Hey Everyone,
Now, as this is my first blog, I
was rather apprehensive about writing my first official post. "What should I write about?"
and "What will people think of
it?" were just some of the questions running through my head. So, I
did what any student does when they need answers: I Googled it.
Now, as I found, I clearly wasn't
the first to do so, as when I was typing "how
to write your first blog post" into the search bar, that was one of
the suggestions Google gave me, as well as "how
to write your first CV" and "how
to write your first novel". There were over 1,110,000,000 results. (I've included links to the blogs I found most useful at the end.) I wasn't alone in this being a big deal. I wasn't alone in having no idea where to start.
And I’m sure as hell not alone in writing about How to write your first blog post.
I should say at this point that I
am referring to personal blogs and not product blogs, although some of the
ideas are transferrable. Product blogs are blogs which represent a product, or
brand. Their blog will promote the products and answer questions that customers
had. This is their niche, what their blog will revolve around. Personal blogs
are different because you have to find your own niche as you go, unless you
have a clear idea on what you’re going to write about in the first place. Unfortunately,
I don’t, I just like to write. So there will be reviews, rants and ‘rticles. (I
know, I know, really bad pun.)
After thorough searching through
my results (looking at every result on the first two pages); this is what I
discovered: Just Do It. Now I know
that sounds like a really bad Nike ad, but it’s true. So many people when
writing their first blog post spend ages on choosing a subject, not enough time
actually writing so that when they finally do post something, it’s lacklustre
and uninspiring. Most bloggers say that they look back on their first post and
are embarrassed. That’s fine, as long as it got them going. One post will lead
to another and before you know it, you've got a blog.
One general tip for writing posts
is to check grammar, punctuation and spelling. Blogs are written in informal English,
but that’s no reason for sloppiness. Incorrect grammar and punctuation can change
the meaning of a sentence, so be careful. And awful spelling doesn't give a
good impression to your readers.
There are plenty of other tips on
how to keep your blog going. Plan how many times you are going to post, because
consistency and frequency are important. Don’t post multiple times every day for
a week, then nothing for a month. Write multiple posts on word documents at one
time, and then stagger posting them online over a month or so. Listen to
comments and emails, but not religiously. If they’re changing what you are
about, then ignore them. But some may have useful insights, so don’t discard
them.
The point is, if you want to
write a blog: Just Do It. Don’t wait around for some singular spark of
inspiration to hit you and you become the most read blog around. That’s not
going to happen. The only way to get traffic and therefore a noteworthy blog is
to just start writing.
Gracexxx
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