These days, it seems like everyone and their dog has a blog. And while it seems like a good idea to launch a website to share your views with the world, is it really? Let’s have a look at some of the things you need to consider before jumping into the world of blogging.
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Who is your host?
When it comes to your website, you need to think about the host and if you want to pay for your hosting. There are plenty of free options that you can choose from including Blogger and WordPress. But there are paid options which give you a bit more freedom. By going self-hosted, you have the freedom to get paid by advertising and sponsored posts. I have this site hosted through Lyrical Host and they have been brilliant with any issues. Even as I write this, the team over there is fixing another technical catastrophe that I’ve gotten myself into! But if you aren’t in it for the money, then you could look into the free options.
Design
Believe it or not, there is a lot that goes into designing a website, even this mess. The tricky part comes from making sure that you have the right stuff, and by that, I mean stuff that you haven’t accidentally knicked from the internet. I’ve heard of bloggers getting themselves into hot water with logos and pictures because they have downloaded the wrong thing. To get around this you can get a free font download to make your logo unique without costing a penny. You can even get your mitts on free stock photos so that you don’t have to do all of your pictures yourself.
Business or pleasure
You might start out blogging because you want to write (I know I did) or you could be looking to make a business out of it. The thing is, you don’t have to decide straight away. When I started, it was a way to get into the world of writing. I’m not gonna lie, I’m still hoping to get that column in the New York Times and have a few best selling novels, but I had to start somewhere. If you plan on blogging for pleasure, then there isn’t much that you need to do, your site is really just for you. But if you are in it for the money, then you will have to learn a lot about the world of blogging and you might need some help to manage certain aspects. One of the most important things that you have to look into is registering as self-employed. Believe it or not, it doesn’t matter how much you earn, the Tax Man will want to know about it.
What are your goals?
If you have thought about all of this and still want to jump in and be a blogger, then there is one more thing to think about. What are your goals? That might seem a bit stupid because we covered that earlier, however, deciding to blog for money or not isn’t really a goal. A goal should be “wanna make enough that I can work from home with the kids”, or “spread the word of my Lord and Savior, Winnie the Pooh”. You have been bitten by the blogging bug for a reason, what is that reason? I can’t answer that for you but I can tell you what my goals were when I started. All I wanted to do was earn enough to stay at home with the kids (done) and work my way towards a publishing deal (also done). Now, my focus is on growing the site to be even bigger and I’m working on my next book.
Enjoy this post? Then check out some of my other posts about blogging-