Beginning Your Blog – Tips and Tricks to Master Blogging
By Lisa Carey
I watched a local news channel reporting on the influence and success of a local blogger and they ended the segment with “anyone can start a blog.” Yes, anyone can start a blog, but where do you start your beautiful blog planning?
Tackle that topic
Do you have a topic that you have an education, experience or expertise in? Are you the person that everyone comes to when they need a gift idea, party planning or suggestions for places to go in your area? If so, then you probably have a good idea for a blog, because some of the most successful blogs I know started with someone knowing something and then sharing it.
In my case, Money Saving Parent began when friends would constantly ask me about a coupon, discount or savings that I had when we went places. Or sometimes they asked me about a cute gift item or craft that the kids and I created. I had become the “go to person” for places to go and things to do in our area from kids eat free to attractions (and how to get a discount for them) when friends or family are visiting. I was already writing for Yahoo Voices with crafts for kids and a number of other topics like travel and education as well as writing for Examiner.com with places to go in Houston, so I thought, “Why not start a blog and join all those ideas together?” Then all my friends would have the coupons, ideas and places to go whenever I have time to share them and so, Money Saving Parent began.
Building blocks of blogging
You have a topic and you want to share it. Now where do you go and what do you do? There are a number of free programs available to help you get started with your blog. Check out WordPress.com, Weebly.com, GoDaddy.com and Google’s Blogger. Some are easier than others to use, and my personal preferences are WordPress, Weebly and Blogger. I began Money Saving Parent as “Freebie Finds” on Blogger using all the free design services which is easy to set up.
I then decided I wanted a domain name and more services available to me so I headed to GoDaddy.com and purchased my domain name, which also offered me several services including email, webhosting, site building and a blog. After several months there I realized that their system just wasn’t the right one for me. After a recommendation by a client, I moved to Hostgator services and began using a WordPress site. I’ve never regretted that move.
I started with free and now do pay for the services I use, but if you decide to take your blog to the next level of making money you may find that many sponsors and advertisers will require you to take your blog name and opportunities to the next level.
Digging that design
If you are trying to keep costs down there are many free blogging designs out there. You may want to start with the templates available to you with your host. Take some time to look through all of the designs available to you and what really fits your topic and your personality. It is easy to change your design but it may not be easy to keep your readers happy when you do.
Now you are ready to get started with the business of blogging. You have a main topic or niche. You have a site. Next on your blogging business agenda is writing and that’s a topic for many other posts.
Lisa Carey is a mother of four, college to kindergarten and writes for Yahoo Shine, is a Top 1000 Contributor to Yahoo Voices, columnist for Houston Family Examiner, National Teen Celebrity Examiner and a regular contributor on a number of websites and blogs. She and her husband are also the owners/authors of Money Saving Parent, a blog devoted to sharing how saving for tomorrow but living for today can be done with fun and frugality
If you liked this you may also like:
Top 10 challenges of being a work at home mom (WAHM)
14 reasons to love being a Work at Home Mom (WAHM)
Six Steps Towards Becoming a Work at Home Mom
5 comments
These days, if you have a business, you should have a blog. The days of putting an ad in the yellow pages and hoping people find you are gone. Today customers want to interact and dialogue with a business. Blogs are the way to do this, This post is a great place for someone wanting to start a blog, but doesn't know where to begin. Great practical steps to get up and running.
You really gave some great tips for beginning bloggers. I especially like your tips on how to choose a niche and definitely agree with your recommendations for Hostgator and Wordpress. I do think blogger is a great way for people to start if they don't have the money to pay for hosting.
