Starting a Blog

My two year blogging anniversary is today. Blog years are like dog years— two must be at least six or seven, right? Because it seems like forever.

When I started out, I had no idea where I wanted blogging to lead, other than that I wanted a modern sort of baby book for my kids. I wish someone had given me a few tips, because I didn’t know a thing. Here is what I wish I had known, way back then…

1. Buy your domain. For the cost of a sandwich, you can own your very own dot com. It’s so worth it.

2. Know your worth. I had no idea that bloggers could get stuff… For free! I cringe when I look at the the things I sold out for in the early days. Is some soap worth writing a whole review for? Maybe, but if it’s not, you don’t need to do it. You can say no.

3. Never promote something you wouldn’t recommend to a friend. Hyping up a movie for weeks before seeing it is not the smartest thing. And, if all you can talk about upon finally viewing it is possibly giving the star lice? It won’t be so easy to get paid. Plus, you’ll feel like an idiot.

4. Bloggers aren’t weird old men living in basements. (For the most part.) They’re people just like you looking to connect with people like them. And they can become amazing friends.

5. But, mean people do hide behind computers. Toughen up and be prepared for people to call you a bad mother, poor writer and questionable person. And, you have every right to delete those comments.

6. If you’re serious about blogging, start on WordPress. Blogger is totally fine (and free! and easy!) if you’re just in it for a scrapbook of sorts, but if you want traffic and money and opportunities, WordPress is a better option. Once you start on a platform, it’s not so easy to move. Plan ahead.

7. Begin your blog name with an A. Everything is blog-world is alphabetized and those names that are lucky enough to start with an A, B or C get the most exposure on every list. Starting with an S? Kind of sucks.

8. Every blogger feels jealousy. So and so gets this or that and you don’t. It’s a crappy feeling, but we all get it.

9. Remember why you started. For fun, right? If it becomes stressful or overwhelming, step back and reevaluate. You are allowed to do that. It’s YOURS!

10. Don’t listen to what anyone else tells you. You’d got to learn all this shit yourself.