Most of you WeBloggers will be part of the collective because you already have a blog, but some of you may have just started out and some of you might not have created your special place on the internet just yet. So here's a short post on how to start a blog, just in case you find it helpful...
How to start a blog
A lot of people may be put off from starting a blog because of their technical ability (or lack thereof). But fear not! It's not actually as technical or difficult as it may seem...or at least it doesn't have to be.
Step 1
Choose your blogging platform. I personally use WordPress as I find it easy to use and there's lots of cool plug-ins, but there's also Blogger, Tumblr, Medium and loads of others. Here's quite a cool comparison chart on the different platforms that you might find useful.
WordPress, self-hosted blogs are the most popular - plus it's free to use!
Step 2
Decide if you want your own domain name, or URL. As a rule of thumb, if you want to blog regularly and certainly if you're a brand or business, then I'd say definitely purchase your own domain name. ie your own "www."
Step 3
Host your blog - this can be done through WordPress.com or on a server - but if you've not got the technical skills we were talking about earlier, then you'll need someone to help you and set you up on a server. It's not easy. So for a fool-proof option, use one of the platforms we talked about in Step 1 (WordPress, Medium etc).
Step 4
Design your blog / Choose a template - onto the fun stuff. How do you want your blog to look? Again if you're not a coder, there are plenty of templates out there that you can purchase cheaply, that'll be compatible with your platform and that you can just tweak to personalise it. I use Themeforest for example. The look and feel of your blog is very important, as after all, you want people to stick around when they stumble across it. So make sure you pick a beautiful theme that reflects the content of your blog well.
Step 5
Write some sh*t-hot blog posts. Sounds simple doesn't it? Not necessarily. Hopefully you want to start a blog because you've got some awesome content ideas you want to share with the world. But keeping these ideas flowing can be tricky - you've got to be inspired. Regular posting is the key to a successful blog - it might be once a week or once a day, but whatever it is, it needs to be consistent so your readers know when to catch you.
And there you have it, how to start a blog...
Obviously these 5 steps are skimming the top of the pot and starting your own blog can be a timely process...at first. But once you've done the hard bit, posting is super easy and you won't have to revisit these steps again really.
BUT, if you're still not sure and looking for a bit more guidance, we will be hosting a 'Beginners Blogging Webinar', where we'll talk you through all these steps in more detail and answer any specific questions you might have. If you're interested, then register here.
#WeBlogMCR
Looking for some inspiration for your blog content? Meeting other bloggers will get your creative juices flowing. Here at #WeBlogMCR, we host regular meet-ups and events for like-minded bloggers to come and have an informal chat, share the knowledge and even collaborate. We like to be super approachable as we're all in the same boat, whether we've been blogging for 3 years or 3 weeks.
So, why not subscribe? Be a part of an awesome bloggers collective and get inspired!
Happy Blogging!
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