How to start a BLOG | Part One
- Carly Morton
- Sep 9, 2018
- 3 min read
I started my blog in January of 2017. At that point is was simply a means of catharsis and self-expression. Initially, I didn't care if anyone read it and I didn't know how long or if at all I wanted it to continue for.
Since then, I have learnt so much about the blogging world and have grown as a blogger. I like to think that my content (blogs, images and social media game) has improved also.
This year, I ran a Twilight Seminar at my school on 'How to start a blog for business or pleasure' and realised that ordinary people, like me, were looking to turn to blogging as their own form of self-expression, curation of interests and reflection of experiences.
But that not many people knew where to start.
So start here...
What is your 'why'?
Get out a pen and a piece of paper. Write 'blog' in the centre. Why do you want to start a blog? What do you think the benefits of you starting a blog would be? to yourself? to others? Write down words, phrases, draw images if you have to. Just get it down.
Keep this piece of paper. Tuck it away and if ever you lose your direction or focus while blogging, come back to it and let it re-align you to your goals.
What would you blog about?
Next, start jotting down all the things you would like to blog about. Perhaps start with a big topic and start breaking it down into smaller sub-categories. For instance, mine would look like:
Major topic- Lifestyle
Subtopic- Health (food, mental, physical)
Subtopic- Fitness (journey, routines, transformation, favourites)
Subtopic- Positivity (mindfulness, confidence, organisation, goal setting, beauty, social media)
Subtopic- Personal (adventures, family, friends, lessons, work, relationships, travel)
The list could go on. From doing this, I realised that a lifestyle blog could discuss all the elements that made up my lifestyle and encourage others to cultivate a healthy and happy lifestyle. When you have an idea on what your blog is going to cover, it helps you to generate content and also to discover who your likely target audience is.
Who is it for?
Carrying over from point two, visualise and describe your ideal reader. Chances are, this person will be someone like you!
In my case then, my target audience is females aged between 20 and 35 who are interested in health, fitness and being environmentally conscious. It is women who are curious and driven and who perhaps want to learn more about organisation, minimalism and taking care of themselves.
Who is your target audience?
Write out a description of your ideal reader. Include their age, gender and potential beliefs, values and interests. When you create content, create things that are relevant to you but would also appeal to this sort of reader.
Being consistent is important. You want to have a blog that has a similar niche of content to engage a similar type of reader, otherwise, you may get a lot of visitors to your blog, but it is unlikely that you will have a consistent and loyal reader.
Because there are so many elements to blogging, I will be continuing this series and giving you more tips in future posts. Now it's time to get started!
Carly xx
Follow me on social media. Instagram @evolveliving_blog and YouTube Carly Morton.
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