How to start your own Blog

Blogging has grown in popularity, with everyone jumping on the bandwagon of having a corner of the internet to write, rant or share your passion on a particular subject or theme. Anyone can start a blog, and here a some easy steps you can take to get your off the ground and running.

1. Content and Name

Deciding what it is you want to share on your blog is the first step towards creating your own space. This can be a particular hobby or passion, for example sharing about fashion, makeup, football or film. You can write reviews, advice, opinions or information about this subject, and hopefully attract the attention of those with the same love for the subject as you do. You could choose to make this more personal to you and discuss your experiences in life. This could be about a physical journey, for example in the form of a travel blog, or a more inward journey, such as blogging about your mental health journey. Your blog could also be a creative outlet for your creative writing, art and more. Planning out the vision for your blog prior to making it will help you keep a vision of what you want your blog to be, look like and what readers you want to attract.

Once you have chosen your subject area or theme, you can then delve into the creative possibilities of naming your blog. Again, this could be as personal as your name, or you might have a catchy title to match your theme. Be sure to check this name isn’t taken on your chosen platform before you start creating logos and spreading the word!

2. Choosing a Platform

If you are not blessed with IT skills or don’t know how to make your own website from scratch, there are plenty of websites that allow you to host your blog via their website. It’s worth playing around with a couple of different providers and seeing which works best for you. Here are some key ones we would recommend and what they are best for.

WordPress – Good for beginners, lots of themes to choose from so can be writing-based or more visual, easy to manage.

Wix – Good for small businesses, plenty of themes to help customise.

Blogger – Good for beginners, easy to manage, completely free to use.

Tumblr – Good for video, pictures and art, customisable themes that support visual content.

3. Design and Customise

Once you’ve chosen your platform, you are now free to choose colours, patterns and pictures to make your blog your own. Most sites will have plenty of themes you can access to best show your content. You can then customise it using different colours and pictures, either free to download from your provider or created yourself. Try using websites like picmonkey to create your own logo.

4. Keep it Consistent

Once you get going with your content, try to keep it regular to keep your blog engaging. This might be posting everyday or every week or every fortnight – try whatever works with your schedule and be realistic. Blogging is a great hobby and an amazing creative outlet, so try not to lose sight of the passion and the fun! Get in a good routine that works for you and keep readers coming back for more regularly.

5. Making Money?

Money should not the incentive for starting a blog, however there is money to be made in this area and if you have found a good market and built an audience, this might be the next step to consider. Most hosts will allow for revenue to be made through advertising, but opportunities extend further than that to collaborations, sponsorships and affiliate links. Keep focused on your passion rather than your bank account when you first start blogging, but remain optimistic that with hard work and determination, you could be making some nice income on the side with your blog.

If you aren’t thriving in creativity in your daily life and want to be, or have a voice that needs to be heard, starting a blog is a great outlet and hobby to pick up. Use these tips to start your own blog and get creating!