Hi everyone welcomes back to my blog. I hope you're all doing really really well as always let me know how you've been doing in the comments below and if indeed you are new here and you've never seen any of my articles before welcome to you. Today we're going to be talking about blogging. I think it's a really good idea just to question your motives and your reasons for doing

Before you start doing it and for me, it was like a natural need to write and I just wanted to share things with the world and I think that should be the main reason you start a blog. Like a lot of people do it because they want the free stuff. Why not do it because you love it. I think a good rule to go by is if you wouldn't do it anyway it's maybe not for you and if you wouldn't be prepared to do it for free forever. It might not be thee so just bear that in mind. Now we've got that ethical thing out we're going to move on to the fun stuff.

The first thing is choosing a name and first, you need to decide what your blog is going to be about and then tie in your name from where you want to choose something that reflects your content so people know what your blog is going to be about when they click on it say for example if you know you're going to be talking about knitting and only knitting if you want to share your name you can call it something like Katy knits or if you want to remain anonymous you can use a pun like pearls of wisdom or something like that just something that reflects your content or if you know you're going to have a lifestyle blog and be talking about lots of different topics choose something that doesn't put your content in a box because if you call it Katy knits and then you talk about fashion and baking and cooking and traveling it doesn't really fit in with the theme so you're better to call it something like Katy's world or Katie's life or Daley Katie.


Choose something that suits your personality and also something that's going to stand the test of time because if you choose something that's kind of like a fad or to do with your age or the year or anything like that it's going to change in the future and then you'll be stuck with a name that's no longer relevant.

A lot of people sell title their blog which is a really quick and easy option to go for or you could go for something simple like see if your name fits into a pun or a phrase or I think there are even online generators that make a blog lame for you out of your hobbies and stuff but I think just to be a little bit more original and think of it yourself jot down some ideas and also make sure no one's got it first that's really important.

Again, like your blog lane, the platform you host your blog on is completely down to personal preference but a complete beginner. I'd really recommend blogger because it's just kind of foolproof I've been using it for years. I've never had any issues and it's just very easy and straightforward to use. I also used to use WordPress when I worked as a social media manager I did find that a bit trickier to navigate and I had a few more issues with it but if you're good at HTML and you're Wiz at coding and stuff that is probably the one for you both blogger and WordPress are completely free and then another question. I get asked all the time is done. I need to buy a domain name and no you don't in my opinion you definitely don't need a domain name at the beginning stages if you become a bit more serious about your blog it definitely does make your site look more professional but in the beginning, it's better to work on your content in my opinion, and your money if you're going to spend any, is way better spent on step 4 so roll on step 4.



With a blog design I feel like you're laying the bricks and mortar for your blog so think really carefully about how you want your site to lit and how much you're willing to spend and to give you an idea of what my blog used to look like for the first year and a half of its life and as any two years old now so the changes. I found this one just by typing in something like free blogger templates onto Google it definitely wasn't the most complex of interfaces but I didn't necessarily need it to be. I just wanted somewhere to put my writing so like I said it was free and easy to download I just got it on my computer. I overlaid the text using PicMonkey com I put it on my blog and I went from there for a year and a half and as I mentioned I've only just in the last sort of a couple of months redesigned it so I think it just goes to show you don't need to spend money but if you do have a bit of spare dollar and you don't mind spending in your blog there are lots of professional website designers they'll offer everything from custom blog designs to pre-made templates which are a little bit cheaper.

All you basically need to start a blog is a computer and something that takes photos to trust me I know exactly how daunting is to start posting on your blog especially if you've told your family and your friends and your co-workers that you are starting a blog. I'm not everyone does that but I did the second time around I did find it a little bit more daunting cause obviously. I knew people I knew in real life were going to read it but trust me it gets so much easier once you establish your tone. I'd really recommend doing an introduction post introducing yourself and your hobbies and just saying hello to your potential readers when it comes to putting together a blog post do whatever feels right for you. I think that's the beauty of blogging is that one person will do a very photo-heavy post with barely any writing and someone like me who kind of types how they speak and is really into writing will write more paragraphs with fewer photos and just basically put it together how you would like it in your head and a good rule of thumb is to put together posts you like reading yourself and just make sure you like your content posting regularly and consistency is a great way to build your audience up but again do whatever's right for you some people have a schedule so their audience know. When to expect new content and some people just upload whenever they can so it's just whatever fits you and your lifestyle it's also really handy to have like an about page and a contact page so readers and brands can get in touch easily if they'd like to come to think of it I don't actually know anyone who has a blog and isn't also on social media so gets yourself set up with some accounts there are tons out there but I would definitely recommend Twitter and Instagram is the two initial ones you should get started with first. I decided that I wanted to create separate accounts from my personal ones and I actually really enjoyed having it that way because it's almost like having a work phone and a home phone on my blog.



Twitter and Instagram account I can promote my new content and keep up with all my favorite bloggers and then on my personal accounts. Social media and invite people to come and have a little browse social media also allows you to contact brands directly so if you've done a post about their product or their service it's fine to politely at them in a tweet or tags them in a photo because there's a chance they might see it and it's really never too early to start building connections a really great way of building your audience and making friends is to get involved with the community so things like Twitter chats.

Once you've been blogging for a little while you might want to sit down and have a little think about how it's progressing and whether it's something you want to continue as a hobby or something you might actually want to turn into your job if it's the former. I'd say carry on going your own pace feel free to upload however often you'd like to and just enjoy having a corner of the web that's all yours if it's the latter let's be real you're going to have to work super hard vlogging, in general, can be tricky so to go full-time is a lot harder than it looks but doesn't let that realization put you off it really is a fantastic career path because you get so many exciting opportunities and you get to meet the most amazing people but either way whether you're doing is a job or a hobby make sure you roll on number 10

I wanted to put this last because this is what I always say to people who ask me for advice on blogging it is a saturated market these days and it's easy to have feelings of self-doubt when you measure big blogs against your own but just relax a little and remember that they might be six years in they've probably been blogging for years and years and you've only just started so relax take it easy and just enjoy the ride create stuff be proud of it and have fun because there's only one of you in the world your life is unlike anyone else's and blogging is a really beautiful way of sharing that with the world so there we have it those are my top ten tips on how to start a blog if you're a beginner and I really really hope this was helpful for you like I said at the beginning I can do follow-up videos or blog posts on other aspects of blogging if you would like me to I know I'm not an expert but and I've been doing a quite a long time and I feel like I've got a good idea of sort of tips and advice to give you guys so if you have any questions leave them in the comment section below and I'll do my best to answer them as best I can and I love you all lots happy blogging if you start a blog.