Is Blogging Hard?

Is Blogging Hard? a reader asks…

I’ve been thinking about starting a blog, but really don’t know where to start. Is it difficult? Can you give me a quick primer?

Blogging is a great way to share information. Anyone with something to say can blog, and it’s how many of the new standard information outlets started (such as The Huffington Post and The Drudge Report). Getting started can be quite easy, or more involved. While it may seem a little daunting, blogging is quite a simple operation, certainly as easy as working in a fast food joint! Just a bit of background first: In order to blog, you need three elements:

1. A domain name, such as our own (PosiTek.net). Domain names are ‘rented’ from a domain reservation agent organization, such as Network Solutions or Bluehost. There are dozens of domain agents, but most first-time bloggers will usually get their domain name reservation from the same company they get their webhosting service. You don’t have to rent/reserve your own domain name, some free blogging services will let you use theirs.
2. A webhosting service, such as the aforementioned Network Solutions or Bluehost. This is space you rent on an internet-connected server (e.g., a high-powered computer). Again there are dozens of webhosting services, even some free ones that put advertising on your blog in order to offset the cost.
3. A blogging platform, design or engine that powers your blog website. The most popular platform is WordPress – this is free and open-source, and there are hundreds of free website designs that work well with blogging. There are also thousands of designs that are ostensibly much better than the free ones, and only have a low one-time cost. Other platforms include Drupal and MoveableType.

In many cases you can get all of the above from a single service provider. As an example of a free blog, WordPress.com will give you basic to advanced blogging capability. You’ll use a customized version of their domain name (such as PosiTek.wordpress.com), and be limited on how much storage space your blog can use. Other free options include SiteBlog.com, SiteBuilder.com and WebsiteBuilder.com.

A for-fee alternative is Bluehost.com who offers blog sites for $2.99/4.45/6.95 per month. Other good webhosting service providers include the aforementioned WordPress.com ($2.95/8.25/24.92 per month) and eHost.com ($2.75/month). You’ll want to compare the features that both free and for-fee service providers give you to determine what’s the best plan for you. Your service provider will give you setup instructions (usually one-click setup of WordPress), and an online control panel you can use to setup things like email and other ancillary website services.

Most of these service providers have various types of site-builder tools that make it very easy to get the basic website up and running with minimal effort on your part. The only thing I’d suggest is that you create some personal, compelling artwork to create your website’s top banner and/or logo. Good artwork can really make your blog stand out.

You’ll have one or two back-end control mechanisms for your blog, your hosting provider’s control panel, and the WordPress control panel. One thing that makes WordPress so great is that everything you need to do on your blog is done online, in your web browser. So you can write blog articles anywhere, anytime and you don’t need specialized software installed on your computer, or a fancy, powerful computer.

I think one of the biggest decisions you have to make is going to be what your blog is about – its focus. Many new bloggers will start blogging about everything under the sun, and that’s a big mistake. If you want your blog to be successful, you need to decide on a specific focus, and write all your blog posts towards that focus. For example, my blog is about giving advice on consumer technology, so you won’t find political statements, advice about home improvement, or flower-arranging here.

Next, you’ll want to write blog articles that are going to interest other people and spur them to share your blog with their friends. Giving good advice, sharing stories of experiences, and including little nuggets of interesting information or wisdom will always be quite popular. As far as how often you blog, that’s totally under your control. Bloggers who want to expand their audience will blog at least a few times a week or more often. That way, every time someone visits your blog, there’s something new to see. Before anything else, having good and interesting content on your blog is going to be the most important thing you can do to make it successful. Oh, and pictures can really bring your blog to life, so you might want to think about getting some stock images to dress up your blog. There are plenty of free image sources, such as iStock, pixabay, and freerange.

WordPress is a great platform partly because it’s so customizable. From the basic WordPress engine that powers your site, you can add on a design theme which organizes how the pages look, and any one of thousands of plug-ins that extend the functionality of your site. For example, there are plug-ins like MailPoet that can create automatic email digests that go out to folks who sign up on your website (see my sidebar). Anything you can think of you’d like to do with your blog, there’s likely a plug-in that will help you. A word of warning, don’t go crazy with plug-ins, try to limit what you add onto WordPress which will reduce your maintenance burden (WordPress, like plug-ins requires routine maintenance to install the latest updates – don’t skip this!). Oh, and when you choose a theme for your website, give consideration to how it will display on the small screen – these days over 50% of website surfing is carried out on a smartphone screen.

A word about security: WordPress blogs are hugely popular, so of course hackers target vulnerable blogs and can infect them with malware that can spread to folks who view your blog. So it’s very important to include a security plug-in – my favorite is iThemes Security Pro ($80/year, there is a free option available at https://wordpress.org/plugins/better-wp-security/). Online security is one thing I recommend you don’t skimp on.

So here’s what I suggest: First, you think about what you want to blog about and start writing some blog articles. Use those articles to help you decide what domain name you’d like (you’ll need to choose one). Take a look at some of the website hosting providers I’ve mentioned and start comparing pricing plans. Unless your blog is completely and forever going to be nothing but a personal hobby, choose a low-cost (but not free) hosting provider and start setting up your blog. In the process of doing so, you’ll start to learn the ins and outs of WordPress and your hosting provider’s control panel. Feel free to leave a comment below with any specific questions you have and I’ll be happy to help guide you through the process.

Don’t forget about social media as a way to promote your blog. At the very least, you should be promoting your blog via Facebook and Twitter. That’s as easy as writing a status update or tweet that refers back to your blog (the URL, e.g., https://www.PosiTek.net). You can post on social media as often as you post on your blog (or use a handy plug-in like SNAP Social Networks Auto-poster) if you’re a prolific writer. Once you’ve started a blog, you should let everyone you know about it, and ask them (yes, explicitly ask them) to tell their friends about your blog. Don’t expect your blog to start getting thousands of visitors right away, it can take years before you establish a large enough base of readers that your viewership will start to take off. When I started this blog, I had a couple hundred friends and about a decade later, I’m now reaching hundreds of thousands of people in over 100 countries. Once you get to a certain point, your blog will start to take off, but don’t expect the kind of viral growth you see such as cat videos – unless you’re lucky enough to catch a meme!

Lastly, never forget that content is king – the quality of your blog articles is of paramount importance. Unless you’ve experience as a professional writer, a writing class would be great to help you improve your skills. Good writing is a skill and even folks with the talent for writing can benefit from a writing class – check your local community college for help.