How to start a blog

[cheeseandbiscuitsplease]

Hi, how do I start a blog please? How do you "get it out there"? I write for pleasure, poetry and comedy really. I would like to start a blog but genuinely have no idea how to go about this. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you

[tryingtobethebestican]

Hi go on Wordpress they have some great tips and you can start blogging for free.

[Ebba84]

There are a number of ways you can start blogging. You can either start blogging "for free" on some of the popular blogging networks like wordpress, blogger, tumblr, you can even start a blog on your facebook profile by creating a specific page. There are lots of free options available; you can google for other platforms that suit you.

The only problem with so called free blog platforms is that you aren't always really in control of what happens or what advertising is put on it. Also if the platform decides to ban certain blog types or disappears (remember myspace?) then you have lost all your work.

Another option would be to go with your own hosted platform, this is a set up where you would register your own website and then host your own website. this puts you in complete control of your blog. Domain name registration (your website name) can be had for a couple of pounds and if you look around hosting can be found for the price of a starbucks/costa per month.

It may sound techy and difficult, but it really isn't. There are tons of good courses online that can show you. Just don't be tempted to fork out for a paying course when starting out; you really won't need it as there is tons of good stuff freely available.

Wordpress is pretty much the standard platform for self hosted blogging, it is very simple to learn, easy to use and offers plenty of options to grown if you decide to make it into something bigger. There are lots of templates available for your website free or more complicated ones for a cost.

If you already write things then you are more than half way there, you just have to get your stuff out there.

To get your blog "out there" you can create separate social media accounts linked to your blog or to you as a writer. At first it will be difficult to get traction or people to follow you, but if you publish regularly and set time aside to promote your blog eventually you will get more traction.

I write for a number of blogs and once you get into a routine it is actually quite easy and rewarding to do.

I could go on for a bit, but I hope at least this has helped you on your way.

[giddyupnow]

Ebba 84, that is super helpful! Please do go on, as much as you like! I e recently started a pretty crap blog about one of my interests, I figure if I can just hang on it will be good! More just to get myself in the mindset of a blogger really, it’s good for my actual work to understand how it works.

[tryingtobethebestican]

Sorry @cheeseandbiscuitsplease my reply wasn't that helpful really was it. @Ebba84 you have put me to shame with your informative reply To be fair though I am also new to this, I only started last month. I have gone on Wordpress and pay a little bit for a plan so I have my own domain. TBH I don't know if this was the best option (I still don't really get how it works but am slowly getting the hang of it.)

[Ebba84]

gosh you are are making me blush now, I'm not at all that techy. Its just been a case of reading, practising and making a ton of mistakes along the way. I know that some bloggers and blogs can make things look very flashy and complicated, but it doesn't have to be.

Blogging is like baking a cake really. The first one you make looks like something the dog has sat on, but after a few times doing it you can whip up something Mary Berry would approve of

My advice is just start doing it, start with a free blog on blogger, get your feet wet and then move on to maybe something bigger. just make sure whatever you do that you keep a copy of all the stuff you write in case you need it again later on.

There are a number of good sites that can help you wpbeginner for instance is one of the free resources I read often when I started writing. But really if you google how to start a blog you will find lots of good resources that are free and sometimes better than the paying ones from all the so called gurus.

The most important thing is that you start writing and you can do that anywhere, you can even write little notes on your phone when you are on the bus and flesh them out later when you get home.

[tryingtobethebestican]

Thanks again @Ebba84 (sorry don't mean to hijack the post). That's a good comparison - the baking a cake thing. I agree with the writing anywhere idea - I was at the hospital the other day and wrote part of a post in the waiting room - about being in the hospital waiting room. There's so much info out there isn't there. I've got a personal plan with Wordpress but still trying to get to grips with the theme I'm using. I really am a complete novice. I was considering going premium to get a better choice of themes and more support but not quite decided yet.

[Ebba84]

tryingtobethebestican the personal plan with wordpress is good if you start out, but I find that their paying plans work out a bit expensive if you start to add everything up and for what you get. 7 pounds a month is the basic package where they allow you to start adding your own monetisation which is a bit much I think. But if you start out and want to learn things then it is a good start.

There are other, better packages around if you are serious about blogging, but you need to be a bit more tech savvy or learn how to do it (it is really not hard). I use a company called certified hosting which I'm happy with, very helpful and good packages. Just stay away from anything to do with Godaddy as they are a nightmare

[tryingtobethebestican]

Thanks that really sounds like you are speaking from experience. I just thought it easier as I started with Wordpress to do it all through them. I have really enjoyed writing what I've done so far (not that much though. In an ideal world I would love to focus more time on writing and try and get lots of followers so I can monetise my site, give up my job and live happily ever after...
(In a perfect world and in my dreams!) 💭