I talk about blogging a lot. I love it! It is something that I think every person should be doing. Whether for personal reasons or business reasons, blogging is a great way to communicate online.

If you are new here, a little bit about my blogging story.

I started blogging in 2014 as a way to share my story of sexual assault. (I lost all my previous blog posts in 2019 so I can’t show you.) My sister-in-law told me that since I loved to write, blogging would be a great way for me to get out there. She even went as far as telling me that no one would read it. That may seem harsh but it was exactly the motivation that I needed to start.

I had no idea where to even begin so I just signed up for a free website on blogger and began to share my story. I had women sending me messages, thanking me for sharing, and that I wasn’t alone. Their words helped keep me inspired to continue to move forward with my blogging journey.

I have never stopped blogging since 2014. I have changed niches, combined niches, and made my current blog what it is today by staying true to myself. It hasn’t been easy and there has been a massive learning curve to learn all of the ins and outs of the blogging world.

I want to share with you the who, what, how and whys of blogging so that you can get a clear understanding of what it truly is and make 2022 the year that you start your own blog.

WHAT IS BLOGGING?

You may not even know what blogging is. You may even think that you don’t ever read blogs but I am here to tell you, that probably isn’t the case.

I never thought I was much of a blog reader UNTIL I started blogging and realized how much I actually did consume in blogs.

A blog is either a personal or informative piece of writing that is online and attached to a website. A blog needs to be updated regularly and gives you a chance to connect and converse with those who read it. It can be attached to a business or it can be for personal use.

As I said earlier, I started blogging for personal use and it has switched to a combination of personal and business use.

WHO CAN BLOG?

ANYONE!!!

I love that blogging isn’t just for influencers or businesses or even people who are excellent writers.

There are so many options when it comes to blogging that ANYONE can start a blog.

• If you aren’t a good writer, use tools that will help you with spelling and grammar or start a vlog.
• If you don’t think you are an expert in anything, let me help you find out what you can write about with ease.
• If you have a business but are not sure how blogging can help you, let me show you how blogging can help you grow your business.

Blogging is for everyone and anyone who is willing to put in the time and effort.

WHY SHOULD I BLOG?

There really are so many benefits to blogging but this section is going to be extremely personal. My reasons for blogging are going to be different than your reasons for blogging but there are some questions that you can ask yourself to figure out the why.

• What is the purpose of starting a blog?
• What will I write about on my blog?
• What is the vision I have for my blog?
• Do I eventually want to make money from my blog?
• Do I have any favorite blogs that I love?
• Can I be realistic with the growth of my blog?
• What makes you different from anyone else?
• What parts of my story am I ready or not ready to share?
• Do I have anyone who will support me while I dive into blogging?
• Why does my story matter?

These questions aren’t to make you second guess your decision. They are meant to get you super clear on why you should be blogging. In order to maintain focus and continue on when blogging gets hard because it will get hard.

If you have a business already but you want to start blogging for it, your questions are going to be a bit different.

• What sets my business apart from those that are similar to it?
• What can I teach my audience within my expertise?
• What is the benefit of blogging for my business?
• How much time can I spend on blogging for my business?
• What are the goals when it comes to blogging for my business?
• What are people consistently asking me when it comes to my business or my expertise?

A few reasons why blogging is beneficial…

• Great way to share your story
• Builds you up as an expert in your niche
• Gets traffic to your website in an organic way
• Improves the SEO on your website
• Helps you to heal from your past
• Can help you bring in an income
• Connect with new people

HOW DO I BEGIN TO BLOG?

Now that you know what blogging is, who can blog, and why you should blog, let’s dive into how do you actually begin to blog.

Step One| Choose a website platform. There are so many different platforms to choose from and every blogger is going to have an opinion on this. Check out The Ultimate Guide to Choosing Your Blogging Platform to help you narrow down what you are needing when it comes to choosing a platform.

I recommend Wix. It is a great option for beginner bloggers as well as those who just do not have the technological skills to use WordPress.

Step Two| Build your website. Again, the great thing with Wix is that it will walk you through setting up your SEO for your website. In a blog post, I go into detail about what pages that you should have on your blogging website.

Don’t worry about it being perfect before you hit publish. It can be a work in progress. Perfection will keep you from hitting the publish button.

Step Three| Narrow down your niche. What is it that you are going to talk about on your blog? Do you need help narrowing down your niche? I have created 5 lists for you to create that is going to help you break down this process.

Step Four| Create your blogging categories. This is a great way to use the keywords that you are going to want to help with your SEO. Knowing these ahead of time is going to also help you create the content that you want to create. When choosing blogging categories, make sure that you do not go over 10 different categories. You may confuse your reader if you do.

Step Five| Start blogging. Again, you don’t need to wait until your website is 100% perfect. The point is to just get started with blogging. If you are struggling with what to write as your first blog post, I break it down in this blog post.

Also, if you are wondering what you need in each and every blog post, grab my post here that shares the different pieces of a blog post.

Step Six| Share your blog post. Blogging doesn’t end when you hit publish. The real work begins after you do. You are going to want to make sure that your blog post gets shared on your social media. If you do not have social media, I suggest setting it up so that you can begin to share it.

As a blogger, I recommend using Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook. You do NOT need to start with all of these. Start with one or two and then build from there.

If you are looking for help on starting your blog, I have my group coaching program, Blogology starting on January 24, 2022. This is a 12-week program that will walk you step by step into starting your own blog.

The breakdown of this program is…

• Week One: Your why, vision, and goals
• Week Two: Niche and ideal reader
• Week Three: Keywords and categories
• Week Four: Creating your content calendar
• Week Five: Social media
• Week Six: Blog posts and SEO
• Week Seven: Turning your blog posts into social media posts
• Week Eight: Blogging tools to use
• Week Nine: Building an audience
• Week Ten: Monetize your way
• Week Eleven: Organization
• Week Twelve: Email lists

There is only room for 6 women in this coaching program. It includes weekly group coaching calls and bi-weekly 1:1 coaching calls. To see if you are a fit, please reach out and schedule a call.