Blogging is much more than just a hobby in writing. When I look back and read my first written article in my blogging journey, I see how far I have come. Most experienced bloggers feel this way.
Many questions arise when you are a beginner blogger. Most asked questions from bloggers who are just stepping into the blogging world are: how to start a blog? And most probably ‘how to start a blog and make money. Money might not be your only intention when you start blogging, but it can not be declined that money does give you the motivation to do more. It is right, and there is nothing wrong with it. Clearing all the doubt from following other bloggers who are doing good is one of the great moves you will make.
The main thing you need to be clear about at the start of your journey is gathering as much knowledge as you can get. Before questioning any experienced blogger, you should ask yourself first: ‘what do I want to know about blogs.’
When I started blogging, I experienced so many things later in the journey I wish I knew before. There is the time that you face different situations, and there are ways to handle them as you have an audience with their own opinions and can be opposed to what you write. But it would help if you handled this calmly. You can not just scream them off even if it feels like you.
It’s been since I started blogging, and now I do not consider myself a newbie. Throughout this and till yet, in the light of this journey, I have learned many things. There are many things every logger has to tell about the things to know before starting a blog. You can find many of these things and experiences on the internet.
I have brought all the things together in this article to let you know what blogging is, and what I wish I knew before starting a blog. As a newbie, this will help you in many ways and stop you from making mistakes.
In this article, I have brought together and explained those things that I wish someone would have taught me and all those things I wish I knew before starting a blog.
A website is not built-in 15 minutes:
Okay, maybe it is not the truth; you can create a website in mere 15 minutes. But the quality of it won’t be worth it. As a blogger, your website is your face, and you want to make sure it is good enough to be out there in public. Some bloggers might disagree with me. They say that an okay website can do fine if the content is good, but it is not what I think. So, here is the thing, as we know, ‘first impression is the last impression.’ A reader will see your website first and then see your content and how good a writer you are.
So, in my opinion, your website should be attractive enough to make them go further and make them read your blog posts.
Suppose you are about to build a website. I am sure the first thing you will do is search for a youtube video and set up a website which might take you roughly an hour. But let me tell you here, building a website and making it worthy of being in front of the public are two different things.
You should be proud of what you are putting in front of your audience. You might set it up quickly, but it will take you days to customize it and make it perfect.
Focus:
Staying focused on what you do is essential for you. If you want to be successful, you have to stay focused no matter what. But you should know that if you are thinking of ‘writing whatever I feel like, it will not do you right.
Decide what to write. You have to choose a specific niche, or else your website will be a big mess about politics, fashion, books, and parenting tips. Trust me when I say this you DO NOT want your blog to be such a mess.
Please find what you are passionate about and then start gathering information about it and utilize it in your content.
Honesty:
Be honest with what you are sharing in front of the public. No one wants to learn a bunch of lies put together. Gather all the facts that support your opinion. Honor your audience and do not write something that you don’t like. Talking negatively or lying is not going to take you along on this journey.
Blogging takes time:
Blogging is not your diary in which you can write whenever you feel like it. Blogging demands time and attention. You need to have quality content. If you want your blog to make it far and make big, you have to invest time and energy into it. It does take time to write good quality content. You can not just post something once and vanish in thin air and come back way too late with another post. You can lose readers if you do that. You have to be consistent with your writing. So plan and come up with a schedule.
You need at least five posts to begin:
This I wish I knew before starting a blog. Do not spend all your time on the visual aspect only. It would help if you had something for the readers to read. 1 or 2 posts are not going to it. You need to plan and have some posts on your website to know what your blog is about. They won’t come on your website for anything. You have to grab their attention.
Do not overlook the first article if you want to make a first impression be your website and put it in front of the audience; you need to have 5-10 pre-written blogs.
You do not need a camera to build an authentic website:
I know that you want your website to look good and authentic and have photos, but not many of us have good quality cameras or good photography skills. You do not have to steal photos from other bloggers, that is just immoral, and you might have to face copyright issues. But many websites sell you pictures for commercial use, and some of the websites even offer you pictures for free. Even though you might not want to do it for long, it can provide you with immense help in the beginning.
Work with other writers:
Working with other writers is going to help you grow. You can pay some writers or have ghostwriters for your blog. I know writing is your love, and you want to do it all yourself, but working with other writers helps you get good quality content that brings traffic to your website, and you save a lot of time by it. This I wish I knew before starting a blog and would have worked with professional writers to make my blog popular with less hassle.
If you have scheduled a post and can not find time to write it, you can always go up front to freelance writers and pay them to do it for you. It is an effective way to build traffic and have fresh content for your readers.
Be patient:
If you are starting a blog and thinking, ‘oh i want to become famous,.’ That is not going to help you in the long run. The desire to become famous is the right way to motivate yourself, but that should not be your sole purpose. If you think that writing a few posts will make you famous, then you are very wrong. You have to be calm and patient. You have to let it all come to you. It will take a lot of time and a lot of hard work but do not be discouraged. Good things come to the ones who wait.
Conclusion:
A blogger needs to know how to start a blog and make it good enough for the people out there. There are many things in blogging that demand your attention. There are many things I wish I knew before starting a blog. Some of which are as follows:
- You need your website to look good enough to be put in front of the public eye, and such websites take time. It can not be built in 15 minutes.
- It will help if you put your focus on a particular niche. You do not want your website to look like an absolute mess.
- Gather the facts and be honest about what you are writing, and always write positively.
- You need to make up a good schedule because blogging takes time.
- You need to have 5-10 pre-written posts to at least begin with your website.
- You can take pictures from other web pages that offer or sell pictures. You do not need self-clicked photos or a camera to get started.
- If you don’t have time, you can hire other writers to write your content.
- Patience is the key. Success will come to you, but you have to be patient as well.