Wednesday 31 August 2016

Harrison's Guide To: Running A Blog | Blogging By Harrison


Oh look, here I am blogging about blogging.
By no stretch of the imagination do I consider myself an experienced blogger. However this is the type of blog post I would want to read and the type of post I did read before starting mine. 
So today I am going to talk you through my experience of running a blog and few little tips I have found to come in handy along the way. 
So sit back, grab a cuppa and get your reading glasses on... we're in for a big one! 

Starting Up/ My Experience: 

So let's start from the beginning. Blogging is always something I have had an interest in. It's always something I've loved and something I have always following. Writing, equally has been something I have always had a passion for. So firstly, there is the groundwork done. 

I first started a blog on the Wordpress platform to test it out, to get one started and jump straight in. That started going well, but soon I lost interest, life took over and I struggled for things to write about. So after giving up on the Wordpress blog, I took a little break before giving it a go again. 
Second time around, I found the platform, Blogger which is where I continued with my blogging life. I definitely think finding a platform that is easy to use is so important in the start up of a blog. You need the creation process to flow as nicely as possible. 

So creating the blog. When coming up with the theme, It is all about trial and error. With mine, I think I tried several different themes, fonts, colours and styles before sticking to what I have now. But that's what I found exciting about the whole birth of my blog! I must admit, It can be a very frustrating process, but once you've got it nailed, it's definitely worth it. 

When I decided to commit to the blog, I sat down to figure out what I wanted to write about, what I wanted my subjects to be and what kind of blog it was I wanted to have. But instead, I used the umbrella term of 'Lifestyle' blog. I wanted my blog to be different and the way I knew I could do that was to just write about what I liked, what I was interested in and make sure to get my sense of humour across in the writing of the blog. 
Instead of boxing myself into one type of blog, I just write about anything I like and love. 



So now you've heard about a few of the scenarios I faced when creating the blog, here is the section I've looked forward to writing... a few tips! 

~ Commitment & Consistency. If you're going to start a blog. Commit to it. I think the key into building a great blog and building your audience is commit to the blog and be consistent with your blog posts. In time, it'll get easier and in time it will become natural to write your blog posts regularly. I write upload a post every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and if I don't get the posts up on those days, It really frustrates me. So in time, you won't want to miss an upload day. 

~ Organisation. Running a blog isn't always an easy hobby to have. Having the commitment and consistency to upload every day/week/month, it takes time and organisation. Also, working a 9-5 job also makes it hard to find the time to photograph the images for the posts, them write the post and get it all sorted ready for upload. So organisation is key. I write and photograph all of my posts on the weekends, get them sorted and then schedule them for the week. That schedule button is my life saver. Use reminders on your phone, write lists, use your calendar, whatever works best for you keep organised to run the best blog you can. 

~ Be Yourself. There is no point in even starting a blog if you're not prepared to be yourself. I would definitely suggest you whole heartedly be yourself, write as you'd speak, don't hold back and be genuine. That way, your readers will connect with you, they'll be interested in what you have to say and in turn will be regular readers who want to revisit your blog every week. As you may have gathered by previous posts, I don't really hold back.
Equally, It's about writing about what you like. There's no point in writing about what you feel is going to get more views, just write about what you're interested and that way, your blog will be as authentic as possible. 


So there you have it. My guide and tips to starting and running a blog. Good luck if you're going to start, well done if you've started and you're welcome if any of this has helped you. 
Now, you've probably finished that cuppa tea by now, so get off here and go do something fun! After all, it's been amazing weather recently! 

| Harrison | 

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