Blogging 101: Getting Started
Written by Mandy Boyle
Surveys by the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that the blog population has grown to about 12 million American adults, or about 8% of adult internet users. The number of blog readers has also jumped to 57 million American adults, or 39% of the online population. That’s huge.
“The act of telling your story and sharing part of your life with somebody is alive and well — even more so than at the dawn of blogging,” said Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet and American Life Project in a recent New York Times article.
So what if you’re ready to tell your story and share part of your life? How can you get started? What’s the best way to break into blogging?
Well for starters, it helps to have a plan. So, for the next few posts, be sure to stay tuned as I lay out some of my plans (that I’ve put into practice) for starting a new blog. My working examples? MandyBoyle.com, my personal site, and LittleKitchenEats.com, a food blog I just started.
Back in January, I bought myself a set of stainless steel cookware as a Christmas present. I didn’t know that when I would open the box, I would be inspired to start a food blog. In fact, I hadn’t even thought about the prospect of starting a food blog until those shiny pots and pans came out of their box, which brings me to my first point for starting a blog: have an idea.
Ideas are Powerful
Without a solid idea, your blog is likely to flop. You have to have at least some sort of direction in which you plan to move. Think about what you’d like to write about. Are you passionate about it? Do you have the knowledge? Can you convey your thoughts clearly? Can you see yourself still writing about it a year from now? Two years? Five years? Asking questions like these can help you hone in on your core idea. Once you have that, you can move to the next step. I’ll give you a clue: it’s not writing.
Planning Makes Perfect
Planning is the next step in the process and when done right, it can make a huge difference in the way that your blog both reads and reaches. Any good communicator knows that a successful campaign takes planning. Blogging is no different. Set aside some time and do your research. Take a closer look at the topic or core idea you’ve chosen and get a feel for what others are writing about. Read other blogs.
Check out blogging trends. Read and research other bloggers. Learn the difference between writing for the web and writing for print. Study up on those blogging tips that can help you make the most of your new venture in the blogosphere.
As planning resources go, I’ve found the following sites to be incredibly helpful:
For Little Kitchen Eats, I did a lot of research by checking out some of my favorite food sites, which included Smitten Kitchen, (never home) maker, Love & Olive Oil, and Tastespotting. Luckily, (never home) maker did a great series of “behind the scenes” posts where they outlined some of the ways that they make their blog awesome. The posts on food photography were gold.
I also went through about a dozen cookbooks and bookmarked recipes that I plan on trying for the blog, created ingredient shopping lists, and made up a sort of schedule on how often I’d like to post. Then, I started to experiment more with my camera. I had to get better with photography overall because let’s face it: good food blogs have good photos.
Make a Mind Map
This is something that I do with my other blog, MandyBoyle.com, but it can also apply to any budding blog. Before you begin writing your first post, try making a mind map to give your blog direction. Start by identifying your overall topic or niche. Then, brainstorm different categories of posts that you can work with. From there, get down to the post level and think about different post and series topics. ProBlogger gives a great tutorial on how to make a mind map work for any new blog.
Okay, so you have an idea of what you want to blog about, a mind map of posts, and all of the research/tips/how-tos you could get your hands on. Now what?
In my next post, I’ll outline the actual process of putting together a blog and getting your first post published.
About Mandy Boyle:
Mandy Boyle is a graduate student and freshly-minted communications professional. As a Search Engine Optimization Specialist for Solid Cactus and published freelance writer, Mandy is no stranger to compelling storytelling. When she’s not at her laptop or in the classroom, you can usually find her in the kitchen. Cupcakes are her specialty. Follow Mandy on Twitter at @mandyboyle or visit her website (http://mandyboyle.com).
