Sunday, May 18, 2014

5 Overlooked Details to Consider when Starting a Blog



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Every day thousands of new blogs are created. And each day, thousands of blogs are abandoned. The world of blogging can be as sweet and rewarding as winning the lottery or as bitter as lemons. While anyone can start a blog, running and maintaining a successful blog takes determination, preparation and organization.

There's more to blogging than just sitting down and rehashing your day--that's journaling; all blogs aren't journals. Blogging requires the precision of a well-executed uppercut in a boxing ring and the poised grace of a swan on a clear, still lake. Bloggers need to be as calculated as the heavyweight who studied his opponent for months before the big fight; who knows everything about him: from his demeanor when he's exhausted to his tell before he throws his signature punch.

Bloggers need to be as hardworking as those gliding swans--skimming across the surface effortlessly, but aware of the legs beneath the water pumping like pistons to keep the bird afloat and everything in place.

5 Overlooked Details to Consider when Starting a Blog

I wanted to share five details that newbie bloggers or wannabe bloggers overlook when planning their blog. Don't get caught without considering these key areas; the difference it'll make to your first few months blogging is priceless:

1. Choose a Blog Name Wisely
It doesn't have to be a pun. It doesn't have to be your name. It could be any manner of word or phrase that resonates with you or that reflects you and your personality. It's always a good idea for the title of your blog to at least give some inclination as to what readers can expect when they delve into your content, but that's not always the case.

Pull inspiration from these suggestions when coming up with your blog name:
* use your first name and a verb that reflects the main subject of your blog
eg: a food blog named Anyonita Nibbles
* use the street you grew up on or currently live on
eg: I live on Oxford Road, so my blog name could be The Oxford Chronicles or The Oxford Circus or The Oxford or From Oxford Road or Down Oxford Road
* use a pun that reflects the main subject of your blog
eg: a food blog named Thyme & Again
a music blog named In One Ear & Out the Other
a knitting blog named Purls of Wisdom

2. Choose a Blog Platform that Works for You
There's a lot of debate between Blogger and Wordpress. If you've read my blog for any length of time, then you probably know that I'm a staunch Blogger girl and for me, combined with my limited knowledge of coding, Blogger provides all I need as a blogger. Their ties with Google and Google's influence in blogging make it a very natural decision.

For others, Wordpress feels more like home. There are some really big differences between the two platforms and they are worth exploring before making your decision. To make it a bit easier, a rough difference is that Blogger provides the space for you to have a more hands off approach in terms of updates and maintenance and Wordpress is a lot more demanding in this aspect. The best thing to do is to have a good look around both platforms and weigh up the pros and cons and research to find the best fit for you.

3. Choose a URL You Won't Hate in the Morning
Your URL is for life. Okay, not really, but it's best if you just assume it is from the start. You'll spend a lot of time sharing your URL and it's what search engines will use to refer to your blog and to give you various rankings. It's how your readers will find your blog and it's what you'll use to tell people about it.

And while we're on it, it makes a whole lot of sense for your blog name and your URL to be the same or as close to the same as you can get. It just cuts down on confusion and it makes your readers confident that they are on a legitimate site. Think about it, if you followed a URL called www.blueshoes.com and ended up at a website called Pamela's Punchy Puddings --how would you feel? Would you be a bit dubious? Exactly.

Oh and another thing about URLs, it's a good idea to go ahead and buy up all the popular variations of your domain as you can. Or at least two or three of them. So say you're writing a blog about Blue Shoes and your purchase the domain(URL) www.blueshoes.com . While you're at it, go ahead and purchase www.blueshoes.net, www.blueshoes.org, www.blueshoes.co.uk etc. If you don't and your blog becomes very popular and well known, URL poachers will purchase it for pennies and try to sell it back to you for more than its worth.

4. Choose a Web Host that's Reliable
If you're going to have a successful blog, you need a blog that's going to actually be online. That means that anyone in the world can access it at any time of day. This isn't down to you to make sure that this is possible, this is where your web hosting service comes into play. Make sure you choose a web host with a strong reputation and a high percentage of up time. You may want to start by checking out Web Hosting Hub*!

I've only just heard of them myself, but so far, I like what I see! And as always, I've done a bit of researching around & everyone has lovely things to say about them. Give them a go :)

5. Choosing to Organize and Stay Motivated
One of the biggest blogging casualties has to do with lack of motivation. A number of bloggers think that after they write their first post that they are going to be inundated with fans, readers and brand endorsement opportunities.Wouldn't that be nice?

Unfortunately, all of those things come after you've already established yourself as a blogger. The best and quickest way to get there is to keep blogging. Make a decision right now, even before you have your blog that you are going to be organized. Create a content schedule--it can be as detailed or as open-ended as you'd like. Just jot down when you want to post and a general idea of what you want those posts to be about. That way, when you're having a rough day or are rushed off your feet, you're not wasting valuable time trying to come up with what to write about; you'll already know where to start!



1 comment:

  1. Good advice all around! Blogging is actually harder than many might imagine...there's a lot that goes into it, even in the beginning stages.

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