Starting a Blog...

Starting a blog has been the wave for a while now. I am actually really surprised I have joined. I am not sure why everyone else has joined this wave, however, over the past few months or so I have been realizing that starting a blog may be good for me. I have had a number of struggles with my self-care as I have gotten older, from troubled skin to stress. Over time, I have found a number of little ways to combat the issues that arise and I want to share those ways with someone who might just need a little help themselves.

I expected starting a blog to be relatively easy...and so far it hasn’t made me pull my hair out. However, it does take some planning to get things kicked off and, what is looking to be, a bunch of effort to engage and build relationships. So for those of you who have caught the “blogger” bug like I have, I am sharing below 8 steps to starting a blog.

Step 1. Identify your “why”. Decide what you want to blog about. I believe this should be step 1 because it is most important and it informs every other step in the process.

Step 2. Choose your blog’s name and domain. Make sure the name you choose makes sense for your blog’s theme and content. Your blog’s name should go well with what your blog is about.

Step 3. Find a blogging platform. There are a number of blogging platforms out there and I will be sharing with you my experience with finding which one worked best for me, but do your research.

Step 4. Design your blog. Identify a theme and type of aesthetic you want to relay with your blog design.

Step 5. Develop a content strategy. You already know what you want to blog about and why you are blogging. That makes this step easy. Here you want to identify your audience, focus in on topics, and begin writing. Be sure to consider how your topics are of help to your readers.

Step 6. Commit to a regular posting schedule. Decide what days or times you are going to post your blogs. Your audience will be able to develop a routine including checking your blog out on a certain day or days of the week.

Step 7. Post.

Step 8. Promote your posts. This last step is probably the most difficult step. Finding a way to attract an audience is hard stuff. Be sure to be authentic and focus on developing relationships.

So, obviously I am on step 8. I am not too concerned with promoting though, and the reason is pretty simple. I am looking to help and learn. It is most important to me that those who do view my posts get something out of them and feel comfortable sharing ideas and experiences with me.