If I’m being honest, this is really a compilation of things I’m glad I knew when I first started blogging as well as things I wish I’d know when I started blogging. So here’s to hoping at least one of these will prove helpful to you 😉

1. Do your research.

Do you research, do your research, do your research! I cannot stress this enough. Research the website host you’re interested in, look into designs on Etsy or the website host you’re interested in, check that your domain hasn’t been taken by someone else yet.

Another thing that you have to research if you’re planning on building an email list is what mailing company to go with. Each one has their pros and cons, and if you mess up like me, you might have to spend ages wondering where you went wrong.

So look into companies before investing into them, and make sure you at least know what you’re getting into. It will save you in the long run.

2. Go with what works best for you, not what works best for other people.

This will be dependent on many factors: your job, how much money you’re willing to invest in your site, the purpose of your blog, your personal style…

If you’re blogging as a hobby, getting a free domain might work for you. These are domains with extra tag-ons like wordpress.com or blogspot.com or .wix. They don’t look as professional, but it shouldn’t really matter if you’re just experimenting around.

The first blog I wrote for was thewritingmafia.wordpress.com (free domain). I played around with this site for a while until I felt I was ready to invest further and actually purchase a domain (this site!).

The style of the blog will also depend on what you want to accomplish on it, the message you want to send to others, and your own taste. Just because a yellow and gold color scheme works for someone doesn’t mean that you have to use the same color palette, too.

OTHER STUFF YOU MIGHT LIKE:

How Blogging Will Change Your Life

One Year Blogiversary Q & A // celebrating 3 years of blogging!

7 Ways to Productively Procrastinate When Writing a Blog Post

3. It’s okay to change.

If you find that your blog is not satisfying you in the right way, it’s okay to change. Go ahead and completely change its design, switch your focus, or even change blogs or domains.

If you shift your focus, however, know that the unexpected change can lose you some of your audience — especially if they’re not interested in the new topic you want to write about.

Still, this is all right because you only want people who actually care about and read your writing to stay. Otherwise, your audience interaction sinks and it’s hard to do anything about it. Plus, if you continue to write about something you’re passionate about, you’ll be able to keep creating quality content that you like.

4. Go blog hopping.

Get yourself out there and make new friends! Expose yourself to good content from creators you might not have heard of before. You can do this by looking through the comments section of your blog or on your favorite blogs (that have a similar niche to yours) and click to go to other bloggers’ websites. If you like their content, leave a comment on one or more of their posts. This will let them know of your existence and hopefully, they’ll click on your profile to check out your blog — hence hopefully increasing traffic on your site.

So if you’re wondering why no one knows about your site, go out and explore other creators’ content first 😉

5. HTML / CSS (opt.)

This is a pretty cool lifesaver, not gonna lie. Basic knowledge of HTML/CSS has allowed me to make small changes to my website (text size, color, that kind of thing). HTML focuses on the outline of the site, like where the headers and paragraphs go, while CSS is more for the design of the blog. You don’t have to know how to code in HTML/CSS, but if you ever need to fix anything on your blog, you won’t have to hire someone else to do it for you.

(This is not an invitation for you to ask me to help with your code, by the way. I’m not an expert.)

I might post a more in-depth article on HTML/CSS basics later, who knows 🙂

That’s all for now!

What are some things that you’ve invested into blogging that you’re grateful about? Is there anything you wish you could have told your younger blogger self? Do any of these tips resonate with you?

Let me know in the comments below!

Make your mark,