogging and get yourself out there. But how is this done?
Bloggers Gonna Blog / white journal
The Very Start…
The thing about picking a totally awesome blog is that you have to go from the heart. This means beginning with writing about that you actually care for. When it comes to picking, what they call content, a lot of bloggers say they will write about anything, but this isn’t the best way forward. The best thing for you to do when you are setting up a blog is to go with what you are really passionate about. This may be something like fashion, but what parts of fashion are you really passionate about? Are you really keen on the summer styles, or does it all interest you? It doesn’t have to be that, so many people love music, so what do you like? You could like Justin Bieber, or you could like acid jazz, it doesn’t matter! The important thing is right at the very start it’s about picking what you are really passionate about, and getting that out there, don’t even worry about having people reading it just yet!
Getting It Set Up…
There are some fantastic blogging platforms that you can use just so you can get the bare bones of your blog online. There are numerous hosting platforms, such as WordPress, but the key when it comes to getting your blog online, there is a big question for you to ask yourself, to self-host or not? When it comes to hosting, the two things you need to think about are the page loading speed, as well as the uptime. There are plenty of web hosting companies, like GoDaddy, iPage, and Bluehost. But a lot of people are going for Hostgator right now, as the load speed and uptime has been better than most. Also, when it comes to web hosting, you need to think about your domain name, and while a lot of people go for things like WordPress. If you get some money together for your own web hosting, it’s only around $5 per month, and the cost of a domain name is around $10 a year. It’s not going to break the bank, but it’s much better than having a blog name with a million numbers after it, that people will never find, and therefore you won’t get many followers, and won’t build up an exciting blog that people will want to read. If your name isn’t straightforward and accessible, you are not going to get off the ground. So think of a domain name that is catchy, and is totally you!
Writing The Content…
While you may have a fantastic idea for what to write about and an amazing domain name that is easily accessible when people search in google, if your content isn’t fantastic, people are going to gradually click off your webpage. So, the best advice at the outset is to write in your own voice. As time goes on, you will get other people to help write content for you, because it builds up so much that you won’t have time to do it all yourself, especially if you expand into things like different platforms, like vlogs and YouTube videos in general. But when you’re starting out, and it’s just you, it can be difficult to try and write so much every single day. So here’s a major hint for you, get some voice recognition software, and in fact, on Google Docs, you can get the Speech Recognition Sound Writer program, which is great (and free), and it means that you can write as fast as you can talk! If you are an unbelievably slow typer, this will be your lifesaver, as you can potentially do thousands of words in the space of a few hours. It can take some time to get used to not writing with your fingers, but you’ll find that it becomes a bit more natural, because when you write with your fingers, you are somewhat editing yourself before you’ve even typed the words out. At least when you are writing by thinking about the words, it’s going straight onto the page, and it’s in your own unique voice! And this is the key to writing in your own unique style! Nobody is going to write in your style as good as you, so why don’t you start making life a bit easier for yourself?
Getting The Blog Out There…
Networking is something that strikes fear into the hearts of most bloggers, but it’s one of those essential things that if you actually want to start getting your blog out there and being read by people. And if you really want to start earning money from it, it’s one of those things that you need to start doing! So, think about networking with the right people, which can be difficult when you are stuck at home writing your blogs, but instead, it’s time to start getting out there and visiting the key bloggers either where you are, or get going to trade shows. Now, this may sound a bit businessy, but it can be very useful for you to get your blog read by people from all over the world. A lot of companies congregate at these trade shows, and so you may want to get yourself a stall set up there or get out there with a mode to network with new people, at the blogger so you can have them write for you, or you write for them! Either way, these are going to be handy tools to getting your blog out there. Now, it can be very costly to get to these places, but there are cheap airlines, cheap hotels, and apps that you can use to find the best bargains for where you need to get to. There are airlines like Allegiant Air that do cheap flights all over America, and, of course, there are websites like Airbnb. It can feel a little bit of a lonely life, especially if you’re going to all of these trade shows and conferences. But you need to learn how to make your own company, and there are lots of tech making travel easier for people right now, so it is a bit of a necessary evil, especially if you got to spend lots of time away from your family and people you love, but it’s part of the blogging game now. Loads of bloggers are out there, so make sure you start to get your name as popular as possible.
Living The Blogger Life …
Yes, if you’ve got to the point where it is your life, day in and day out, it can be quite an amazing thing to have achieved this. But it’s important not to be complacent, make sure you start pushing your boundaries, you’ve got a platform that people are clicking onto on a regular basis, so use it and start to experiment with different formats. At the outset of any blog, developing that audience is important, but once you have a dedicated fanbase; it’s now time to start pushing the envelope. Use it as a way to communicate your true passion in life, and while blogs are fantastic as a way to get people talking, it’s great to start mixing it up and make your blog more interesting. Keeping ahead of the curve and keeping your blog interesting and contemporary is the thing you need to start thinking about. And so if you do something like a fashion blog, it’s kind of inbuilt in the purpose anyway, but if you are doing a blog on something else, it doesn’t take long to be old news. Keep this in the back of your mind every time you make a new post, vlog, video or anything.
From that little idea of running a blog, all the way through to it being your livelihood, it is one great journey, and it can be the best thing you’ve ever done with your life, so if you are feeling inspired, put pen to paper, or actually, finger to keyboard!
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