« so, you're thinking about starting a blog »
Over the last few months, I've had several calls and emails from people who were interested in starting their own blogs, asking me if I had any tips for someone who was just starting out. Most recently, a friend asked me for some advice via email, and two days ago, I sent a horrifyingly long (and very likely incredibly overwhelming) tome in response, containing my initial thoughts on things to consider when starting a blog.
It is entirely possible that I'm a little too passionate about blogging.
Anyway, in the off-chance some of you are toying with the idea of starting your own blog, I thought I'd share my thoughts here. (For those of you who have no interest in blogging, feel free to skip to the bottom of this post).
First of all, consider your purpose. From my perspective, I think that the best blogs are written by people who have a distinct purpose for writing their blogs. For example, if you're thinking about starting a food blog, it makes sense to flesh out the type of food blog you're thinking about writing: Do you want this to just be a personal archive of your favourite recipes? Do you want to make this a place merely for friends and family? Do you want this to be a huge blog that has a lot of followers? Will you do restaurant reviews? Will you feature gourmet food? Ethnic food? Good home cooking? It can be good to have an idea of where you'd like this to go -- although to be perfectly frank, the way I blog now is far different from how I started, as a new mom blogger. In any event, while chances are likely that your blog will morph and evolve over time, it sometimes helps to have an overall vision in mind that you can tweak as you go along.
Ultimately, however, it's a good idea to write something you're passionate about, as opposed to something you just think "the world needs." Like, you might think that there aren't enough blogs out there talking about natural hair dyes (as a completely random example), but unless you're really passionate about natural hair dyes, I'd recommend thinking about another subject. The best blogs to read are the ones written by someone who you can tell loved writing every word.
Secondly on considering blogging platforms -- There are lots of different "platforms," or blogging applications out there that are really awesome. For the very simple and very clean (but really allow for limited customization) there's Posterous.com and Tumblr.com -- these are quick-and-dirty platforms that are free, and very easy to use, but won't allow for any customization of design. (I actually use Posterous as a place to dump my photographs I take with my iPhone, you can see it here.)
For more in-depth and customizable ones, you might want to consider Typepad.com, Blogger.com, Wordpress.org (and lately, Wordpress seems to be getting all the ... well, press). In order to customize them, you may have to pay a fee -- but they are surprisingly inexpensive, and generally very easy to use -- if you can use Microsoft Word and most email applications, you can use these blogging platforms. I started with Typepad, and it was very good; as I said, Wordpress is starting to get some serious buzz, and I've seen some really beautiful blogs that use them.
All that said, nowadays, I use Squarespace.com -- which I absolutely love. The customer service is amazing, and the ability to customize it I find pretty spectacular. A caveat: it might be more blogging platform than you need starting out. But make no mistake -- it's lovely to use, they do great work. I can't imagine using any other platform.
Third, on naming your blog: Here's where things can get a bit tricky. Some thoughts:
b) Make the name unique -- Even though you may not be planning on purchasing your own URL anytime soon, again, one day you may want to, so do a little research to see if the name you'd like to pick hasn't been taken by someone else. A nice easy way to find out if a blog name is taken is to put what you'd like to call your blog in the field here (https://www.pairnic.com/index.html) -- it will tell you if it's available or if it's already taken. Again, I'm not suggesting you buy the URL outright (although you certainly can), but it can be good to know if there's going to be a likelihood of confusion between your site and someone else's.
c) Don't pick a name that you might outgrow -- A lot of times the temptation is to name the blog around something that's very exciting in your life now ("newmommyeats.com" or "lovinglondonfood.com") -- but in the case of the "new mommy" name, your kid is going to grow up; in the case of "loving london," you might be moving sometime in the foreseeable future. Something to think about.
In my case, I was a new mom, and I'm from Trinidad, so I wanted a name for my blog that reflected that (because I was going to write about my daughter). I chose "Chookooloonks" because it's a word we Trinis use to mean "sweetheart," particularly when talking about a child.
I was lucky -- even though I outgrew the new mom thing, since most people don't know the significance of "Chookooloonks," the name managed to grow with me (since "Mommy" or "mom" aren't in the title.). Because it's a fun word to say, and it's so unique, it was easy for me to purchase chookooloonks.com as a URL. The down side? Most people have a hard time pronouncing it at first, much less spelling it -- and a small part of me wishes I'd picked something easier to spell. No worries though -- it's sort of become my brand, and it works for me.
Finally, on writing your blog -- The trick is to be casual and warm, without sacrificing good grammar and spelling. People will not come back if it's tough to read. When I write my blog, I sort of try to write it like I would write to a favourite former professor or boss -- proper grammar, proper spelling, but not so formal as to be alienating, you know? And definitely let your personality show in your blog -- in my experience, I've always loved blogs that made me feel like I was getting to know the author. That said, guard your privacy, and don't say anything about anyone on your blog that you wouldn't say to their face in a crowded room. Because trust me, even if they don't read your blog? One day they will read your blog.
As far as frequency -- the more frequently you blog, the more traffic to your site you will tend to earn and sustain. That said, you don't want to get burned out, either. I'd say aim for -- twice a week, I suppose, at first? And then tweak it up or down depending on how you feel. In my case, I make a concerted effort to blog 5 days a week, and it's pretty time consuming -- but I consider my blog an integral part of how I make my living, and after almost 7 years of blogging, I feel like I've developed a strong relationship with my readers, so I think it's important to have a consistent, frequent schedule. Besides, I'm passionate about what I blog about, so it's all good.
Update: A reader just asked me: "I enjoyed your post. But what if you blog just to write and not to earn? Does that mean anything anymore?" I think it's an awesome question (thank you so much for asking it!), and one that bears addressing:
You'll notice I don't have ads on this blog (although I do have ads on The Beauty of Different blog), and I only do any sort of sponsored or paid posts here on Chookooloonks on a very rare occasion. While I certainly don't begrudge anyone who wants to make money on their sites (obviously), the advice I give here is intended for someone who is starting a blog because they feel they have something to say that they want a wider audience to read. Obviously, there are private blogs out there, or blogs intended for only immediate family and friends; but this advice is for someone who has passion around a certain subject, and loves to write. In fact, I would add this advice: you should only start a blog if you have passion around a subject, and love to write -- otherwise, you'll lose interest, and the blog will fall by the wayside, anyway. In any event, the monetization/branding thing is a whole separate topic, I think, and not one that I intended to address in any way here.
Hope that helps!
(Here's the part you can start reading again, if you skipped all of the above.) So anyway, those are my thoughts -- for those of you who are experienced bloggers, please feel to leave your own advice and tips in the comments section, below. Also, just because we can all do with some inspiration, bloggers or not, I thought I'd share my favourite blog "muses" (affectionately called my "Chookoolinks") -- these are some really, really good sites. Please check them out.
And finally, now seems as good a time as any to say special thanks to the Black Weblog Awards, whose judges voted Chookooloonks Best Photoblog of 2010. I'm truly honoured. Thank you.
Also on a completely unrelated note: Are you in Houston, a woman with adult children, how happens to have (or had) a great relationship with her mom, and would like me to take your picture? I'm working on a paid photography/writing gig (which I'm totally excited to share with you guys soon) on motherhood, and would love to meet you. If you're interested, please email me at karen@chookooloonks.com. Thanks!
And with that, have a wonderful weekend, everyone. It's a long weekend here in the US, so if you're traveling, please stay safe.
Image: Those lovely purple flowers Alex picked out for me, photographed with my Nikon D300, 60mm micro. This shot was also processed with the Adobe Lightroom 3 -- and at the risk of gushing too much, I really, really like this software.
Song: The world spins madly on by The Weepies
Fri, September 3, 2010
Reader Comments (24)
Yep. Yesterday I launched my blog. I chose blogspot and as someone who is not very technologically inclined, it took me the better part of a day to set it all up. Having said that, reading your post is affirming. I think I managed to figure out much of what you posted by following many wonderful blogs such as your own.
And I LOVE the purple flowers. My fav color.
Really great advice. Next time someone asks me I will send them this link.
I started my blog as a way to keep people up to date on the goings on in our life. We'd made some great friends in college and Grad school, but we'd all scattered to the winds. The blog was a good way to stay connected. Over the years my blog has been about what I had for lunch, a place to bitch about my miserable life, and now (much improved) place to celebrate life. I don't do it to make money. I don't do it because I'm a writer ('cause I am so not). I do it because it makes me happy to sit down and write an entry, to post a picture, or to share a recipe. I don't care that I only have about five readers. The blog is more for me then any one.
Set an intention. Why do you think you want to blog? Don't do it because it's trendy or so and so is doing it. The rest is pretty easy.
Great information. I'm in my ninth month of blogging, and slowly gaining in readership. I started it for the most part, to put some positive vibes out there in the snark-infested world. Life really is good.
Great advice! I also think some focus in topics and in your writing is good if your purpose is to gain readers. Readers loose interest if the blog is all over the place, or poorly written.
This is great advice, although I'm kinda going in an opposite direction from what you suggested. I've just started my blog in February of this year and I've just recently come back from a hiatus.. Initially my blog was focused on one thing--my weight loss journey, but I was itching to post about my other non-fitness interests which seemed kinda out of place in my blog. So I've renamed it and I plan on posting about what it was intended for in the first place and also my other interests--which are kind of related (beauty, fashion, natural hair). I'll see how that goes for me and if it helps to keep me motivated to post more often..
Just an FYI that I featured your Photobomb on my blog today. Thanks again for that. You did a wonderful job.
Have a great weekend!
I blog about food and travel, which are linked inextricably together with the purchase of my first digital camera and this job. I travel for work by myself alot and so I took photos of food and the places I've visit. But the part I love best is writing about foods that have a family story or history attached, that share part of T&T culture, or at least my part in it. One day I'll have regularity, probably when I am not working in an office - as you know, the Law is a jealous mistress...
"...don't say anything about anyone on your blog that you wouldn't say to their face in a crowded room." Great advice, and a rule that I follow too - along with only using pseudonyms or first initials when I write about most of the real people in my life who don't have their own blogs - but I wouldn't count on that to keep you out of trouble. I had a problem with a boss who found my blog and apparently had different standards for what she would say to someone to their face...guess I'm just more of a straight-talker than most!
1. I am SO excited to learn the origin of Chookooloonks!
2. I totally disagree with your on not purchasing the URL outright. It's way too cheap to not do this, and if you don't like it, it'll expire in a year, and you've wasted seven or less dollars. No big. The alternative is you'll love it, but some squatter will snap up the name. That SUCKS.