5 Key Steps To Start A Blog
/Hey guys! If you are thinking about starting a blog then this post is for you! It's been 2 years since I started my blog and even though I fall off sometimes, I'm very proud of what I created. I started my blog with a post about being single on Valentine’s day and how I spent it with my roommate. I didn’t know exactly what I wanted my blog to be about but I knew I wanted to blog. I figured if start with something, I would've never started. With that being said, here are 5 key steps to start a blog!
#1. Find out why you want to start blogging.
I was scared to start my blog for a year, mainly because I didn’t want the commitment. Then I started getting several questions about how I moved to LA, what inspired me to move, where did I get this outfit, etc. I said to myself, I want to keep people informed and hope to give them some type of inspiration along the way. That’s when I decided to go through with it. My purpose is bigger than just posting on social media and I wanted to find another outlet that can reach more people than I imagine. That’s why I started blogging and what I love most about it.
#2. Find out what you want to talk about (your target audience).
This step can be one of the hardest things to do because we want to share everything! I have three topics and I’ve managed to slide some more topics here and there but they all relate to those three main topics; lifestyle, beauty and fashion. It helps me have several things to talk about. Also, I know what my audience is interested in. I can post three blogs in one week, all different topics, having something available for each of my readers.
#3. Make your website!
There are several different ways you can go about making a website. You can either hire someone or do it yourself! I’m all about saving money, therefore, my website was done by yours truly! I am using the beautiful Squarespace.com to host my website. How much does a website cost? Every year I spend about $175 on my website. That includes my domain, everything that comes with the basic Squarespace account and my personalized email. What I love about Squarespace the most, is that you can change your template whenever you want and it’s free of charge! I’ve changed my template a few times and it’s super easy to do. If you are looking for clean, easy and sleek, then Squarespace is the site for you.
#4 Focus on one social media platform.
I didn’t know how important this was until I started blogging. There are several social media platforms; Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Pinterest, the list goes on. If you are trying to grow your social media platforms, choose one platform to grow and then promote your blog on that platform. In the beginning, I tried to post my blog everywhere and it was overwhelming. I started growing my Instagram and used that platform to promote my blog more. It made sense for me to grow my Instagram first because I can technically blog there by pictures and captions. Depending on what your blog site will focus on, that will help determine what platform will work best for you. One social media platform that I will say is good for blogging is Facebook. People don’t think Facebook is lucrative but it helped me a lot with the growth of my blog. I used to post my blog post on Facebook, friends and family would share it and/or comment which made it easier for others to see my post. It’s also easier to click direct links on Facebook, so you get more traffic to your blog that way. Lastly, people who are on Facebook are reading statuses, so they are more than likely going to click your blog post to read. I can go on and on about Facebook being a good tool to promote your blog site, but you guys get it. Haha. Facebook is an amazing platform for growing your blog!
5. Be consistent.
One very important key to starting a blog is being consistent. In the beginning of my blogging days, I made sure I posted once a week. It was a challenge but posting once a week, sometimes twice, helped me grow my blog site. Lately, I’ve fell off from posting once a week but I do know that it is very important to stay consistent. Consistency is key!
There are several other tricks and tips to blogging, but these are just the essentials. When you are starting you blog you want to make sure you know why you’re starting your blog, find out who your target audience will be, make your website of course, pick a social media platform, and be consistent!
