I love blogging. Now that shouldn’t be a shocker to anyone here, really, but I just thought I’d throw that out there. It’s really awesome. Blogging has morphed over the (almost) 5 years (!!) that I’ve been doing this thing, from a hobby to an actual kinda sorta job ish thing. I never would have guessed that was even possible, but here we are! It’s opened lots of awesome and fun opportunities for me and I feel so lucky and blessed. Blogging has allowed me to have a flexible schedule and do the most important thing to me- stay at home with my baby.
I get asked a lot how to start a blog and what the first steps are and for advice in general. To see all of the technical steps in starting a blog, we created this page. It’s been up for a while, but I thought I’d draw attention to it here, since I haven’t yet. As for some advice from yours truly…
-Write about what you love. What are you passionate about? What makes you excited and really makes you you? If you write about things that you truly love, chances are your writing will be better and others will love reading it!
-Be consistent. Whether you’re blogging once a day or once a week, consistency is key!
-Be ethical. Disclose properly for products and payments received in return for posts, and also don’t plagiarize or steal ideas and images.
-Make your blog beautiful! Spend time (or money) making the small design details of your blog perfect for you!
-Be active on social media. Don’t automate all of your accounts. Rather, be present on each platform that you’re trying to build. People like you for you and your personality should sine through!
-Take pride in the pictures that you put on your blog. This is all yours- own it!
-Steer clear of any blog drama! It is not worth your time. If you don’t have anything nice to say, just don’t say anything at all! Also, if you’re getting any haters, remember my favorite piece of advice ever: Kill them with kindness.
-Most importantly: HAVE FUN! If you’re not enjoying what you are doing, you are more likely to give up. Plus, it will come through in your content, and others will be able to tell that you aren’t enjoying it, too.
I hope this helps any of you who are thinking of blogging or are currently blogging! Be sure to check out he full post here: How to Start a Lifestyle Blog.
Let’s help each other out! What’s one thing that’s working for you right now with your blog?
xo
Katie@LifesNextBigStep
Love this! I still consider myself a newbie, even though I’ve been blogging for something like 7 years…I just recently learned that there is money in blogging so I’m just trying to figure out how to grow my readership and get my name out there. I’ve learned that it definitely doesn’t happen overnight, and it takes a LOT of work…good thing I love doing it :)
Lindsay
great tips! I’m fed working on being more consistent with my blog posts!
chizoba okoroji
Very helpful tips,especially to start off drama.
Henrico Ellis
Katie this is an awesome post and I totally can relate to this post. Blogging is awesome to your success.
Lux Ganzon
You really have to love what you do, write what you love about and write with passion. I believe the readers can sense it if you’re faking it. :)
Great and helpful tips. Thanks for sharing them.
Laura
Great tips! I think being genuine is so important. You don’t have to sound like all the other bloggers, I believe sticking to your personal style and voice can make blogging so much more enjoyable as well as give you long time followers.
Katie
YES, exactly! Blogging is just like life. It’s all about staying true to yourself and being genuine. :) It definitely shows!
xo