I have been attempting to write this how to start a blog post forever it seems, but if any of you guys have kids, you completely understand how hard it is to finish things you have no deadline for. My number one message I receive is how did I start my blog and what tips do I have? So I’m gonna dive into it as much as I can. This is the start of a 3 part series: How to start a blog, How to grow your following, How to work with brands. I will also be writing pop up articles on blog topics such as but not limited to: top mistakes I made as a blogger, are giveaways/comment pods a good idea etc.
Ok how did I start my blog?
So in short I quit my sales job and decided to stay home with Keatyn once she was born in 2012. I didn’t initially intend to do that but it was so hard to let her go that Matt and I made the financial decision that I would just stay home with her. I’m aware not everyone can do that and let me tell you it’s definitely not the easy route either. I completely lost myself and felt like a life failure multiple times. I quickly started to feel like Matt’s wife or Keatyn’s mom and would often find myself embarrassed when people would ask me that age old question, “What do you do?” “Oh, I’m just a stay at home mom.” Matt would get so furious with me when I answered this because he was consistently telling me I had the most important job. Now if you’re a mom you totally feel me in this because you know you DO SO MUCH when you stay home with your kids. More on that for another post. Anyway I kept trying to think of ways I could expand my creativity, put my college work (communications/advertising) to good use and really do something that made me Ashley again. I received questions weekly on makeup advice or fashion advice etc so I decided since I was already answering these questions that I would turn it into an outlet or at best, a business. I quizzed a couple people that I knew that blogged because honestly I was lost. The most useful source of knowledge for me was Google and Pinterest.
Reasons why I started my blog…
- A place to put my thoughts. I’ve always been a writer but as a child all I heard is “Do you know how hard it is to make it as a writer?” “So many writers are out of jobs” “Very few make good money” So I put that A+ in Accelerated English at my private college (humble brag over here ha) to good use. If you wanna be a writer, you want to share a good story about your life or articles other would find beneficial, then a blog would a perfect place to start.
- Publication. It’s never been quite as easy to get your writings published in a magazine or top website than it is now as a blogger. You can guest post for publications, get featured or submit your work to different publications.
- A way to make income. I currently make a full time income blogging and doing what I love. So can you. I’ll be touching on that more in the third part of my series, How to make money blogging and work with brands you love. I’m going to honest, it’s hard work and there are a lot of back end logistics that go into it but it’s worth it to work from home and do something your passionate about.
How to Start a Blog – Where do you even start?
I scoured through countless Pinterest how to’s and the number one answer was pick your niche and your blog name first and foremost. Not gonna lie, that took me a hot minute. How can I just funnel all my thoughts and creativity into one topic? Um I can’t. I’m just not a fashion blogger or a mom blogger, why can’t I be both? A mom who loves to talk about makeup and fashion trends but hey I love to also talk about my angels on the reg and discuss recipes and life. So I decided to go with lifestyle….eventually after finding out the hard way that you can’t be all over the place. It confuses your readers. Meaning if you’re gonna be lifestyle and discuss multiple things, you have to keep a healthy blend of all things so when you decide to post on DIY for furniture your readers aren’t like “what the heck is this?” Consistentcy is key. I’ll admit it took me a minute to get in my own groove and I think that’s a lot of bloggers first mistakes and why their blog can fail. So now I keep a healthy blend of all things so when I throw in a recipe it doesn’t feel like it’s coming out of left field. I have had multiple friends ask me how to start doing more lifestyle when they are strictly fashion. You can’t go full force because people will be like “WTF?” so subtly start adding more lifestyle content more and more. It has to blend with your feed, otherwise your following who follows for fashion etc will just unfollow.
So after the niche came the name. It has to be something that embodies you and your brand. This was also one of the hardest decisions for me. In my mind I was stuck with this name forever. I initially had a giant list of potential names and polled my friends left and right. One day my husband and I were chatting and he said jokingly what about Nashville Wifestyles (we have a really popular magazine here called Nashville Lifestyles) so he thought he was so clever. I kind of brushed it off but the more I thought of it, it just had this oomph. I’m not knocking anyone who uses just their name but I just don’t think it stands out as much as a blog title. A few of my girlfriends use their name for their blog handle but they already had a following kind of set up for them through connections and friends to where they would be well known in just the name. Typically I don’t think the name really sets you apart unless you have already built a following. Plus in a weird way it gives me a bit of privacy because when people think of me they attach my blog name not Ashley. I need that tiny piece of privacy, I honestly hate the limelight and being the center of attention so in a sense this is kind of an alter ego. Lastly make sure it’s not taken and that it’s also free on social channels.
How to Start a Blog – What domain and hosting site do I use?
I used GoDaddy for my domain and Bluehost. I don’t honestly prefer them over any of the others, I didn’t know any better. Honestly I’ve had a lot of issues with Bluehost but it suits me fine. I would suggest doing a lot of internet comparisons before making a decision. Now what I will get behind is WordPress.org, I love it. There are so many blogging platforms to choose from. WordPress, Blogger, Squarespace, Wix and Weebly etc. I had a few people suggest Wix and other options but I am beyond glad I went to WordPress. I am a part of a couple wonderful support groups with other bloggers where we ask each other questions and the main thing I see is bloggers switching to WordPress.org
There are two options with WordPress: hosted or self hosted. Hosted WP blogs (wordpress.com) are free for you but they do limit the amount of income you can potential make. Self hosted WP blogs (wordpress.org) gives you much more control and does not limit your income earning potential.
How to Start a Blog – How do I make my website look good?
So I personally did EVERY single part of my website, coding and all. Paying someone to do it all is expensive but also I take pride in the fact that I built every part of this ALL BY MYSELF. No easy way out. Now if you can afford to hire someone and you just don’t wanna do it yourself then go for it. I did hire someone earlier this year to make some tweaks for my site and he is amazing. You can contact him at art@ericmarch.com You can also choose themes within WordPress etc to make your esthetic look more like you and also purchase them in Etsy or online. If you choose to go the route where you do it on your own, I will suggest a good theme package because it makes it fairly easy. I use the same colors for anything associated with my name.
How to Start a Blog – The best plug-ins…
Plug ins are very beneficial to your web page. You have to be careful how many you have because it can crash your system but also it can affect your website with such factors as speed, Here are the ones I use and why:
- Anti Spam by Clean Talk || This plugin analyzes multiple aspects of the website without slowing it down. It uses the cloud instead of your server. It blacklists domains, IP address, email addresses linked to spammers. It also has an optional firewall feature that prevents bots from accessing your server. The plus is free but the cloud requires a paid account.
- Askimet || I use this spam filter because I was getting all kinds of spammy comments on my posts. Basically what it does is filter out any questionable comments into the spam folder or you can give permission for Askimet to delete them for you.
- Better RSS Widget
- Google Analytics Dashboard
- Instagram Slider Widget
- jQuery Pin It Button for Images
- Pinterest Widgets
- rewardStyle Widget (You don’t need this unless you have Reward Style)
- Simple Social Icon Widget
- Title and Nofollow For Links || Automatically makes links no follow.
- WP Database Backup
- WP Migrate DB
- Wpdevart Facebook comments
- Yoast SEO
Here is a great article by WordPress on the best plugins. Just make sure not to activate a lot of plugins you don’t need because it can slow down or crash your site and who has hours to spend waiting to talk to a rep?
How to Start a Blog – Content.
You think this will be the easy part but alas, it can be quite difficult and time consuming. The best advice I can give here is to come up with a system/schedule. If you could block off a chunk of your day to write your content that would be ideal. Like a Sunday where you can knock it all out and plan out the schedule for publishing throughout the week. Aim for at least one post a week if possible but if you have the time 3-4 would rock. I wish I could get that many out but typically sponsored posts take importance for me with my schedule. (Stay at home working mom over here) Write about things that inspire you. I speak from experience. I found myself often posting outfit blog posts when in reality…what is the point to that?Nobody cares about my outfit of the day and honestly, what all can you say about a couple pieces of clothes? Now when I post about clothing at all I find creative ways to post like 3 ways to style a leather jacket, tie it in with a life recap, spring inspo, etc. Something with purpose not just a post about a particular outfit I wore.
If you have any specific questions about starting a blog, growing your following or making money please email me at nashvillewifestyles@gmail.com or comment below.
