I’ve had a run of real-life people over the last couple of weeks saying kindly things about my blog – for which thank you – but what’s struck me is that without fail, every one of those people has followed up with ‘I’d love to start a blog. But I don’t have the time/I can’t write/I am useless with IT/I’d be scared nobody would read it’.
None of these are reasons not to START a blog. They might be reasons to start one, decide it doesn’t do that much for you, or you’re not getting enough out of it for the time you put in, or simply that you don’t like writing after all – and then stop. But there’s no shame in that! Unless you start, you’ll never know how it ends…
So. For you lovely people who want to know (you know who you are!) – and assuming we’re talking personal rather than professional blogs, here’s my top tips from the fifteen months that LearnerMother has been A Thing….
1 IGNORE all online blogging advice and how-tos – for now.
You only need to google ‘How to s’ on Google and the autocomplete comes up with ‘How to start a blog’ – followed by 2,640,000,000 search results – shortly to be 2,640,000,001 when I hit publish. My advice is not to bother with any of these – YET. (Except this one, which I am sure will be in the top 3 rankings in, uh, no time at all…) I know this seems counterintuitive but the more time you spend ploughing through blogspeak and social media advice and general clickbait, the more flummoxed you will get, and it’ll likely put you off doing anything at all. Once you’ve been blogging for a bit then go back and delve through at your leisure, it’ll all make much more sense!
2 Don’t worry about what you’re going to write about.
This advice flies in the face of every blogging how-to I’ve ever read. But – again, assuming we’re talking a personal blog rather than a professional one – what matters is whether you want to write, not what you’re going to write about. If you have a niche that you know a lot about, that might be a good place to start – if not, just write about what comes. You’ll soon figure out what works for you.
3 Do choose a name – but don’t sweat over it!
The standard advice on this is to choose a catchy name and then check its availability as a domain name and with social media. For a work blog this is entirely sensible. For a personal blog, it’s not bad advice exactly, it’s just that it’s another item on the To Do list that will stop you actually getting on with things and writing stuff. You can start a blog under whatever name you like – and then if you want to (or have to) start again with a new whizzy name, you can import everything you’ve done so far anyway. And THAT’s when all the blogging how-tos will come in useful.
4 Anonymous or not?
The pros of being anonymous: you can be extremely frank; you are protecting your family’s privacy; you can blog about work and work issues without compromising your professional role.
The cons – firstly, it can be much harder to get your blog out there and read without being able to share it on your social networks; secondly (and this is the big one for me) you could end up outed – and potentially causing more harm and upset to the people whose privacy you were trying to protect in the first place. Oh, and getting fired. Hmmm.
This is a tricky issue and only you can decide in the longer term what you want to do. But I’d also say that it doesn’t really matter which you choose to start with. Just start writing. If you’re ‘out’, and want to become anonymous, you can always close down and start again; if you’re anonymous you can always out yourself later.
5 Common sense
If you carry on blogging, especially if you choose to work with brands, there is stuff you’ll need to find out about what you can and can’t do on your blog. But to START blogging, you don’t really need to know it. You just need to use your common sense. So – if you’re given something to review for free, say so. Don’t publish photos unless you took them (or you have permission). Be respectful with photos of other people and even more so if children are in them. Don’t slag off your boss. Do a spellcheck before you hit publish. None of it’s rocket science – it’s just common sense. And that’s all you really need to get started.
6 There’s always people who will help
Whatever problem you come up against, you can find the answer online; or if you do Twitter, you’ll be able to find someone to help. So getting stuck on something, or flummoxed by some ridiculously in-depth ‘basic’ blogging tutorial isn’t a reason to give up. There is ALWAYS someone who can explain it in words of two syllables.
7 Start a Blog!
You can set up a wordpress or a blogger page in, literally, minutes. Click the link, follow the instructions, write something, share it. It really is as simple as that. In the time it’s taken you to read this post, you could have set up a blog and started writing.
What are you waiting for?
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Totally agree with all of those tips.
I started my blog after seeing an american family one blogging about their Halloween plans and I thought how nice it would be for the kids, when they grew up, to look back. I knew then that I wanted to do one for my kids and in my mind, they’re my target audience so I never worried about people not reading it because it wasn’t for them anyway!
I still do it for the kids but now I also do it for me and starting it was the best thing I;ve ever done 🙂
Shell Louise recently posted…How does your garden grow? June 5th
Great advice. Get out there and start writing. My first couple of posts were naff, but I like to think they’re a lot better these days 😉
Angela Spicer recently posted…Top Ten Ideas For Entertaining A Child On A Long Haul Flight
Great advice. I started blogging to record my families lives, which was a great way to start
Jen aka The Mad House recently posted…My Kitchen Shelves #Shelfie
Totally agree with everything you’ve said here. I fell into it completely by accident and I love it. One of the best parts is the online community you become apart of and I’d urge anyone thinking about blogging to get started, you’ll learn the ropes as you go
Zena’s Suitcase recently posted…Our Birth Story: Induction of Labour
I wanted to be anonymous but it’s really hard so I gave up trying to keep it a secret!
Jenny recently posted…Win a Superhero bedroom party for sharing your childâs Superhero stories
Great tips. I think most people start to record their family life, I know I did x
You Baby Me Mummy recently posted…I’m ‘Taking Shape’ – Stylist session
If you want to write then start writing! It sounds obvious but it is the only way to get going. When I started I didn’t have a ‘voice’ and it needed me to write for nearly a year to find that voice, so just keep writing. I agree with you on anonymity – you can never expect to be anonymous forever on the internet so no matter whether your blog is anonymous or not, never write or say something that you wouldn’t say to someone in public. Great post for people wanting to start out x
Kirsty recently posted…Easy Fathers Day Card
Agree with all your tips. For me, the single most important thing is to remember to be the blogger/writer you want to be and not the one other people expect/tell you to be (or the one you think other people want you to be). Blogging should be an honest endeavour – anything else is acting.
That Shakespeare fella had it right: “this above all, to thine own self be true”. Clever fellow, Bill.
Tim recently posted…The good bits
These are great tips. Until you start writing you really can’t tell what direction it’ll take you. I started writing about the children but I soon figured out I could combine my love of cooking with writing and my direction changed. Fab advice, just give it a go, it’s great x
Kirsty Hijacked By Twins recently posted…How Does Your Garden Grow – Week 23
This is all great advice. The best way to start a blog is to just go for it and see where it leads you.
Mums do travel recently posted…Mammoths: Ice Age Giants
Great advice! I started my blog because I kept reading my friends and wanted an online record of the kids. It has grown into more but is still faithful to its roots.
Jane @ northernmum recently posted…The Al Fresco Diaries – BB’s fourth Birthday
Before I went self hosted I was anonymous, then friends found it… Nightmare! Great tips, most people that think about starting a blog should just go and do it! x
Donna recently posted…We’re off on a little Holiday!
Wish I had gone the anonymous route but i doubt I would have been able to keep it anonymous for that long x
Louise Perry Fairweather recently posted…I forget how young he is
Really good advice. I started blogging just to help me get through the summer holidays more like a diary to begin with. Then soon realised it was a lot more than that and people could relate to what I was saying. Now my blog has become therapy for me since my strokes helps tax my brain x
wendy recently posted…Scotland Yard Board Game By Ravensburger
Some great tips here. I knew nothing when I started 4 years ago and had read no posts or books I just dove in and played around. I think this is the best way to get started and learn through trial and error.
Kizzy recently posted…Are there comments you won’t leave? #NaBloPoMo
great post! I had been blogging for two years before it even occurred to me that people made money from it. I’m glad I started blogging just for the fun of it! x
Fritha Strickland recently posted…Father’s day dreams
I think this is a great post and it’s really easy to over-think it and it’s best to just go with it, as you say, just start! Hope you inspire people to go for it!
Globalmouse recently posted…Roadtest – Jack Wolfskin Cloudburst Jacket
What great advice. I think it’s so easy to want to read all the how-to’s, I’m still confused over them all!!! It can become too much. Very simple and clear tips! Great post 🙂
Carolynne @ Mummy Endeavours recently posted…Holidays Blues