3 Things You Actually Need to Start A Blog
Starting a blog can be a little intimidating, but when done right it can literally change your life. I had always loved the idea of working from home, however as time marched on I got married and started a family. It seemed like this dream ended up on the back burner of life. More than anything I felt a deep desire to be at home with my kids and still be able to bring in an income.
So, I decided to pick up an old hobby and work towards making a career from it. However, I was so thrilled at the thought of blogging to earn an income that I actually was too nervous to tell people about it. BUT, things have changed!
In this blog post I will be sharing with you three things you actually need to start a blog.
How to Build a Website Successfully
How to Create Pins that are Visually Appealing
How to Find Readers Who are Actually Interested in What You have to Say
So, if you’re tired of wondering how to create a blog from scratch, or you’re fatigued with trying to attract the right readers, look no further! I’ve got you covered.
My Biggest Regret in Blogging
I secretly had been wanting to earn an income from blogging for four years. Four years. I took digital design classes where I learned how to create unique images, build websites, and even blog. Yet, my fear of failure stopped me from pursuing this dream for a while. I would look up intriguing blogs, read their posts and question why I hadn’t started myself.
Well, all of that changed when one day I stopped scrolling on pinterest and I thought why not me? I mean, what is one reason that I couldn’t do this? I mean, sure everyone has a fear, but if fear of failing was my biggest reason for not trying I knew I was selling myself short. So I decided it was time to go for it.
How to Build a Website Successfully
As I mentioned before I took classes that taught me how to create graphics, build websites, and even blog. However, for some unknown reason it seems as if the number one website that people are encouraged to use to build their own site is Wordpress. I am here to tell you that doing so is a waste of time.
Wordpress was the first site builder I was introduced to while in Digital Design School, and it is anything but user friendly. Surprisingly, if you look at a lot of the sites that promote Wordpress, often their own website is hosted somewhere else.
Out of three different website hosts used to build websites, and the one that is most suitable and user friendly for bloggers is Squarespace. Squarespace gives you several different themes to choose from when building your site, plenty of options to personalize your site to your taste, and you can often find tutorials to help you reach your specific design goals. Not to mention it easily pairs with pinterest (more on pinterest later.)
How to Create Pins that are Visually Appealing
Photoshop is where I started. In my Digital Design Classes Photoshop was the only thing I was aware of to create personalized images, but yet again it’s not too user friendly. Photoshop is incredible for editing images, but for creating engaging posts/pins it's a little over the top.
What I use instead is Canva, it is the most user friendly image creator I have ever encountered. I kid you not you can create an account and in just a few minutes and be able to make anything from an invite card to a birthday party to, pin for pinterest, even a video for your website. It just makes it easy to be creative online and to engage your audience.
If you want to create visually appealing posts and pins you can try Canva Pro for two weeks free, just click here.
How to Find Readers Who are Actually Interested in What You have to Say
I feel like this stumps a lot of people. You can have the best website and write the most perfect post, but if you’re not in the right place then no one benefits from your efforts.
The bread and butter to the vast majority of blogger is Pinterest. Unlike Facebook, instagram, and other social media sites Pinterest is a search engine. It has more in common with Google than you may guess. When somebody needs a new recipe they go to Pinterest. When somebody is looking for a weight loss plan, it’s Pinterest. When somebody is looking to decorate their living room differently, again Pinterest.
So as mentioned before, it may make all of the difference in the world just having your blogs in the right place.
Wanting more tips on how to become a full-time blogger? I am currently putting together a course to assist people who want to be full-time bloggers but aren’t sure where to start. It will walk you from how to build your website from scratch all the way to how to make your first sale. If you choose to be notified when the course launches I’ll shoot you an email that will give you an 50% the course! Sign up below!