Have you ever desired to have your own space in the internet,but were too lazy to make YouTube videos? Then,blogging is just for you.I'm here to guide you so you can throw your first blogging steps firmly. I'm going to also share with you funny stories about my blogging experience.So stick with me :)
In the beginning, every single thing seems overwhelming.All these blogs, all these tips.It seems endless.
What I did,though,was keeping a notebook specified for my blog.
- blog ideas
- traffic sources
- tips from other bloggers
- props for pictures that I should buy
- traffic growth within days,weeks,and months.
- which is something I would request you to keep,because you can't exactly remember every information you've gathered about blogging. My tips could go straight to your notebook as well.;)
Now get cozy,as I'm about to touch the most common subjects about blogging and what you should know.
1.Theme
The theme has an important value in your blog,because it's the visual that represents you and attracts people. In the beginning,you're going to be really confused but trust me,it's going to be okay.
Now,depending on what platform you use for your blog (Blogger, Wordpress, etc), there are different types of themes that are offered by the platforms themselves, but sadly they reflect not a bit of your personality. To know how to set up your theme, you should know a little bit about coding.
Here is a free course that I'm taking for HTML and CSS : Click here
But if you want to know how to apply a free theme that you found online, you should watch this video for Blogger,and this for Wordpress.
Like I said,as a beginner,you don't really need to worry about the theme / nor be frustrated (just like I was ),because eventually,your knowledge in the blogging world will expand and your content will be better.
However,before starting your blog,I'd recommend you to pick a color scheme for your blog,as it's very important to have a coordination of colors in your blog.Check out mine:
You can find a lot of palettes online,so this isn't a problem,but it's just a highly recommended thing to do before starting.(As well as picking the font you're sticking with,too!). Here's just a few I found:
Fancy,right?I'd suggest focusing on the theme a bit more,because it really does reflect your personality and besides,customizing it in your own taste is really,REALLY fun!
2.The actual blogposts
Of course that as much as the physics matter,the inside is what people come for! And by inside,I mean your content,of course.
First of all,you need to figure yourself out.What do you want to blog about?
Poetry? Music? DIY? Make-up? All at once?
Your content is what makes your blog your blog.
Here is what I'd recommend (always) doing in a blogpost:
- Make the content as rich with things as possible (and as long as possible,too)
- Make sure you use some fancy words here and there
- Make sure to reflect yourself and your personality
- Leave your social media buttons/links at the end of the blogpost
- Make it easy to share
- .Divide it into sectors (don't just write a huge paragraph and hit publish).
Besides all of these,think about the purpose your blogpost has.Will it help anyone? Will someone enjoy it? Think about how happy you're gonna make some people,and the role model you're being.
Based on that,share kindness around.
3.Photos,their quality and editing
Now,this is where most beginners slip.(Me too,me too!)
Photography is something most of bloggers are passionate about. However,not all of us have the right equipment for the most high quality pictures,because let's be real,not all us are rich.
It does NOT mean you cannot take pictures and go after your dreams.
Grab a phone,an old camera,anything! As long as it doesn't make the picture look like a potato of course.
Do not let the fact that your pictures aren't taken with a Canon destroy your dreams. Do what you can with what you have, and the rest will arrive with your hard work!
Editing is also really important. As a beginner,each blogger makes the mistake of over-saturating their photo edits. I would recommend only adding a light chic/urban filter and adding brightness and a bit of saturation,and lowering the contrast a little bit.That's what I usually do.I edit my pics using Spinly on my phone and Photoscape on the computer.
If you're wondering,here's a comparison of my first (ever) blogpost edit and my latest blogpost edit:
Not only it ruins the picture (as you can see,mine was HUGE), but as a beginner,you wouldn't really need the watermark.
Another thing to remark about photography are props. Don't forget to add them to your pictures!
Props can be anything from flowers to nail polish,make-up,notebooks,tea,coffee, heck I could go on!
If you don't know what they are,props are basically things that are useless in the picture but they make it more attractive.For example:
And one last thing about photography: the background.
I can't stress it enough how important the background is.Take a little time of your day to find a cute fabric,rug,wood,paper,anything that could be used as a background. There is a lot of amazing materials laying around your house.
HINT : I once used a fluffy pillow as a background because it looked like a fur rug. ;)
4.Getting an audience
You can't expect to have 1,000 followers on your first day,right? But,you can give yourself a little exposure as a headstarter.
To begin,you need to set your social media up. Twitter,instagram and pinterest are a MUST.
After setting up your profile,start following bloggers.Either go search by the hashtag #blogger, or just find a blogger and start following other bloggers on her "Following/Followers" lists.
Make sure to follow small bloggers,too - they return your follow as well.
Using this technique you can get to 100 followers really fast.
Social media is the key to blogger exposure.That's why you should use it constantly and consistently.
When you post,make sure to tag relevant accounts (for instance, company of the product in the picture) and to use hashtags.
Leave comments on other blogger's instapics and blogposts too, linking back to your blog.
Now,the sites that give me the biggest audience are Facebook and Reddit.
Facebook has groups,as you know,and there are A LOT of bloggers' groups,containing over 1,000 bloggers who interact with each other and share their own links.
Here are a few Facebook groups you MUST join :
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AND that was what I had in store for you!
Oh,and another thing. This is my new blog schedule,from now on:
I will send freebies to all of my email subscribers every friday.
To subscribe,you need to scroll to the bottom and a pop-up will pop-up.(I'm all the way pop-up )
And I will post mini-blogposts on my facebook page on sundays. (Click here to go check it out!)
Thank you for taking your time,and reading this post. I hope you found any of my tips helpful.
All the love in the world,
A My Pastel World Citizen. XO.
I love your blogs and the colors you have used to create your blog. The tips will really help those who are starting a blog, I personally use some of your tips, such as keeping a book specifically for blogging.
ReplyDeleteMy Blog: https://mariajobi.wordpress.com/