10 Things I Wish I Had Known Before Starting My Blog

“Start a blog,” they said. “You’ll be so good at it!” they said. “You’ll love it!” they said.

So I did. And turns out, I’m pretty good at it. And I DO love it.

But what “they” didn’t tell me was how much work it would be! And how much time I’d have to put into it. And how much planning it involves.

Running a blog has been one of the most rewarding things I’ve done but there are a few things I wish I had known when I got started that would have made my life a whole lot easier. (Or maybe it would have scared me away from doing it and it was better to walk into it blindly- jury’s still out on that one!)

Here they are in no particular order:

1.Don’t be intimidated by the actual technical setup-

When I first toyed with the idea of starting a blog, one of the most daunting aspects was the actual setting up of the blog. As it turned out, that was the easy part. Coming up with material, carving out time and engaging followers is a lot harder than buying the internet real estate and setting up shop! A quick Google search of how to set up your blog will provide a ton of resources and you’ll find it to be relatively painless.

There are a couple of basic ways to set up your blog. The first way is going to a Blogging Platform like “Blogger.” This way is usually free and you can get your blog up and running with minimal effort. This is a good way to start dabbling in the world of blogging. However, you will not “own” your domain so your site will read something like “Tracysfoodblog.blogger.com.” If you ever want to have your own domain, it can be challenging to switch the material you’ve already posted to a .com site of your own.

The other way is by purchasing a domain and set up your own hosting site. This was also pretty easy but is a few more steps and takes a bit more work. I purchased my domain name from GoDaddy and also had them host my site. Then, I uploaded a free WordPress template and started exploring. Eventually, I did have a professional give my page a facelift, but that was after about a year of blogging on a template. The benefit to using this method- although a bit more effort initially- is that you own your own domain “Tracysfoodblog.com” and you can be found more easily once you start gaining traction.

There is no right or wrong way to set up your blog. Do a little bit of research and think about whether you want to be a serious blogger, or just for fun – then weigh the options and go for it!

2.Engaging Material Gains Followers

The hardest and most important aspect of running a blog is having great material that your readers can identify with and that will make them excited to return. Make sure that you are providing a quality “product” to your audience. There are so many websites and blogs out there- you need yours to stand out! If you have fresh and exciting material, your readers will be engaged and they’ll be excited for your next post. If they are bored, they’ll show themselves the door! (Or in this case, the “unsubscribe” button). No matter what your blog is about, provide useful, relatable, engaging content. Don’t half-ass it.

3.Always “speak” to your audience as if there were a thousand people in the room- Act “as if”

One of the best pieces of advice I can give you is to treat your blog as if it is already huge, even if your only reader right now is your mom. If you plan to gain traction, you need to assume that every single post on your blog will be read by a lot of people one day…Would you stand up in front of a room full of people without thinking about what message you’re delivering? Treat your blog and your social media as if you are holding the mic and speaking to a large audience. Don’t wait until the audience is large. Aside from the fact that if you do get big, people will go back and read your older posts, it’s also good practice to start off this way, so in case you go viral or grow big, you’re already in the habit of how to best “speak” to your large audience.

4. Network!

Who you know won’t work if your material isn’t great, but if you have great material and you don’t know anyone to help spread the word about your blog, that won’t work either

Some suggestions on how to network as a blogger:

- Read other blogs within your genre and engage with those writers – self promoting is important but like anything in life, taking and not giving will never fare well in the end. Find some blogs that you actually like reading and comment on and engage in their material regularly. You might find ideas for some of your own posts and you might gain some followers of your own.

- Join some Groups. There are a lot of discussion groups on Facebook. Join some groups to get to know other bloggers who have similar interests. This is a great way to bounce around ideas and ask questions. Even better if you can find a group to meet with “in real life.”

- Attend blogging conferences or seminars. This is a great way to hear key speakers and meet other bloggers in person.

In some circles, this is called “finding your tribe.” You want to meet other bloggers and help each other- there is always power in numbers. Make friends! It is nice to share in both the hurdles and successes of blogging with like-minded people.

5.Be Active On Social Media –

Pick a couple of social media sites and familiarize yourself with them. This is a great way to engage with readers on a regular basis and keep in touch with them between blog posts. Treat your social media posts like mini-blogs and keep #3 in mind when communicating with your readers through social media.

6.Find your voice

Always, always be yourself! Your readers will love you for you. Stay true to what you believe and you will attract those who want to hear what YOU have to say. While it is great to familiarize yourself with other bloggers, and you might find a couple of them that you love and whom you want to emulate, make sure you always maintain your own voice…It is very important to be unique and deliver a message that you believe in. If you don’t believe in what you’re saying, your readers won’t either.

7.Focus on Quality over Quantity when it comes to followers

As you find your voice, there are going to be people who don’t agree with you. They might even outwardly disagree with you and you may even come across what are known as “trolls” in the blogging world. There are troublemakers everywhere but don’t focus on them. Take time to appreciate the loyal and dedicated followers you have. You’d rather have a handful of solid readers than to beef up your numbers with people who don’t “get you.” Treat your quality readers like gold and they will start to multiply.

8.Get Organized

I recommend installing some kind of Analytics to your blog. (Google Analytics works great but if Blogger and other platforms do provide their own analytics tools) Take time to look at your numbers and translate them to useful information. Pay attention to what time of day your followers are reading you most and cater to them when possible. Look at the websites that are driving traffic to your page and find a way to capitalize on that.

Some people use spreadsheets to track data, but you don’t have to be that regimented if that doesn’t work for you.

Keep a list of topics you want to write about and resources that you intend on exploring or utilizing

Carve out time to write and make a schedule of when you’re going to post

Keep your logins and passwords together in a safe place

These are all suggestions but they might not all work for you. If you’re going to keep a blog, you’re going to want to get organized- whatever that means to you. The bigger your blog grows, the more being organized is going to matter so build a good foundation for yourself while you’re small so you can focus on your blog and not scrambling to organize your information later when you need it.

9.

Accept the fact that you probably aren’t going to get famous (or rich) overnight

“What? Why did I start a blog then if I’m not going to get famous?” I know. It sucks. But there are lots and lots of blogs out there and yours might not get noticed right away. That’s okay. If you’re blogging about something you love, the joy is in that. If your only purpose for starting a blog is for overnight fame, you might want to reconsider. Even the most successful bloggers who have had their work go viral still had to start off small and there is no timeline for when your blog is going to take off. Don’t get discouraged! Just because you can’t quit your job and be a professional blogger right away doesn’t mean it isn’t really rewarding. And there ARE lots of bloggers who get paid to write and who get offered free things like trips and gadgets in exchange for a write up. It’s not impossible- but those people had to put their time in and probably so will you.

10.Have fun!

As I’ve mentioned several times throughout this article, blogging can be extremely rewarding! It can open doors you never thought possible and you can meet a lot of great people while doing it. The key to finding blogging so rewarding is having fun! Enjoy what you do and the success will come. After all, it’s the journey not the destination!

Tracy Sano - Tracy has always loved telling funny stories; she currently logs her rants on her humor blog, "Tracy on the Rocks," and on her Facebook page which was a 2014 finalist for "Most Humorous Web Blog" in the popular Web Blog awards, the Bloggies. She has also been featured on BlogHer multiple times.

Tracy has an unhealthy obsession with firefighters, hotdogs, and anything pink. Her favorite thing to do- besides drink wine- is laugh until her stomach hurts (which doesn't take much, considering how much she also hates working out). She resides in San Diego and her biggest accomplishment to date is being the World's Best Auntie, according to those who matter!

Check out her blog www.tracyontherocks.com or follow her on Twitter: @tracyontherocks.com

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