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I want to start a blog. any tips?

17 replies

purpledalmation · 20/03/2023 19:19

I've decided on wordpress. Its a subject I'm passionate about and have gathered lots of information I want to share. Any ideas please?

OP posts:
mafiamanager · 21/03/2023 16:57

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determinedtomakethiswork · 21/03/2023 17:03

Unbelievable.

Theseliesdontcunt · 21/03/2023 17:05

Make sure your grammar and spelling are 100% accurate (which they are not in your OP). If they aren't, people like me will stop reading. You may not care if a pedantic old bat stops reading, but it's a good idea not to alienate any part of your potential audience for that kind of reason.

FWIW, I used to be a very successful blogger. In my experience, you need to keep it short, sharp and preferably funny. No humble bragging; no faux modesty; no bigging yourself up; no navel-gazing.

NewYearNewUsername23 · 21/03/2023 17:09

Wordpress is fab for blogging. I would say a pattern to posting such either shorter posts most days or longer ones on set days is good. Then people know to look for updates on say, Sunday.

mafiamanager · 21/03/2023 17:09

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JaneJeffer · 21/03/2023 17:34

Do people read blogs anymore?

purpledalmation · 22/03/2023 20:57

Theseliesdontcunt · 21/03/2023 17:05

Make sure your grammar and spelling are 100% accurate (which they are not in your OP). If they aren't, people like me will stop reading. You may not care if a pedantic old bat stops reading, but it's a good idea not to alienate any part of your potential audience for that kind of reason.

FWIW, I used to be a very successful blogger. In my experience, you need to keep it short, sharp and preferably funny. No humble bragging; no faux modesty; no bigging yourself up; no navel-gazing.

What's wrong with my grammar? I know I don't always bother on here to add apostrophes but its a PC and a pain in the butt it doesnt auto add them like a tablet!

OP posts:
purpledalmation · 22/03/2023 21:02

NewYearNewUsername23 · 21/03/2023 17:09

Wordpress is fab for blogging. I would say a pattern to posting such either shorter posts most days or longer ones on set days is good. Then people know to look for updates on say, Sunday.

I'm struggling massively with making wordpress work for me. I've used wix and godaddy in the past, but thought I'd play with the big boys LOL, but, its so difficult to work! I've looked at the videos and youtube, but I can't get my head around it. I've paid for the domain name and an individual plan, but I can't download templates or plugins without a business account, so its just a waste of £43. Can I make the website for free on godaddy and import that to wordpress for the domain and hosting?

Its the nuts and bolts of it thats foxing me.

Its more a website, with updates in the form of a blog on what happened most recently. The website will have a lot of technical content.

OP posts:
Theseliesdontcunt · 22/03/2023 21:13

purpledalmation · 22/03/2023 20:57

What's wrong with my grammar? I know I don't always bother on here to add apostrophes but its a PC and a pain in the butt it doesnt auto add them like a tablet!

I'm afraid that doesn't cut any ice. Any kind of auto-correct is very capable of adding them in the wrong places. It needs you to do it properly. It's not hard to type them in (I only use a desktop Mac, so don't know how easy or difficult it is to type on a tablet).

Mamazita · 22/03/2023 21:43

I use square space for my blog, it's so simple to use and comes with an app too. Good luck

growgrowinggrown · 22/03/2023 21:49

Make sure you're using WordPress.org rather than WordPress.com for professional blogging.

Look for a free or cheap enough template, install yoast and analytics as a minimum.

Go to bluehost and take the basic package, should be about 4/5£ a month I think.

Articles ideally 1500-2000 words, depending on the niche 6-12 images too.
You can use a mix of personal and free stock images too here.

Are you looking to monetise your blog or just post for fun?

If monetise you need a plug in to collect emails too so you can start your database.

purpledalmation · 23/03/2023 08:15

Mamazita · 22/03/2023 21:43

I use square space for my blog, it's so simple to use and comes with an app too. Good luck

I've already paid for Wordpress £43 otherwise I would. Wordpress say I have to pay more to import a site like this ☹️

OP posts:
purpledalmation · 23/03/2023 08:16

@growgrowinggrown Thank you. I think I can cancel Wordpress. Com. I realise now I didn't understand the differences ❤️

OP posts:
purpledalmation · 23/03/2023 09:33

@growgrowinggrown Its just an information blog about a subject I am passionate about. not looking to monetise x

OP posts:
growgrowinggrown · 26/03/2023 22:51

In that case a free WordPress template will be perfect, don't worry about multiple plugins because if you're not monetising you won't need those in depth analyticals to play around with.
Look for disqus or similar plug in so people can leave comments on your post, might be nice for you to see people's opinions or further the conversation.

Even a small sidebar with an ad on it could contribute to your running costs and doesn't cost you a penny so remember that in future.

Most importantly just start, you don't need to spend hours getting it perfect as nothing is set in stone. You can go back and make changes, reformat and edit as many times as you like as you learn new skills and tastes change.

Crinkle77 · 26/03/2023 23:29

Don't just makes it one long stream of writing. Break it up with headings and paragraphs. Make it short and snappy, you don't want people fed up before the end.

lauraisa · 26/03/2023 23:39

Do people read blogs any more though?

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