A good way to get your feelings out into the world is through blogging. On social media, it is easy to get your thought out there. But, you don’t own that content. Social media networks can take those thoughts and put them into ads. Twitter is a good example of this by putting up billboard signs of people’s tweets. A blog is better since you own it and it’s all on record.
The challenge is finding the best way to express your favorite topics. Testing out different platforms and software is best to find yourself through your blogging journey. Of course, I will make it easier for you to start.
Choose Your Domain
Once you figure out your topic, you need to purchase your domain. Your domain is your website address. For example, my editorial business’ domain is thebeautestudy.com. If you purchase your own domain, you will not have a website like allsilverthings.wordpress.com. Owning your domain is an important part of your personal branding.
I purchased my domain from Google Domains when I first started. I kept all my domains on the platform, and plan on making the switch soon to another platform.
Find Your Blog Platform
Deciding which platform to use to start your blog is not as easy as it seems. When I first started blogging, I used Blogger like many other OG bloggers in the industry. Blogger was simple, easy to use with the write & post platform. It was your blog with analytics built-in. Plus, the platform was made before Google Analytics.
Tumblr was another platform I used. The original Tumblr was great for those who wanted to blog, reblog and create a mood board style blog. I have seen some people use it for writing and getting their work out to different audiences.
Currently, I use WordPress.org for my hosting platform. It has been giving me more creative control of my needs. Since this blog focuses more on the writing, I needed a platform built to do just that.
Find Your Host
Since I am using WordPress, I had to expand into a hosting service. What is hosting? It is a web-based service that makes it accessible to others on the internet. It can house your branded email, your server, etc. I use the hosting platform called Siteground. They are fabulous with the best customer service, fast page loads and daily backups. If you would like to sign up with my affiliate link, click here. (As of 2021, I have stopped using Siteground on all of my sites due to the change of terms & conditions and quality of service.)
Choose Your Theme
Branding is an important part of the process of blogging. It can make or break your brand. You should know and understand your brand well enough to draw in your audience. For example, I focus on warm tones and colors to draw you into my brand. I want you to feel that my brand has a luxe factor that others don’t have. This includes the colors used, the text used, my target audience, the topics I discuss, etc.
All of these things are inspired by the graphic designers I chose to work with. For my business, my theme is made by Empress Themes but the branding all mine.
Do Your Research
Yes, blogging can be an expensive hobby or a serious investment. Personally, my goal for 2020 is to take my blogging more seriously. I have fallen in love with it again. I even changed the blog name that felt more like me. To me, blogging is an investment that I make multiple times a year. I pay for my domains, my hosting, my theme, and much more out of pocket currently. I am expanding to working with more people, brands, and investments to make my blog a business.