Welcome to the newest series!! A little Blogging 101 is happening. I get frequent messages asking about how to get started, how to grow, etc. So over the next month or two I’ll be sharing some tips about blogging and all of the questions I get often.
You want to start a blog…. now what!?
If you’ve been thinking about this and really want to start… DO IT. You can’t care about what other people are going to think, you just gotta do it. Take it from ME (and I am such a people pleaser, easily embarrassed, and I care a lot about what people think.) I really stretch my comfort zone with my blog but it’s been the BEST thing for me over the years. Once you’ve decided you want to start a blog, here’s some steps on getting started.
1. Decide what you’re going to call it, the niche, theme etc.
First things first, you have to come up with your websites name and brainstorm the whole vibe! Color schemes? What are you going to talk about or share? Brainstorm every little creative aspect! Search Pinterest for inspo and use google docs or even a journal to dump all of your thoughts into one spot.
2. Pick your hosting website
You have to “host” your website through one of these places in order to be able to get started. Here’s a few I recommend in the blogging world, but do your research to see what’s best for you:
- Flywheel (What I use!)
- Siteground
- Bluehost
3. Buy your domain name
You have to buy your domain name next! This is the (www.audreymadstowe.com) name. Whatever your link will be, you have to register for it and get it set up. Here’s a few places to go:
- Godaddy
- Google domains (where mine is registered at)
- Bluehost
4. Setup A WordPress.org account (or Squarespace… etc)
NOW you can set up your wordpress account. You may go through wix or squarespace, but wordpress.org is THE BEST in my opinion for blogging. It’s easy to navigate and most website designers/themes are for WordPress!
5. Design it!
After you’ve got everything else ready, now is when you make it pretty and to your liking. You can hire someone to design it, or buy a theme and do it yourself. Here’s a few places to design:
- Etsy themes (most affordable) – type in “wordpress themes” and scroll! There are hundreds of them and you can find one that fits your liking.
- Buy a nicer theme through a company- There are quite a few companies that have websites with pre made themes that are a little more customizable than the Etsy ones. They range typically from $70-$300. Here’s a few off of the top of my head:
- Completely customized- Lastly, you can hire a designer to completely customize your website to exactly what you want. These typically cost $1,000-$3,000+
6. Create a few posts to get it started and announce & launch!
After it’s set up, designed, and ready…. make a few posts to get it started and then LAUNCH! Share to all of your social media pages, get family and friends to share it, etc!
Hope this was helpful to those who want to start a blog! Stay tuned for next weeks blogging post about consistency and creating content. Thanks for reading!
