Over the years I have had numerous people ask me questions about the blogging industry and starting a blog, so I thought I would answer some of the most common ones here…

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The other day I worked out that 2017 will be my 7th year in the blogging space. Can you believe it?! 7 whole years! This is the longest I have ever stuck to anything other than dancing and wearing sequins…

I have come a long way from the ‘taking photos of my outfit from neck down in a free standing full length mirror’ days, and along the way I have learned so incredibly much. It is amazing how much you adapt when you just throw yourself into something!

Over the years, I have had all sorts of questions about what it is that I do and the industry that I work in. It makes me happy to know people are questioning the industry because, to me, that means people want to learn (and we all know how much I love learning). With this in mind, I am taking the time to answer some of the most common questions I get as a blogger, which will hopefully give you a bit more of an insight into the industry, and to me!

 

First cab off the rank? Questions about getting started in the blogging world…

I want to start a blog, but I don’t know what to blog about. Do you have any suggestions?

Honestly, my only suggestion when this question comes up is to sit on it, and only start your blog when you have worked out what you want to share with the world. A blog should be founded on a desire to share a passion, not a desire to lead the life of a blogger (because the reality is often a lot different than you see it). Think about all of the things you love most, and brain storm a few ideas on how you can photograph or write about those things. If you find yourself with a whole heap of ideas for one topic, then start focussing your attention there. If you honestly can’t think of something that you wish to write about or photograph, then perhaps having a blog isn’t necessarily the right thing just yet.

How do you get started? What is the first step?

As mentioned above, having a purpose is the first step. Having an idea, and a desire to write and create content, is where a blog is born. Then, think of a name you want to blog under (if you are stuck, your own name works perfectly!), sign yourself up to WordPress** or Squarespace, learn the system, and start shooting and/or writing!

If you want to hit the ground running, it is obviously a little more involved than that. Starting a blog is like starting a business – there are domains to buy, designers to consult, strategies to form, goals to list out, money to pay out, and all of the social media channels to learn. It is easy enough to start writing and putting photos up on an online domain, but if you really want to give it a good shot and come across as professional and polished from the get go, you have to dedicate a lot of time and effort to the space and industry.

My best advice is to do your research, play around with everything yourself so you get a feel for it all, and then pay someone to help you with all of the sticky bits. It is invaluable knowing how your website works, but not worth tearing your hair out over trying to code in a certain design element if you aren’t too familiar with code. Trust me, you will become more familiar with it!

How often should I be blogging?

Honestly, this is really up to you and what you think you can dedicate to your space. Generally, I like to post between 3-4 times a week to keep the content flowing and keep people coming back to the site. Not everybody has the capacity to post so often, and that is completely fine! As a general rule, I would say that posting at least two to three a week is a good place to start.

Do I need a blog, or can I just use Instagram?

By all means, do what you please! You don’t need to have a blog space, but if you just focus on Instagram, that puts you in the influencer category, not the blogger category. If you want to keep your options open (especially if you like to write or have a penchant for cooking and crafts etc), then having a blog, Facebook, Instagram and even a Youtube channel is a good thing.

So there you have it – some of the most common questions about starting out as a blogger answered! If you have any other questions you want me to answer, leave them in the comments below and I will try and pop them in to edition 2!

P.S. I would love to hear your feedback on the new look LMMB too!

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