Blogging Advice For Beginners

"Starting a blog is kind of like buying a house: you decide
what neighborhood you want to live in, pick a house, and fill it
with your stuff. For a blogger, that means deciding on a
blogging platform, picking a theme, and publishing posts. "
I assume if you're here, then you must own a blog, or intend
to own one (or just want to see what this person has to say).
I've been an active (hopefully) member on the blogosphere for
a little less than a year now, experimented with a couple of
things and learned lots more. Today I'll try to explain some of
the most basic rules beginners/prospective/dissatisfied
bloggers could use to get their sites running.
Like the quote above, starting a blog is a lot like owning a
house. You need to pay attention to your needs and that of
your visitors too.
I'll be keeping each point raised as simple as possible (each
one could fit into an individual topic), so if you need further
explanation don't hesitate to let me know.
Note: Everything here is based on personal experience/
experiments with my own blog Click here
So let's get started:
1. Know why you are here :
People blog for different reasons. It could be for financial
purposes, community building, rendering your quota of help to
a dying race, advertising your company etc.
So the first thing you need to ask yourself is, "why do I need a
blog?"
Do I want to pursue excellence, create something for myself,
become more visible on the web, or just because Jack owns a
blog too?
If you don't know why you're here, then we don't know either.
2. Choose a suitable platform
Once you've successfully figured out the 'why', the next step
is to find an appropriate location to help you actualize your
goal. There are so many platforms that allow you create a
blog for free. Most common in this part of the world are
Blogger/Blogspot and Wordpress. If you want a more
professional feel and full control over your site, then you can
find a suitable web host who charge meager fees annually.
Make sure you study the proposed environment before pitching
your tent. Some common questions you might like to ask
yourself are: How interactive is this platform? Is it easily
assessable? How much control do I have? Is it reasonably
safe from hackers? Do I feel at home here?
Once you've gotten the nitty-gritty down, you can pitch your
tent and choose a unique address for yourself.
3. Content is everything
Or so the saying goes. Remember you're here for a reason, be
it connecting or just plain gossiping to/about the human race.
Pay adequate attention to the things you write and how they
are presented on your site. Last I checked plagiarism was still
an offence, so if you are not going give visitors original
content, then have the courtesy to give credit to Mama Emeka
who was kind enough to cook it up.
If and when you do decide to create something of your own,
then be proud enough to display it. Proof read for typos
because no one wants to be hit by roadblocks at every
paragraph. I believe there's a writer in everyone, and
something must work for you. Find your voice and stay true to
yourself.
4. Find your voice
Have you ever heard someone speak, or the sound of their
footfall and even without looking, you could tell exactly who it
was?
If your answer is yes, then you can create the exact feeling on
your blog. Every writer has a voice even though it might take a
while to find and hone it. Most times we spend our time trying
to sound like someone else--that's a lot like living another
persons' life. Finding your voice is like finding yourself, a very
unique you. If it helps, you can try free-writing for a couple of
minutes (first draft) and do that without editing. When you
read aloud to yourself, what does it sound like?
Your readers want you, so give them the authentic version of
yourself. There's no point lying to score cheap points--
practice honesty without full disclosure if you must.
5. Content loves design
Your theme is your colour book and the one thing that makes
your content shine. One rule of thumb is to keep your design
as simple as possible, using only very necessary widgets to
create the best user experience (including loading time).
Remember, your purpose of blogging is for people to pay
attention to what you're trying to communicate, not ooh and
ahh over your struggle with the rainbow.
Most themes come ready made with template options--
headers, widgets, so tweak and play with everything until you
find something that feels comfortable and easy on the eyes.
Otherwise you could purchase Premium themes to give more
options if what's available is unsuitable, or just pay someone
to tell you want you need. Also ensure to choose a theme that
allows for a cluster-free mobile/tablet view.
If memory serves me well, I tried our over 10 different themes
within the course of 8mths all the while publishing posts
before settling for what's currently in use.
If you want, you can pick one theme now, start publishing, and
then revisit themes again once you have a number of posts on
your blog. This will help you see just what is suitable for you
keeping your content and readers in mind.
Don't hold back. Your blog will be your home for as long as
you decide to keep it running. Choose a suitable design and
love it.
P.S There's more to this than I actually said (eg fonts, colour
palettes, images etc.) so we can further discuss it if you want.
6. Interact with the blogosphere
If your purpose of blogging is to create a diary or make
money, then please jump to 7. If you are interested in
community building, please read on.
There is something extremely boring about living in housing
estates: Nobody wants to see their neighbors, or feel the need
to see them to begin with. If that's the kind of environment
you want--a blog without comments or life--then by all
means be a loner.
Otherwise you can get out of your hole and find people.
It's a rich community out there, and if there's something I've
learned, it's that people want to talk. Seriously. It might be
difficult to find one blog in a sea of a million, but when you
start getting those likes, shares, comment and appreciation
mails, it's accompanied by a warm fuzzy feeling.
Chances of people locating you are really slim, but you can
speed things up by visiting others sites and leaving
meaningful comments. And by "meaningful" I don't mean
'nice one', 'cool', 'ok'....no. Say something that tells the
author you've actually read their post, you understand exactly
what they are talking about, or that you don't get what's
going on but you wish things will go well for them in the
future...or share your story too.
Emotions is a universal language and people connect through
it (something our politicians have on lockdown)....take
advantage of that and you'll see people--authors and their
guests-- returning the favour by visiting your site to get more
of you. Life is give and take. And so is blogging.
7. Take advantage of social media
When the stats monkeys on WordPress sent my annual report
for 2014, I found that my top referring sites were Nairaland,
Facebook, Twitter and of course other blogs I'd visited. This
tells me there are people out there who are curious enough to
click on links, like what they see and share with their
community too. It's basic networking and you can get that to
work for you. Just add those share buttons to your site and
encourage your readers to share whatever they like. They
might not be saying much but at least you know they're
coming. Also remember to tell your friends about your blog
and request their support. You can only be so good to attract
people like bees, but you also need to make them feel needed.
8. Find support
You are not all-knowing and the epitome of supreme
knowledge. Even after following these, you'll still need a
second and third opinion, beta readers and explanations for all
the techie stuff that'll improve your site. Best way to
approach this is by seeking help from people who are more
knowledgeable and don't mind extending a helping hand.
When I started my blog I got super confused at some point
that I had to ask some nairalanders for help. What I got in
return was priceless.
If you don't know where to turn, find someone from the
webmaster section of this forum, create a thread stating your
difficulties, consult search engines or contact support from
your host platform. The world is filled with people who want
to extend their knowledge and skills to others.
9. Be patient
We all like to believe miracles happen--and sometimes they
do--but they don't always come when we want it. The best
gift you can give yourself is patience. It can be a bit daunting
waiting for something big to happen, but it will happen if you
stay true to yourself and work a little harder. Everything
comes with a price and yours will be time and dedication. If
you put in effort to improve your site, content and relationship
with people, I bet you'll see results.
10. Remember how small you are on the web. There will
always be people who write better than you, communicate
better and are way better at blog-hopping. When you see
those stats displayed at the bottom of their page, or the
50-200 comments, you will wonder when and if you'll ever be
as big as they are. But never forget how big you can become .
Push yourself, experiment, have fun, steal ideas (duh!), buddy
up and for goodness sake love your blog. If you can't love it,
then neither can we.
Note: I am not a pro-blogger (or whatever those are called)
....just one person among billions discovering a new
community and enjoying it. You'll get more tips when I'm
done tweaking and exploring (no, you can't call me a lab rat )
Questions, Comments, Additions, Subtractions.....??