I’ve been asked to write this post so many times – just how do you start a blog?
To be honest it’s been ten years since I started mine and a lot has changed in that decade (good god I’m old!) so I’m not sure if my advice will be of much use! But here are my top tips on starting up a blog if you fancy giving it a go!
Pick Your Platform – Tumblr, Blogger or WordPress. Choosing a platform is completely up to you and what you want/find easiest to use. I started in Tumblr and was on there for about 6 years before moving over to WordPress. Personally I find WordPress tricky to set up but quick to get used to and you can do so much more with the design and the SEO. Don’t worry too much about this now, just pick one you like and get started – you can always switch afterwards anyway!
Find Your Niche – From Beauty to Fashion to Travel, Food, Home Style, Fitness. What are you interested in? What do you want to write about? If like me you enjoy a number of different things you might want to pick lifestyle as your category so you have freedom to write about a wide range of things. Just bare in mind that it’s a little more difficult to grow without a specific niche – if you’re Beauty people know where to go for the lastest reviews and releases, whereas us lifestyle lot have a harder job at pulling people back for more as we do so much!
Pick a Name – What do you want to call your blog? Think of a name that describes what you’re writing about so people know what your blog is as soon as they hear the name. Something snappy and memorable and don’t rush into it as this is harder to change when you’ve started gaining traction!
Design a Theme – There are plenty of free themes available on each platform so I wouldn’t spend your money just yet. Pick something that you like, something you’re drawn to and something you enjoy looking at. We can worry about all the rest later on down the line when you start picking up traction. For now pick something that speaks to your personality and creative flair and click install!
Buy a Domain and Cover URL – Once you’ve thought of your blog name buy the domain (xameliax.com /xameliax.co.uk) – it’s up to you which ending you go for and what’s available – and set it up to cover your blog host name eg www.tumblr.com/xameliax is turned into xameliax.com – much easier! For help on how to do this depending on your blogging platform take a look here.
Start Writing – This may sound like a silly one but so many worry about being perfect before they even start. Open up a blank post and get creative – the rest will follow and with practise and time you’ll find your style!
As for social media and photography well that’s a whole other chapter – use natural light where possible for photos, don’t rush into buying expensive cameras – and try to get your blog name on Twitter and Instagram even if you don’t use them yet.
Good luck and most importantly, have fun, get creative and enjoy!
xax