I've recently had a lot of people message me about starting a blog. Now I'm no expert on starting a blog, or everything you need to know. But I thought I'd make a basic outline of what you need to get a blog going. I started my blog way back in 2012 now so I've been in the blogging game for a few years now. However I started my blog by self-teaching myself. The fun thing about blogging and youtube is there is so much to learn and do. I never actually read a lot of blogs, or watched youtube. It was just one day I was reading a blog and I decided "why can't I have a blog too?"
TIP ONE | Don't start a blog for the wrong reasons. It's very easy these days to get wrapped up in the likes of Zoella and think "ah fuck it I'm just gonna film a few videos, talk about make up and make a few bucks" No. You should never start a blog/youtube just for the freebies or the money. Don't get me wrong I've done blogging full time, and it's the most amazing job you could ever have; but it's a lot of work. I started my blog with no idea about sponsored posts, or being sent stuff to review. I was studying A level Fashion Textiles and I just had a passion for photography and fashion. When I had my first sponsored post I was so confused why a company wanted to pay me so much money just to link to their website. These days bloggers are shamed a lot for the wrong reasons. But trust me it's not a walk in the park. So honestly if your just after a few free lippy's you won't go far.
TIP TWO | Plan your blog theme, and name. It's easy to say I'm gonna start a blog, but what is your blog going to be about? I think it's very key to pick your subject wisely. You can start a blog about make up. But how much can you write about when it comes to make, before you well run out of ideas. I started off with my blog actually mainly being Beauty based. However as I got more confident I started doing outfit posts - example. And then the past year I've started to do more lifestyle and travel posts. I think as long as you say committed and balance out your blog you can do anything as long as you make it your own. Then the name - now this can be rough. My name is actually from my favourite song and my favourite place. I think picking your name can be one of the hardest things to do. Just be creative with it, and make it original. You want people to remember your blog and remember your name.
TIP THREE | pick your publishing tool. Now to begin you need to pick your weblog in order to start your blog. I use www.blogger.com, however there are also a range of other options. The other popular one is - www.wordpress.com This is a little more complicated and more HTML based. (something you'll end up learning.) Once you you pick which website you want to host your blog on it's all go. Most of this is easy to do by on screen instructions. Once you've made your blog be sure to claim your blog on bloglovin! this is where you'll gain your followers!
TIP FOUR | let's make it look pretty. When you click on a blog one of the first thing's you'll notice is the layout. The layout of a blog is key to getting your readers to stay on your blog. You want it to be organised, clear and well look 'pretty'. I learn't how to design my own blog layouts, this requires knowing some basic HTML knowledge. So if your not too crafty on that, you can always use some of the original layouts provided by the web tool you pick, or you can buy your own layout. There are a range of people who sell blog layouts for as little as £10 right up to £200. An example where I got my layout from is - pipdig.com a range of beautiful layouts for a range of prices. Of course this is an investment, and you may get bored of the layout so be sensible when looking. I'd always recommend spending the money on stuff for your blog when you are 100% about it.
TIP FIVE | make friends with fellow bloggers. These days it's so easy to make friends and get to know someone over the internet. The good thing about the blogging community is it's so easy to meet people and gain a instant interaction. This comes from sharing the same interests and passions from your blogs. There are a few great ways to meet fellow bloggers. Twitter Chats - these are amazing opportunities to voice your opinions on all things beauty, fashion and more! You can really have a good chat and get to know more bloggers that could end up being friends for life! Here is a list of all the chats that happen. Then there's Facebook - if you have a quick search you'll be able to find a range of groups. There you can share your posts and again chat and discover new blogs!
Now these are the basic tips to get you going, working with brands, going to meet ups are all a learning curve for you to experience in your own style when it comes to it. I hope this helps if you've been wanting to start your own blog for some time.
No comments:
Post a Comment