Starting a blog

I was asked a question recently 

About starting to write a blog

And did I have any tips for someone who wanted to create a blog

This is a really good question

And I wish I had had someone to ask when I was starting mine

I started writing my blog April 2012

I knew very little about blogs

Although I had been reading a few about eating disorders and recovery

It seemed like such a great thing to do

And a great way to connect with others in the same situation

I was up to my neck in my ED

And I desperately craved to be around others like me

So I decided to start writing my own blog

I knew very little about blogs

And I am not the most technically minded person in the world 

So it was baby steps all the way

My blog now gets about 15 000 unique visitors a month

And it's always exciting to get comments and emails

So

Why blog?

Well first and foremost

It is just a really good hobby

If you love to write and connect with others

Then blogging is definitely for you

I have made some amazing friends through blogging

And I am as close to them as I am to people in my real life

Next

Blogging is fast becoming one of the post popular ways to communicate information

I was reading an article just yesterday

How bloggers are taking over the world

So it is definitely a good way to stay in the loop of what is happening right now

I had to decide what the theme of my blog was

I think it's good to have a theme

So people know what your blog is about

In my case I chose addiction and EDs and trying to overcome them

But yours could be about anything

Cooking

Dogs

Photography

The possibilities are endless

And there are always others who will have the same interests as you

That is the great thing about blogging

There is a whole community of people who are in the same situation as you

And they will welcome you with open arms

So now you know what you are going to write about

Time to create your blog

First you need to choose your blogging platform

This is the site that will host your blog and there are many

Blogger

Which is probably the most user friendly

Wordpress which is the biggest platform

Tumblr which is a really interesting way to post

I chose blogger

Although I have used Wordpress in the past

I definitely found that blogger is the easiest to use

Then I had to create my blog

Choose a URL

Your blogs address

Your blog title 

And your user name

I would keep your URL short and catchy and not  too difficult to remember

For your user name you can choose your real name or a pseudonym 

I choose Ruby Tuesday

As Ruby is close to my real name

And also because I love the song Ruby Tuesday

Now it's time to design your blog

And figure out how you want your blog to look

There are many free templates on blogger and Wordpress

So I am sure you will find something that suits you

And they are easy to use

Even for a technophobe like me

So now you have created your blog

It's time to write your first post

But first you need to decide whether you want to write anonymously or not

There are pros and cons to both

For the first few months

I wrote anonymously

And that was great as I could write anything

Safe in the knowledge that no one new who I was

But then I decided to make my blog more open

And started posting photos

So my blog is no longer anonymous

I would also think carefully about who you give your URL to in real life 

As then that person can read your blog whenever they like

Something to think about

So

In your first post

You will want to introduce yourself

I would make it short and snappy

Tell everyone who you are

What your blog is about 

And maybe a few tidbits about yourself

And of course always leave people wanting more.....

Then you will want to decide how often you post 

I used to post on Mondays, Wednesday's and Fridays

But now I tend to post everyday

I think posting regularly is great as people will then anticipate your next post

If you have started a blog

You will obviously want people to read your blog

So how do you do that?

Well you read and comment on other blogs

Then people will get to know you and your blog name

And will most likely check out your blog

And when you leave comments 

Write thoughtful and considerate ones 

No just 'Hey follow me and I'll follow you back'

And comment on blogs that are about a similar subject to yours 

That way people will be curious about yours

As you know

Blogs have followers

But don't write just to get followers and comments

That won't work

And you'll just drive yourself nuts

Write from the heart

And the traffic will follow

As time goes on

You will most likely add more pages to your blog

Maybe an About Me section

Where people can pop in and see the person behind the blog

I have many pages

Mostly to do with the topic of my blog

I add more and more as I think of them

I hope this post was helpful to those of you that are thinking of starting a blog

Do let me know if you have any questions

And please do comment if you have any other tips

Happy blogging!