From the Fashionistas and human-right activists, to the culinary queen looking for recipes, chances are there is a blog to suit your needs. As someone who has wanted to blog for a long time, but has either been too weary to get out there, too lazy to update regularly, or quite simply just not had a clue where to begin; I recently found myself in search of the bloggers toolkit. When I decided to commit to my blog (anodetoldn.tumblr.com), I found that these were my top tips for getting started.
1) Write about what interests you
You are not going to be committed to the cause if you have no interest in what you’re writing about. So start by asking yourself what you like enough to blog about. This is an amazing starting point and as simple as this question might seem, you most probably will find that what interests you, and what interests you enough to continually post about are two different things!
2) Establish your target audience
So now you are happy with your blogs theme it’s time to find an audience that would subscribe to it. While you might want everyone to yearn for your next post, its better to go after a specific group that you know will be interested in what you’re selling. In doing this chances are one subscriber will know another with similar interests, and the ripple effect we call ‘sharing’ is set to begin.
3) Find a suitable host for your blog
A variety of sites can be used to host your blog. From BlogSpot and Bloglovin’, to WordPress and Tumblr, there is a host site for all your blogging needs. If you’re writing a blog that contains lengthy posts about foreign policy and immigration it perhaps isn’t a wise move to decide to host on Tumblr. Whereas, someone with a blog that contains a lot of photographic content or artwork might prefer a Tumblr account. So don’t rush into anything, try and look at other blogs that appeal to the type of subscribers you hope to gain. In short, do your research!
4) Don’t be afraid to share your work
There’s nothing wrong with a bit of self-promotion, share posts across your twitter, Instagram and Facebook, and get friends and family to do the same.
5) Be Patient
So you’ve found a topic that interests you, established your target audience, and sourced the perfect webhost. You just clicked upload on your first post, and in solidarity your cousin gave it a reblog, yet you can’t help but feel disheartened at being 199 likes away from 200. A loyal following can’t be created overnight so from one novice to another, be secure in your concept, post consistently, and enjoy it!
Lola Mosanya
