How to Create Your First Blog and Be Successful

 

Have you always wanted to start a blog but did not know how or why? Well, you have come to the right place! I too did not understand how to create a blog, and I thought it was going to be a huge process but turns out you can create your very own blog in a matter of seconds. You might know how to create a blog but you ask yourself "What would I post about?" Well, that's the fun part! It's your blog so you can post about anything you want to! A person writes best when they are writing about things they are most passionate about. So think of what you love to do, or the people you love, and write about that!

Let's make a simple list of what to do to start a blog, and then we will discuss how to be successful with it.

1. Before making your blog site, set a list of goals for yourself. Think of what you want to write about, how you want it to look, what audience you will be writing for, and how often you want to post. Think of things your audience will be able to connect to so that they will keep coming back to your blog after reading one of your posts. 

2. Now, let's get your site set up! There are many different online sites you can use to set up your first blog. I personally prefer blogger.com because I find it easiest to navigate, but use whatever you feel most comfortable with. Decide on a clever or catchy name for your blog and maybe some words that would come up easily on search engines. 

3. Now that you have your site ready and named, let's start personalizing it! This is the fun part. Decide on a theme, branding, categories, and anything that you want to do to make your blog a reflection of yourself. Blogs are all about one's life, so make sure to take the time in this step and make it look like something that pleases you and is an adequate representation of how you present yourself. This is also a good time to start an 'about me' page and maybe add a picture of yourself so that your readers can connect your face with your writings. A visually pleasing blog is always the most successful!

4. Now let's brainstorm ideas about what you want to write about! Remember, a blog is anything you want to make it. It can be about your life, tutorials, reviews, research, and recipes. The world is your oyster! Make it anything you desire it to be. 

5. After you have your site set up, it's time to make your first post! Use your list of ideas and goals to help decide what to write about first. In my case, I chose to use my first blog as an introduction to myself. Make sure your post has a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. Also, make it a habit to proofread and preview your posts before publishing.

You're all done with your first post! Now, just keep up regularly posting and remember the more you are active on your blog, the more traffic it will get. Your posts will also do better if you add visuals and links. These can be pictures about the topic you wrote on, videos, or anything easy on the eye and fun to look at. Make sure that your readers can like, follow, and comment so that they can stay active on your account. Remember that blogs are to give people a voice, so use yours! I believe in you. You have just learned all the steps to make a successful blog! I wish you the best of luck and hope that you choose to come back and visit me soon if this helps!

Charello, Michelle. Essentials of Social Media Marketing. Stukent Publishing, 2020.