How to start a blog

Another requested blog post....
Hello again readers! I hope everyone is doing well. When I posted on my social media asking what you guys would like me to write about I was overwhelmed with the response, so I am trying to work my way through each request this bringing me to today's blog post. 'How to start a blog'. This was requested by a reader who wanted to start a blog but didn't know how, I hope this helps. I am going to put down the steps that I went through when starting a blog, you obviously don't have to do them in this order or even this way (I am still new to blogging remember) but this is the way I went about starting 'LauraJane Life'. Enjoy!

Step 1: Research blogs/What do you want to blog about 
When starting a blog most likely you will already have an idea what you want to post: photography, beauty, lifestyle, reviews and more are all things a lot of people choose to blog about. So with me the first step was deciding I wanted to start a blog, knowing I wanted to write about being a new mum, my lifestyle and opinions (basically just an online diary for me to be honest I didn't expect others to like it so much). If you don't really have an idea what you want to blog about then you could always research other blogs for ideas and inspiration. Some people at this point may think of a title for their blog page, I personally didn't until the next step (took me forever) but feel free to do that first. So when you have your idea and know roughly what you want to blog about it's time to move to the next step.

Step 2: What site to use to set up your blog page/setting up your page 
There are multiple different sites you can use to set up your blog page, the two well known and most used ones being Blog spot (being the one I use) and Wordpress. Both these sites as far as I am aware are free, some other sites you may have to pay to set up your blog so be careful when signing up if you do not wish to pay to start your blog, remember to read the t&c. I chose Blog spot after watching a very old video on You Tube of 'Zoella' and 'Sprinkle of Glitter' in which they said they used Blog spot and that it was very simple to use and set up, being a massive fan of 'Zoella' of course I used the same platform as her. But yeah it's been a few months since I started my blog now so I can't remember every detail about setting my blog up but I remember you make an account (email and password) then the website takes you through each step including title, tag line, layout, pictures etc. with very clear instruction. Very simple and quick and obviously I enjoy using this platform so I would recommend this one but feel free to try others I just can't give advice on those, sorry.

Step 3: Write your first blog post 
I decided to write my first blog post before setting it up on social media etc because when I set up my Facebook page I wanted to have a blog post to post with it so it wasn't just a blank page (also I already had an Instagram and I just used the same one for my blog). I personally decided to write an introduction to my blog and myself, I felt this would invite people into my blog page and hopefully make people want to read what would come next (luckily worked for me). But you might want to jump right in and write a blog post about your chosen topic without an introduction, as I've said it is totally up to you this is just how I've done it. So write your blog post- it may take a while as it is your first one- proof read, add labels (words that link to your blog post so if people search one of those words your blog may come up), your location (if you want) and some picture. Preview it then publish! Now you are a blogger!

Step 4: Let people know about your blog through Social Media 
After I posted my first blog post I posted it on my personal blog page, a lot of my friends liked it, shared it and followed my page this prompting me to make an actual Facebook page for my blog which is what I did next (Facebook again gives you a step by step guide in making a page). I then posted this on the Facebook page and then again on my public Instagram. I personally don't have twitter but that would also be another form of social media that you might decide to use to promote your blog. And with any luck your blog will hopefully pick up!

More Tips...

- Hashtags are your best friends: they bring more people to your post therefore more views.
-Blog often (if possible)- the more you blog the more attention your blog gets.
-If you can't blog for a while make sure your readers know, post something on social media to keep them around.
-Writers block? Read other blogs or ask readers for ideas!
-Keep your layout up to date and interesting!
-Promote, promote, promote! Always post your blog posts on your social media, ask your friends to read and share, tell people face to face about your blog! You can also pay for advertisements but that is up to you if you want to start paying for promotion.

And after all this (if your aiming to be a paid blogger) your page will hopefully get enough views for you to be accepted by google adsense-which I just have been yay!- where you can have adverts on your page and the more clicks the more money you get, but that takes time so be patient! As amazing as it is to be paid to blog,  you have to not be blogging just for the money in my opinion, you have to enjoy it that way your readers will to! Your enjoyment will spread to your writing!

Hope that helps....
I hope that helped and if you are going to start a blog please leave a link in the comments or a usual any feedback! Good luck blogging fellow loggers and for those who enjoy being the readers not the writers I hope you continue to enjoy my blogs! Till next time.

Stay Happy Everyone :)!