By Oakli Van Meter
Knowing how to start a blog is one of the hardest things, at least for me. My junior year at BYU, one of my professors said that we all should start a blog. She said it would be a great portfolio tool later on. I went home that day and started a blog. I wrote on and off for a while, then life happened. At the end of my senior year, I revived the blog for a class assignment. It felt great to have a required weekly post. Then once again, life got in the way and Wise Ole Oak is sitting quietly in the corner waiting for me to get back to it.
Why, you ask, does anyone care about my sad excuse for a blog? Why does it matter? Because I’m a classic case of “what not to do.” That being said, I feel prepared to share my advice on how to start a blog—advice sown from the fields of my failure.
First, choose a hosting platform.
Do you research, but don’t overstress it. There are plenty of free platforms that are virtually the same. Choose one that’s easy to use. My personal favorite is WordPress, but there are plenty of other good options that you can learn about here or here. Keep your site simple but professional. You don’t want text boxes of filler text from the template still lurking, but you don’t have to fill everything up with stuff.
Second, decide what your blog is going to be about.
You want to focus on what would benefit your potential clients. Editors could focus on writing or self-editing thoughts. Social media gurus could post about how to use social media. Whatever you choose, make sure it’s something you’re passionate about. Something you can write about pretty much every week.
Third—and this is crucial—make a plan.
When to post, how often to post. (Hint: Monday mornings are a great internet traffic time.) Without a plan, you’re going to struggle to keep up. Trust me, I know. Create a spreadsheet with dates and topics. Set reminders. If you can, write several blog posts over the course of a few days. Then you don’t stress-write two hours before you want to get it posted.
Speaking of posting, make sure you’re sharing your blog posts to your social media channels. (And if you don’t have any of those, create some!) If you have an email newsletter, include the link there. Anywhere that your desired audience could see it, post it.
Finally, write. And enjoy it.
Blogging shouldn’t be stressful. It should be an additional, fun way to engage with your audience or clients. If it’s becoming stressful, step away for a bit. The inspiration often comes away from the keyboard.
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Oakli Van Meter is a wife, mother, and a freelance editor, writer, and blogger.
I started a blog just a couple months ago. Thank you for this timely advice! I’m learning that if I’m finishing my first draft the same day I’m supposed to publish the post, quality (especially adequate research) gets thrown out the window.
Thank you, Oakli, for your timely article. I am doing research on how to do a blog — and your article was helpful. Best of everything to you — Eileen Telford, author and future blogger. 🙂