Lately, I've been getting more emails from my blog readers and Facebook fans (you know who you are :D) about blogging stuff, such as how to start a blog, how to do product reviews, how to do book reviews, where to start to do reviews and so on.
You may choose to ignore what I'm writing down here if you don't agree with what I said, after all, I am not an experienced blogger and there are many many more things that I' m still discovering and learning throughout my blogging journey. This post is just to share my 2 cents worth of opinions and experiences I have in blogging.
It took me quite some time to learn the tricks and tips to all this. Please note, I do not intend to spoonfeed you guys by giving step by step and direct answers. I believe in working hard to get what you want instead of just being spoonfed. At least by searching and scouring the world wide web looking for the solutions and fixes, I believe we learned much much more and truly appreciate the hardwork we put into building up our blog.
FYI, I will break each of my 2 cents worth of advice and experiences into separate post since I can be quite talkative and rambles on and on at times. So here goes:
The Birth of a Blog...
Purpose driven blog?
Firstly, why do you want to start one? Think of your purpose and then think of your audience.
*Image taken from Google search
For me, I started this blog when I quit and became a SAHM in June 2009. I blogged to keep sane, a channel to note down my life as a SAHM, journey with my baby boy and family. In the beginning, I don't think I would want anyone else to read my blog other than my own family members, so that they get updated with what's going on in our lives.
How about you? Are you planning to blog as if it's just an online diary for yourself? Or you want to share your experience and memories with family members, friends, strangers out in the big world? Think about this first!
Foundation! Foundation! Foundation!
*Image taken from Google search
Choose your foundation wisely! The 2 most popular choices for your blogging platform (free one that is) are Blogger and Wordpress. You can read the comparisons between Blogger and Wordpress and decide for yourself.
Of course, when I started blogging, I immediately go for Blogger. That seems to be the easiest and fastest not to mention user friendly blog platform around. And the tons of blog design templates to choose from!
Hello! My name is...
*Image taken from Google search
Names, names, names... once you've decided on which blogging platform, you have to think of your blog name - because if you think of the name 1st, sometimes they might not be available anymore... bummer, right?
Now blog name is really really really important! Unless it's just going to be yourself reading the blog then fine... but if you plan to let other people read it, please consider the following when you are thinking up a name:
* Is it easy to pronounce? (Think simplicity!)
* Can it be spelled out easily? (Please also consider not naming it too long!)
* Is it catchy or easy to remember? (You would want your blog name to leave a lasting impression from the first visit itself!)
* Is it unique or does it stand out from the normal? (Be different!)
* Does it allow for 'future expansion'? (Imagine naming your blog something like fulltimemummyofone and few years down the road with more than 1 kid, and you're still stuck with this name...)
(Tips: I believe in synchronising your blog name with your user name. For example, my user name is "I'm a full-time mummy"-goes in line with my blog name, it's easier for people to associate you with your blog that way and yes, longer impression!)
Plain Jane or Simple Simon?
*Image taken from Google search
After you have your name chosen and registered on the blogging platform of your choice, don't just leave your blog template looking plain and ordinary! Just to make life easier for you newbies, I go to http://www.deluxetemplates.net/ to find my blog template. Wordpress users can go to sites like http://www.freewpblogthemes.com/ or many more.
You just browse through the many selections available (make sure it's free!) and choose the one you like best, download it and upload it via your blog platform's dashboard. Google around how to upload these templates into your blog. And make sure you leave the credit untouched as it is good to acknowledge the hardword put by the original blog designer in putting up those templates for you to use!
Once your template is up, go and beautify it even more! Even if your blog is only meant for yourself to see, I do believe a nice looking blog with additional accessories makes so much difference and brings happy feeling to ourself (simply put, you would at least wear a nice shirt and comb your hair when you go out right?).
So, apart from the varieties of widgets which can be added through Blogger/Wordpress or whatever platform you chose, I also searched around blogs and see what widgets they have. Those that I like, I find out more and I tweaked (by tweaking means, I customise it to fit my blog, keep testing and changing until I am satisfied with the look) it to be compatible with my blog template. I also get a lot of widgets from http://www.widgetbox.com/overview/. Make sure you try it out or at least read the reviews posted as some of the widgets are not working.
Not being IT literate or have zero knowledge in web design/coding is not an excuse. I Googled for tutorials to find out how to do all this, if I can do that, so can you!
When I grow up, I'm going to be...
*Image taken from Google search
You will also need to consider what will your blogging future be? Will you be having your own domain (as in your own blog/website link instead of for example http://imafulltimemummy.blogspot.com/ or http://imafulltimemummy.wordpress.com/ (OK, I just made this up...)? Will you remain on the same platform after you have your own domain? Do Google up why some people are moving out of Blogger into Wordpress and so on. Feel free to read my post on why I left Blogger if you're curious.
Next question is, are you just going to remain blogging? Or do you plan to venture into doing products reviews? All this play an important part in determining your blog's future!
I think I pretty much covers all there is on the topic of the birthing of a blog. I've always treat my blog as if it is my child (ok, lower ranking than Ben of course!), and I think you should too!
Nurture it, build it, have fun and make happy memories with it as how you would do with your child. It does bring joy to your heart! Feel free to leave me a comment if you would like to find out more on a certain topic.
Until then, happy blogging!
