Last year I had a dream of starting a blog. I wanted to inspire and motivate others to be healthy, happy and fit. After my 80 pound weight-loss four years ago, people were always asking me how did I lose weight, how do I keep it off, what do I eat, how has my life changed? Then one day I realized I should start a blog. I can write about the madness I call my life and everyone can follow along.
Why not start a blog? I love to write. In fact, I've always been a writer. As a child, I wrote short stories for fun. My dream has always been to become a writer and health coach. So when I decided to start my blog, I was so excited. I thought I would setup my website then happily post away my thoughts on health, fitness, recipes and work toward my life goals.
Not quite. I've learned a few things along the way.
Money
Blogs costs money. You need to purchase a domain (i.e. www.skinnyfitalicious.com) and a server to host your domain such as Blogger, Go Daddy, etc. You can do this at a reasonable cost utilizing standard website templates. If blogging is a hobby, you can do this for under a few hundred dollars.
If your goal is to make money with your blog, then you need to brand and advertise. You should invest in a unique design to build a brand. I'm currently working with a designer on my site. You can expect the cost to be upwards of $1000. Advertising via Facebook and Twitter ads is a good method to grow your audience. It will also cost you a few Ben Franklin's.
You may also invest in a good camera to advertise your brand. Depending on the type of camera you buy, it can cost you several hundred to a few thousand dollars. With a camera, you also need photo props and a picture editing software like Picasa or Pic Monkey.
The point is blogs aren't cheap. You need to budget for your blog as you do your groceries.
Technical
Blogs break and require technical intervention from you. Blogs get automatic fixes pushed to them and sometimes things break or things just break for no apparent reason. How many times have you seen on your smartphone "updates available?" It's the same thing with a blog. Even though I'm in IT, I have been stumped a few times. You need to expect to spend time fixing things, reading forums for suggestions and asking other bloggers for help.
Content
Blog posts should be relevant and fresh. Plan posts at the beginning of every week and focus on a theme. This makes it easier to come up with content. You don't have to publish every day. Focus on quality not quantity.
Consistency
Publish posts regularly and at the same time every day. Consistency not only helps you manage your time but also grow your audience. If readers know when to expect a post from you, it's more likely they will continue to follow you.
Pictures
Pictures are king. Good pictures are blog advertise. Pictures entice readers to click on your site and read content. I post food recipes regularly. Having good pictures is a must. Think about it. No one is going to consider a recipe with poor quality pictures. Pictures should have readers drooling. It's also a way to brag about your creation.
Network
Read other blogs with similar content, comment, follow and build a network. Having a network of bloggers, allows you to make connections and you can reach out them when you have blogging questions. It also gives you a means to compare your content and brand. Most importantly, I have met AMAZING people in the blog world. I have made several friends in the blogging community. It's awesome to have a support community to lean on to give you support, encouragement and virtual hugs. It will help you stay happy with your blog.
Social Media
You need to be on multiple social media platforms to drive traffic to your site, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Bloglovin, Google + & Stumbleupon to name a few. Publish your posts to your social media always. This is free advertisement and easy to do. When you setup your blog, you set this up to occur automatically. You also need to be active on social media - befriending others, commenting and sharing other blogger content.
Organization
Blogs require time. You need to write content, publish content, participate in social media, network and fix technical glitches. In my case, I also have to factor in time for testing recipes and taking pictures. Bottom line. A blog is a commitment. You need good time management skills to juggle a blog with your life.
Be Genuine
If you take anything away from this post, I hope it's this. Be yourself. Never be ashamed of who you are or try to be someone else. Be open and honest. Share yourself and feelings with your readers. It's your blog. You make the rules. Just be you.
So there you have it. I'm sure I missed one or two or fifty things, but that's OK. I'm still learning. We all are. Every day. Something I haven't figured out yet is if I want to share my blog with my co-workers. I like to keep my professional and personal life separate, but I feel like I'm leading a secret life by not telling them about it. Like I said, still learning and I'm sure I will figure out the answer.
Happy blogging!
Polly @ Tasty Food Project says
I think this is a very helpful post! I agree that it does take a long time to build and maintain a blog. I've spent countless hours looking up codes on how to tweak my page to look the way I like it. Some codes only work with certain themes or can only be placed in certain parts of your website, etc. It's quite a lot to learn!
Linda @ Fit Fed and Happy says
Ever thought about doing a post about your favourite WordPress plugins? 🙂
Steph says
I think you have hit some nails on the head but it doesn't need to cost you anything in the first instance - wordpress.com or blogger can get you going initially but you are right, there is likely to come a point where you outgrow one of these and you do have to spend money on it (I am getting to that point).
My main learning point - comparison is the thief of joy. I realised I cannot compare myself to well established blogs - things take time and effort.
Great post!
FitBritt@MyOwnBalance says
Great post! I think one piece of advice I would give someone is to realize that it takes time to develop the skills of an expert blogger. Don't try to do everything all at once at the beginning because you'll burn out. Learn over time.
Also, blog conferences are important for networking!
The Skinny-Life says
I haven't done a conference yet. I signed up for BlogHer in July. I'm excited to experience it.
The Silent Assassin says
Ummmm. I think you read my mind? Or maybe this was kismet? I don't think you posting this was coincidental (in my eyes anyway). I've been pushed and prodded to start my own blog by my friends for a while. But I've been reluctant for a handful of reasons. They are all telling me I have something to offer... I've even been able to get some inspiration and much needed information on starting my blog from some "heavy hitters". This week has been a whirlwind for me on this subject. I swear maybe you have psychic abilities and this was meant for moi? No...lol. Thanks for sharing this! For reals, it hit home for me.
The Skinny-Life says
I'm so glad it was helpful for you! Everything happens for a reason. I definitely believe in signs & perhaps this is yours!
Amanda @ .running with spoons. says
Great tips, girl! I think the biggest thing that surprised me when I started blogging was how much time it took. There's a whole heck of a lot more to it than just writing and publishing posts. Networking, commenting, answering e-mails, reading other blogs, photographing, editing, etc, etc,. The list literally goes on and on. Sometimes I joke that I could literally spend every waking hour doing something for my blog, and it's true -- the work is never done!
The Skinny-Life says
Thanks! It is true you can spend every hour working on the blog. I have to cut myself off. It's addicting!
Michael Anderson says
Great post! I think there are only two things I would suggest:
- Start 'free' - WordPress has great free options to get you started, take advantage of that before paying for self-hosting and other things.
- Be original - there are few things that will ruin your credibility than someone coming to your blog and thinking 'didn't I just see that on site X last week'? This is a fairly small community, and even if you don't directly copy, if you are basically copying other content without attribution, someone will notice!