How to Start a Blog

How to start a blog is really a loaded  question.  Without any web background, finding the right place to begin is tricky. So I decided to write this little introduction to blogging.

When I started my online journey three years ago I felt quite lost. There were some awesome weblogs out there – with beautiful themes and all of the elements so very “matchy matchy”.

I was kind of incredulous that seemingly ordinary folk could create such works of art. Surely not everyone on the internet was a graphic designer or had the means to hire one?

After floundering around, I decided to start a site using Google’s Blogger service. My decision was primarily based on the fact that it was free. It also had a cool new widgets feature that made things look a little easier. Believe it or not, at that time not all WordPress themes were what is referred to as widgetized.

Anyway, since I had no idea how to start a blog – Blogger seemed like a good place to get my feet wet. And I dove right in.

Looking back I realize that I skipped a few essential steps before pushing those first few keys. The process of how to start a blog begins with pen, paper, and planning.

First, as with any venture, there must be some goals. Of course, I would have scoffed at this notion back then – I mean, come on, time’s a wastin’!

But I see now that goals are a key element to a successful website.

How do you know if you have achieved success if you don’t know what you are setting out to achieve?

For someone just starting their first blog a goal can be as simple as -

I want to create a personal blog to share pictures and stories with other family members.

or

I want to publish an online diary to share my thoughts and writings with the world.

or

I have specialized knowledge that will benefit others – I want to create a website to share my expertise.

or

Fame and notoriety is what I seek – my site will make me popular.

or

I want to make money online.

or

I want to gain internet exposure for my existing business.

The list is really endless. But setting goals upfront is important because the answer to the question of how to start a blog is different for each scenario.

A personal diary is easily published on any number of free blogging platforms. Whereas becoming an overnight sensation may be more suited to a site that uses paid hosting (but not always). And often, making money online requires a mix of several sites – no joke.

So IMHO (in my humble opinion – this rookie had no idea what that meant three years ago!) the first step to a blogging career is to set some goals.

The second step is still an offline activity – but in the interest of time I will have to get into that tomorrow.

Return from this page about How to Start a Blog to the One Mighty Woman homepage.

Image by Annie Mole.

This is part one in the How To Build A Website series.
Other articles in this series:
Blog Topics – What is Yours? (part two)
Blog Topics – Narrow It Down (part three)
Website Monetization Planning (part four)

Related posts:

1. Blog Topics – Narrow It Down