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| Edited image made from Canva |
I listed five things to remember before putting up a blog. I would like to reiterate that these are based on my experiences as a blogger. I am not yet part of the authority who are masters in managing blog sites.
1. Read or watch about blogging
I had my first encounter about blogging in 2014. I was a college instructor back then. I was searching of how I can have a site that I can utilize to put my lectures for my students to learn. When I experienced the Internet for the first time in 2010 in the city library of Alaminos, Pangasinan, I was amazed how people are able to let their works read online. Since then, I was dreaming of seeing my write- ups in the Internet. Back in 2014, I found the answer when I was in the school library where I was employed. I searched using my laptop and Google introduced me the term "blogging". Honestly, I only read one site article that time. In the said article, there were platforms suggested that can be used in to create a web site. I tried Blogger with little knowledge what it is all about. I immediately signed up and got a free account. However, I wrongly named my site by writing the title of my first article which the letters are in all caps. Then, I tried another platforms. I returned to Blogger as I experienced troubles in tweaking and running a site.
To all aspiring bloggers, it is very important to know more about blogging. Well, learning about blogging after putting up a site is okay, but it can make you lose money. I lost thousands of pesos because I established a self- hosted blog with little knowledge. As a non- IT graduate, fixing errors is very difficult. These errors made my blog inaccessible. If I learned about these things, I could have made my blog better.
To learn about blogging, read sites of the renowned bloggers. They give you insights about the do's and don'ts and the pros and cons. Learn from them how to write quality posts that can hook audiences. In my case, there are instances that I cannot understand tips or directions because some of these contain codes to be incorporated. So, I watch videos on YouTube. Viewing how the problems are fixed makes me confident to fix them by myself. I feel that I am hero every time I follow the commands. Blogging gives me the chance to surf in the world of codes. I share these experiences to my learners who are required to learn websites.
My advice is write the learning you have on your notebook. Your notes will be a big help especially when you encounter the problems in your site anew.
2. Have a Purpose Why You Blog
In order for you to make blogging easy, you should have a purpose why you are venturing to it. Do you want to blog because you want to share your travel and adventure? Do you want to blog your recipes? Do you want to express your ideas on various issues? Do you want to give knowledge about a certain topic? You really need to question yourself why you want to have blog site. To help you do this, you need to determine what is your site is all about and what the readers can read from your online space. If you want to help people in preparing meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, make a food blog. If you want to write how you are able to reach a tourist destination, create a travel site.
In my case, my purpose why I made this site is to share my experiences and to express my reaction on current or trending events. I want this as my journal I can read back as I get old. So, I thought of a site name which is personal for me. I named it as my camp where I can pitch ideas like tents and let the campers stay for long time and enjoy what I can offer to them.
Having a purpose will help you reach wider audience. It will help you to focus and attain the results you set. If ever that things are not working for you, you can revamp your blog and have another purpose.
3. Invest for Your Blog
Free blog is okay especially if you are starting. However, you do not have the main control of your site. This made me decided to buy a domain. You need to spend money in order for your site to have its identity and in order for you to own the site fully. Think of your blog as your business. You need to invest in order for it to be known. You need to do branding so that you can get the attention of customers. In my case, I spend money for my web address. I paid 600 pesos to own the domain. I renew it yearly by paying using online wallet. Good thing that my web provider has various payment modes which make transactions convenient.
Aside from web domain, logo is very essential in blogging as it will help you to establish the identity of your site to make it distinct from the rest. If you have money, you can hire a professional designer to design a logo as well as the favicon of your site. In my case, I designed the logo of my blog using Canva. There are presets that you can edit or you can start from the scratch. Canva is a blessing for me as I can create my logo for free. It saves me money.
Maybe you are asking me, "What is now the return of your investment?" I have not earned from blogging yet but I am confident that what I spend will have better returns soon.
Aside from investing money, you should spend time populating what is in your blog. In the early years of this blog, I set my target which is I will write weekly. So, there must 52 posts yearly as there are 52 weeks in one year. However, I am underperforming. There are topics I failed to discuss because I do not have the motivation to write. I admit I procrastinate a lot. Procrastination kills my creativity. I regret of losing the ideas I want to write because of this bad habit.
Have a plan or timeline. You need to have a schedule of when to post. If the topic has timeliness as a factor, write it immediately. Current events and trending topics must be written within the time the events are transpiring to attract readers. If you delay posting them, readers will lose interest them and they will think that what you have posted are irrelevant for them.
4. Blogging is not just about writing
When I made my first blog post, I thought of what topic I am going to write next. I was just excited to create the second entry without thinking what will happen to my first write- up. I checked the other parts of my blog dashboard and I realized that there are various things I need to pay attention. Blogging is not just focusing on writing. As a blogger, you should be familiar with analytics. When I reviewed the blog stats of my blog, I was happy that I got one view. I considered at as a victory. But, that triumph was small. My celebration was ephemeral. I searched on Google about how achieving high statistics result of my blog and the information I read overwhelmed me. The terms web traffic and bounce rate made my head ached. After reading an article, I realized that my site is a speck in the universe. I really need to work more in order for my blog to receive a good web traffic.
I learned to use Google Analytics three years ago. It was a different world for me. There are jargons that I really hard time comprehending them. Understanding the figures will really helped you to attain massive view counts. The site is helpful as it gives you the data what is the best of the day to post a content. Furthermore, the Analytics shows you which country you garner views and how your site is accessed.
Blogging made me a marketing analysts. I learned how to market my blog. I learned to use my social media account to generate better results. As an introvert, I am afraid to share my stuff. I fear for the rejections of my visitors. My dream outweighs my worries, so I became bold in posting links of my blog posts. This move boosted my site as I get more views from Facebook. I am thankful that my friends are landing on my web pages and even give compliments.
Getting views online is like a competition. With millions of sites existing online, amassing thousand views is difficult to attain. So, if you are blogger, you should also pay attention on the design of your site. Blogging platforms have templates you can choose. But, there are instances that these templates may not give the perfect look or they miss the elements you want to see for your site. In my case, I searched for free templates online. If you are going to download a template, make sure you understand the process of customizing. If you did it wrongly, your site will have a problem. Changing site theme is not a piece of cake for me. Codes are present and I always get trouble with these. There is a website that the menus for my navigation were not properly executed as I did not placed the codes correctly. It made me frustrated. So, in choosing a template, I consider how easy the template will be applied.
We have readers who find text alone boring. So, as a blogger, you must be resourceful and be creative how you can make them hold on until the last punctuation mark of your post. I incorporate pictures and videos for my blog post. Most of the pictures of my blog are captured using my phone and my camera. I am applying some shot techniques that I learned from what I teach in Media and Information Literacy subject. Choosing the best photos is crucial as pictures can entice your reader to continue reading your blog or can be a factor to abandon you. If ever that you do not have photos to include in your post, there are sites offering stock photos for free.
Aside from photos, videos makes your content appealing. On Blogger, you can upload a video or choose from YouTube. Blogging pushed me to become a video content creator. In my other website, I include my tutorial videos there and these materials make my content meaty and interactive. Including photos and videos in your blog can make your visitors to stay longer in your site which is beneficial for you. Just make sure that the media files you will put are in good quality and properly cited if it not yours. Remember that you have big responsibilities as a blogger. You should be ethical in what you do online.
5. Blogging is not always a bed of roses
Don't count your chickens before they hatch.
This saying is applicable to blogging. When I received my first one thousand views in one of my blog, I am visualizing myself buying the gadgets I really want and having big cash on the bank. But, reaching that stage is not easy. With six years of blogging experience, I have not received any earnings from blogging. There is no easy cash in blogging. You really need to hustle to achieve the results you want to attain.
Blogging is not always a bed of roses. There are more rough days than better days. There are times the counts are rising and there are times the stats ebbs. Patience is a virtue in blogging. I waited for six years to unlock an achievement which is important for all bloggers. And, reaching a milestone must not keep you relaxed. You really need to work hard to smash records.
There are pains in maintaining a blog. It is like you have a garden. You need to water the plants, give them fertilizer and protect them from pests. But, there are times that pestilence destroys what you started. In blogging, you might lose your money first before gaining. Like what I mentioned in the previous paragraphs, I already spent thousands of pesos yet I get zero peso. I just treat as part of growing. I just need to bear the torments. No pain, no gain is now my game yell.
If ever you will try blogging, get ready for disappointments. Treat pains as indicators of progress as doing nothing yields zero result.
Conclusion
Blogging opens a lot of opportunities. But, you must do research about it and self- reflection before diving to it. If ever you decided to blog, think of ways for you to continue it. If ever that you feel sad about your blogging, it is part of growth. Just do your best maintaining the blog and your efforts will be paid off.
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