Confessions of a first time blogger

Are you a new blogger? Or maybe you are a seasoned Pro who can type hundreds of words on any given topic. Whatever the case, you probably remember writing your first post.

This is my first OFFICIAL post. I say official because I have written two blog posts before, but they went badly. You may be wondering how they went badly, but more on that in a minute.

First, I want to say that writing a blog is stressful in a good way. You have so many factors to consider.

Should I use SEO?

What is my niche?

Themes? Design choices?

How do I monetize?

Let’s stop there for a minute. I have one quick question to ask. Why are you blogging? For me, I had no clue! I jumped out of bed one day and yelled to the world. I’m creating a blog!

So, I created a blog page in less than 30 minutes and threw my first couple of posts together a few hours later. I sat there staring at the analytical page wondering why no one was reading the GOLD that I had just written.

Lets just say I was disappointed.

So, my first piece of advice is to relax! It takes time to create a good blog that people will want to read.

Wait a second! Can I even offer advice as a first-time official blogger??

Maybe not, but back to the topic. I think a lot of people start blogging with the expectation of getting thousands of views. After they fail to obtain that, they stop posting or shut the site down. If you are trying to run a blog as a business, then you will probably want to do lots and lots of research before posting anything. I’m here to have fun and learn as much as I can.

Theme and Layout

If you are writing your blog for fun, then I wouldn’t worry too much about the layout and theme at first. Most people understand that you are new and are more interested in your content (from my experience).

This is hard for me to do at this point. I think I have redesigned my page 15 times over the past week. I keep thinking I will find this perfect concoction of colors and straight lines that will yield a perfect blog site. I have had to step back and realized that creating a blog is a process. I don’t have thousands of dollars to invest in web developing to create a perfect site. So, I have had to find what works on my site and what doesn’t.

Spelling and Grammar

I have read hundreds of blogs now. I wish that I could say that spelling and grammar isn’t important, but it is. When I’m reading a blog for the first time, I am focusing on their material. If I keep getting distracted by misspelled words and incomplete sentences, then it’s hard for me to continue reading. It’s a trust thing. I want to see that someone put in the work to make a great post. If they put in the work, then it makes it easier for me to decide if I like their material and if I want to return to their site.

What should you write about

Just write about things that interest you. I wouldn’t worry too much about the topic. There will be plenty of people who are interested in the topic you write about. I have read posts on earthworms that I found interesting.

Page Views

Now for the elephant in the room. Page views. Here is what I have found to work for me (I don’t currently have any social media). Go to other bloggers websites and read their work and comment or like if you enjoy reading their posts. Some of them will look at your blog in return. Instant views for you!

But, you want to have some good quality content that they can read. Otherwise, they will probably never come back. Creating a blog is about creating relationships and building trust. It’s not a get rich scheme.

Confessions

Since the title of this page is confessions of a first time blogger then I guess I better give you some more confessions.

I have no expectations for views on this post.

I like physics, business, math, and lot of other things.

This post took me WAY longer than 30 minutes to write.

Some Quick Parting Thoughts

Take the time to figure out how to add links and quotes into your post. For example

This is how a quote will appear on my webpage

This is a great way to give emphasis on what you’re writing about.

Links

Links can also be added to let your reader get from one place on your site to another.

I created a link to nowhere to show you how this works (this link goes nowhere!) But, it’s a great tool to use to showcase content your reader may be interested in. This goes back to the trust that I was talking about before. People want to see that you took the time to research your material. Creating links will show that you put in the work.

Pictures

Pictures are unbelievably powerful. I have read some blogs where I can still see the pictures on their blog posts in my mind. This is important if you want readers to return to your site. Again, this takes time and effort. You need to find pictures that fit your content. It is time well spent.

I hope that you found this blog helpful or at the very least, entertaining. If you have a blog that you want me to check out, please leave a comment and I will give your site a look. I would also love to hear feedback about my first OFFICIAL post.

P.S. I apologize if I have any grammar or spelling errors. I reread this post hundreds of times trying to find them. I may not have caught them all.

Happy Blogging!