Blogging Archives - With love from Lou

4 Tips for Launching a Successful Lifestyle Blog

01/07/2024 by Louise Leave a Comment

Launching your own lifestyle blog can be an exciting endeavour. It offers you the perfect platform to share your passions with the world.

However, the blogging world is a competitive place, and seeing success requires you to implement strategic planning.

So, if you’re looking to launch a successful lifestyle blog, here are just four essential tips to help you get started.

01. DEFINE YOUR NICHE

Before you begin your blogging journey, it’s important to define your niche. A lifestyle blog can cover a wide range of topics, including fashion, patently, wellness, food, and personal development. Dipping your toe into all of these from time to time is fine, however, if you consistently try to cover too many areas it can dilute your brand and make it harder to attract a dedicated readership.

Your blog should, first and foremost, cover topics that you’re interested in, so focus on subjects you are passionate about. This will allow your authenticity shine through in your writing and resonate with your readers.

02. CRAFT HIGH-QUALITY CONTENT

Your content is the most important aspect of creating a successful blog. In order to attract and retain your readers, your content must be engaging, informative, and of the highest quality.

If you struggle with your writing, then tools such as ProWritngAid can help to ensure that everything you post is top quality. Remember, writing is a skill, and the more you practise and learn, the better you will get.

You should try to post on a regular schedule, this way your readers will know when to expect content, and you won’t risk them moving on during long gaps between posts.

03. OPTIMISE FOR SEO

Search Engine Optimisation is one of the most valuable strategies that you can implant when seeking to drive organic traffic to your blog.

When you optimise your content for search engines, you’ll increase the likelihood of your blog appearing in search results, and therefore, attracting more readers.

Knowing how to get started with SEO can be challenging, with keyword search and backlink building, there’s a lot to get your head around. Luckily there are agencies out there, such as Maratopia, who can teach you how to make the most of SEO, or even simply handle your campaigns for you.

04. ENGAGE WITH YOUR AUDIENCE

When seeking to build a loyal readership, you’ll need to go above and beyond posting content. Encouraging audience engagement will help you to foster a sense of community and encourage repeat visits.

Take the time to reply to any comments that you deceive on your blog posts and social media output as this interaction will show readers that you value their input.

Social media is a valuable tool for promoting your blog and helping you to reach a wider audience.

And with popular platforms such as TikTok, you can even post behind the scenes insights into your life as a blogger. Not only does this have the potential to go viral, but you’ll be able to demonstrate your authenticity and show off your personality, making you more relatable as a blogger.

Have you created a lifestyle blog to share your passion with the world?
Share your tips and tricks for blogging success in the comments below!
With love from Lou Signature Twitter | Facebook | Bloglovin | Instagram | Pinterest

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How To Create Beautiful Pinterest Pins With Canva

23/07/2020 by Louise Leave a Comment

Canva is the blogger’s favourite when it comes to making beautiful Pinterest pins for your site. Using this free tool, you can find gorgeous fonts, templates and images to make pins that your audience will want to click on. This is one of the key things when it comes to driving traffic to your blog from Pinterest.

Even if you’re new to the blogging world, you’ve probably heard a lot of other bloggers talk about how amazing Pinterest is. And if you use it correctly, it can drive a crazy amount of traffic to your blog. A good pinning method is key. But you could be pinning like a total champ and no one, or very few people, will be clicking through if your pins don’t look appealing.

When it comes to Pinterest, it’s all about the visual! And, of courses, you also need to have a good combination of words to draw attention to what your pin is all about.

IDEAL PINTEREST PIN DIMENSIONS

Pinterest is all about the vertical. This means your pins should look like a portrait rather than a landscape. The site likes you to work to the 2:3 ratio. This refers to the width of your pin compared to the height of your pin. Pinterest’s ideal pin size is 1,000 pixels by 1,500 pixels. However, it’s worth noting that many people like to make super long pins. The theory behind this is that they catch the eye more in the discover feed and you’ll be more likely to get repins.

For me, longer pins worked great, but it looks like Pinterest has started cropping these in the feed, so I would stick with the 2:3 ratio that Pinterest suggests. As you will see in Canva, they have a section full of ready-made and blank templates that are the optimal size ready for you to use, so it couldn’t be easier.

HOW TO CREATE BEAUTIFUL PINTEREST PINS WITH CANVA

First up you’ll need to create a profile with Canva. There is an option to login using your Facebook or Google details. Once you are in, you will see lots of template options under Create a design. These range from A4 documents and CVs to Facebook covers and YouTube thumbnails. There is also a specific template for Pinterest. When you click on the Pinterest template option, you will be taken to a new page with a blank white Pinterest pin.

To the left of the page will be a range of options, including a selection of templates. If you want to, you can choose one of these templates and just input your own text and images to customise it. You can also change the colours to fit with your brand. Alternatively, you can create your own unique design, which is what I like to do. This sounds much scarier than what it really is. Let me talk you through how I go about designing a pin from scratch in Canva …

First up, I upload an image to Canva that’s relevant to my post. This is so important. Pinterest’s search engine not only works on the actual words you use in pin descriptions and titles but also on the visual aspects of your pin. So if your pin is about the first few weeks with a newborn, make sure there is a picture of a baby on your pin – this ensures your pin shows up in searches for similar content.

If you’re looking for images to use in your pins, you can buy them super cheaply through Canva. I currently have a 123rf subscription which works well for me as they have millions of photos to use that you don’t see on every other blog. It costs me around 39p per image, which is incredible value for money. You can also get free ones through sites like Pexels or Pixabay.

Once you’ve chosen a relevant image, it’s time to place it. Most of the time I place it at the bottom of the pin but sometimes I pop it in the middle. Then it’s time to add some text! There are two great ways of doing this. The first one is to use the fonts in Canva like I did on the example above.

In the left-hand menu, you will see a text option, and under this, you can add plain text and headings, or you can add one of the ready-made combinations of fonts. You can change the sizes of these but it’s really up to you. When I use this option I like to have my text in several different boxes so that I can edit individual words to make them different sizes, colours and fonts. My advice would be to have a play around with the different and colours to see what combinations look best. I like to use plainer fonts for the most part, but I occasionally pair them with one or two words in a more italic and fancy font.

Alternatively, you can upload your own fonts to use on Canva. If I’m being honest, I much prefer to use fonts that I’ve uploaded myself so my pins don’t look the same as everyone else’s. As I mentioned before, I’m a big fan of script fonts, and often find myself buying bundles from fontbundles.net to use on my Pinterest pins. They’re super affordable and always look fab!

It’s super easy to upload fonts to Canva too – just go to the ‘Brand Kit’ on your dashboard. On the right-hand side of the screen, you’ll see a ‘Brand Fonts’ heading with a button to upload a new font. When clicked, a new window should pop up. Click on the location of the Fonts folder you saved your new font(s) in and double click the font you would like to add. A new message will then pop up in Canva, asking if you have the right to use the font. Check yes, click the green button and wait for the new font to upload.

Once it has, you should be able to see it in Canva! If you would like to make the font size smaller or larger then just click on the icon again and change the size. NOTE: You won’t be able to bold or italicise the font since you only uploaded the one style instead of the entire font family.

In terms of colours, try to stick to a relatively similar palette so that your pins are recognisable. But you don’t want every pin to look identical! It’s a bit of a balancing act. To finish off I make sure I put my web address somewhere visible in the pin. This brands the pin as mine. You could also use your logo if you want.

WHAT TITLES SHOULD I USE ON MY PINTEREST PINS?

When it comes to the visual title on pins, keep the volume of words down to a minimum. For example: The Secret To Breastfeeding Success, instead of My Honest Breastfeeding Story and Tips For Feeding Your Baby.

For a start, the first one has fewer words, but it’s also got that little bit of extra ‘appeal’. It’s straight to the point, and it’s got the word ‘secret’ in there. It’s just snappier and more inviting. I’m not saying the second one can’t be successful. I’m just saying that from experience, a shorter title will be easier to design and create in Canva.

If you want to experiment, then make a longer title version and a shorter title version and see which one appeals most to your audience. At the end of the day, it’s what works best for you that matters.

I’VE MADE SOME BEAUTIFUL PINS FOR MY BLOG, NOW WHAT DO I DO?

So, you’ve made yourself some gorgeous pins and now you want to get them out there for the world to see. Hopefully, you will already have your Pinterest profile set up and ready to go, but here’s a few key points that are worth checking that you have in place:

Have rich pins enabled. You can check out how to enable rich pins here.
Have keywords in your profile description. Set out who you are and what you do by using keywords that feature in your niche.
Upgrade to a business profile. Find out more about how to set up your Pinterest account as a business profile here. It’s absolutely free to do, and gives you all sorts of fantastic analytics about each of your pins!
Create some boards. Set up your boards with some crossover so that you can pin one pin to several of your own boards. For example, a post about helping kids to sleep could go in boards titled: Parenting tips, Parenting Toddlers, Baby’s First Year, Sleeping Tips etc.

And once this is all in place, what do you do next?

Part of my Pinterest strategy is Tailwind. It pins for me while I sleep and is an absolute must-have blogging tool for me. However, I make sure I go on to Pinterest every single day to pin content manually too.

With a new pin, I pin it to the most relevant board that I own. Then I go and repin that pin to my Best of With love from Lou Board. And after this, I schedule the pin from my blog to Tailwind, adding it to my Tailwind Tribes as well.

Have you ever used Canva to create beautiful Pinterest Pins before?
Let me know in the comments below.
With love from Lou Signature Twitter | Facebook | Bloglovin | Instagram | Pinterest

Engaging With Curious Fans As A Blogger

12/06/2019 by Louise Leave a Comment

After all the arduous setup, the long hours of dealing with technical issues, many bloggers forget that blogging is pretty much full time. Unfortunately, they work so much on making content they forget to stop and smell the roses. And by roses, that means the fans of your blog. You could have written a post that really hit home with somebody halfway across the world. They took the time to leave you a comment and may or may not have been expecting one back. If you’re so focused on one area that is making content, then you won’t be focused on building a community. That really is how blogs live and die. If the blogger is not doing certain things such as genuinely showing things about their day, trying to take on the points of view of the fans and ultimately give the fans what they want sometimes, you will begin to falter. So what creative ways are there to engage with your community?

Searching for a consensus

What you want as a blogger is for your fans to get excited about your next post just the same way they would about their favorite YouTuber. That is the dream of many bloggers, if not all, to be such a valued part of someone else’s life that they cannot wait to read your next post. So yes, sometimes you do need to ask the readers what they want to read about as in your point of view. You can make a poll by using various plugins that are on pretty much the top website platforms in the world. WordPress, SquareSpace and Wix all have the options of widgets, tabs and plugins that you can use to make your blog much more creative.

The question for the poll could be about choosing what topics to cover next. Blogging is a very difficult thing to do when you’re running out of ideas. Content is king, so the bottom line is that you need to keep it fresh. Sometimes just allowing your fans to do the work in this area really is the best for both them and you. Once you have collected all the votes and you know the result, get thinking and typing to satisfy their craving.

Share your everyday thoughts

It’s the aim of every blogger to be creative and always make fresh new content for their readers. However most of the time we’re really just living life and it can pretty mundane. The thing is though, many fans are likely to relate more to you when you do share what could be seen as mundane thoughts. It’s just everyday life that you can share with them, such as technical problems, something you saw on the internet that made you laugh, made you sad or made you think. Some websites really don’t want browsers to be able to click on their images or text if they’re trying to copy and paste it. Some content on the web is protected like this.

However you can use https://setapp.com/how-to/how-to-take-screenshot-record-on-mac which shows you how to take screenshots of what you’re looking at. This is excellent for sharing what you’re doing on screen too, as in to give a sneak peek to your views on what you’re working on. A little behind the scenes also helps to get fans closer connected with you too.

Record a Q ‘n’ A session

Replying to comments on your blog is one thing but making a video about questions you frequently get asked is another. In fact you could make a post that calls for your fans to ask your questions about your life without getting too personal. You can make a vlog of you answering all of these questions and upload it onto your blog. Question and answer videos are always a huge pull, and earn some of the highest views that bloggers get on their channel and blog. Fans get their curiosities massaged while you also get to make content that is fun to do. It also mixes up the kind of content you publish also, keeping your blog fresh.

Engaging with your community is extremely important as it breaks the mould with the basic kind of blogs. Always find time to reply to comments, as it creates a bridge between you and your readers. Mix up the content a little bit by sharing your everyday thoughts, as well as sharing some behind the scenes images of your screen. You should also do a question and answer blog or vlog every other week so the readers get to know you better.

Do any of you guys have a blog?
If so, what do you do to engage with your fans?
With love from Lou Signature Twitter | Facebook | Bloglovin | Instagram | Pinterest

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7 Ways To Be A Supportive Blogger

06/01/2019 by Louise 58 Comments

If there’s one thing I’ve always tried to do in my 7-years of blogging, it’s to be as supportive as I possibly can be to other bloggers. And I think this stems from how quickly I fell in love with blogging thanks to the support that others showed me. I remember thinking that these girls who commented on a regular basis and had beautiful blogs knew it all.

I was eager to learn as much as I could from them, and would often stay up until the early hours of the morning doing so. I didn’t know there was money to be made from having a successful blog at the time, but I loved watching my little online space grow from strength to strength all the same. It was like my second baby. And I spent pretty much all of my spare time updating it.

Then, in 2013, I gave birth to Oscar, my youngest child. And while I was on maternity leave companies started contacting me and offering me money in exchange for promoting their products. I couldn’t believe it! At first, it was just the odd e-mail every couple of weeks. Then they started arriving every couple of days. And before I knew it, two or three were landing in my inbox every day. It was incredible. And then that I made the decision not to return to work when my maternity leave ended.

Since then, blogging has been my only source of income. And I’ll be forever grateful that something I love doing so much enables me to earn a living whilst also being at home for my children. I know that not everyone is as lucky as I am, and I certainly don’t take it for granted.

In fact, I don’t even think I’d be where I am today if it wasn’t for the lovely ladies who taught me what they knew and supported my blog back when I first started. They were amazing! And for that reason, I’m super conscious of wanting to do the same thing for others. I want to be supportive of their blogs and teach others what I know (although blogging changes so often it’s safe to say we’re all still learning). And – I’m sure this goes without saying – I just want to be a nice person.

So, whether you’re a blogger (or an avid reader) who would like to be more supportive of other people’s blogs, make sure you read on. I’ve shared 7 quick and easy ways you can be supportive without it taking up too much of your time each day. And I’m sure that by helping out a fellow blogger you’ll be putting a great big smile on their face too. How awesome is that!?

01. Share Posts

If you’ve come across a blog post that you enjoyed reading, why not share it with your audience?

Every now and then I like to promote posts I’ve really enjoyed on my Facebook page. Plus, I’ll give it a retweet on Twitter or pin it to a relevant board on Pinterest. It literally takes me just a few short seconds to do, but for the blogger on the receiving end, it could be a huge compliment to know that you enjoyed their work enough to share it. And, who knows, they might end up doing the same for you!

02. Interact If You See A Brand Promo

Brand collaborations for bloggers tend to be a big deal. And most bloggers work extremely hard when they’re offered one. So, I think it goes without saying that most of us will worry that our brand posts might not do as well as expected and leave us a little red in the face.

But what can you do to help with this? Well, when a blogger is working with a brand, the number of likes, clicks, and comments they get is crucial for ensuring that the company is happy with the work they’ve done, and want to work with them again in the future. So if you see a brand collaboration on a blog, Facebook page, Insta or Twitter feed, don’t just scroll by! Be kind to your fellow blogger and interact!

Like the post, leave a comment if you have time, or simply just hit the retweet button. One thing I always like to do on Instagram is to follow the brand the blogger is promoting because that’s usually the whole purpose of the campaign. The brand will be happy that the blogger has brought them new follows, and you never know, they might even notice my blog and decide to work with me too! It’s a win-win situation.

03. If You See Someone Ask For Help Or Engagement, Offer It

One thing that’s guaranteed to put me on edge, it’s putting myself out there and asking people to help me with something. This is because I once got asked by a fellow blogger if I could do a fashion Q&A. But when I took to social media and asked for questions, literally no one replied! It was horrible.

For this reason, whenever I see people ask for these sorts of things – I always make sure I get involved. Because I know that fear of putting yourself out there all too well. And if I can help someone to not feel that ‘Nobody is interested in me’ feeling that now scares me so much, I absolutely want to do it.

It usually takes less than two minutes to engage on these sorts of things. And what’re two minutes out of your day when it can make such a big difference to how somebody feels?

04. Link To Other Blogs In Your Posts

If you’re writing a post and find yourself talking about something another blogger has written about, why not link back to it?

Not only will you be helping your fellow bloggers by driving traffic to their websites, but you’ll also be helping them to increase their domain authority too. And we all know how important that is these days. And you never know, they might be kind enough to return the favour one day.

I always try to link back to other blogs wherever possible as I think it’s a really nice way to help someone out.

05. Don’t X Out

I have to be honest and say that I don’t upload to Instagram Stories very often. But one thing that I’m super conscious of when I do is that viewer numbers dwindle with each upload. So the first clip on my Story will have a decent viewer number, but by the second clip, I’ll have lost maybe 50 of those viewers, and even more by the third upload etc.

This is something that makes me quite anxious because I worry that my stories aren’t interesting enough. So I don’t want to go upsetting other bloggers by X-ing out of their stories either. After all, there’s a list of viewer names so it’s really obvious when someone didn’t want to carry on watching. And, of course, that’s absolutely fine. But I personally don’t want people to think I couldn’t be bothered to watch the whole thing!

If I end up not wanting to watch to the end, I simply tap the screen to skip through the story instead of X-ing out. It means I can stop watching if I need to but the person uploading doesn’t end up feeling unloved!

06. Recommend Other Bloggers To PR’s

Been asked to do a brand campaign that you’re not interested in, or doesn’t fit in with your niche?

Before politely declining it, why not have a think if there are any other bloggers you know who might be a better fit for it? If so, grab their contact details from their homepage and let the PR know that it’s not really for you, but have they checked out XYZ’s blog, because you think they’d be a good fit.

In my experience, PR’s will appreciate your honesty and often come back with another campaign that’s much more up your street within a couple of days. And the blogger whose details you passed on will be thrilled that you thought of them if the PR does decide to get in touch with them. You might seriously make someone’s day!

07. Give Out Some Compliments

Blogging is a labour of love. And only we as bloggers know how much blood, sweat and tears go into maintaining them.

Giving someone a simple compliment on all that hard work will cost you nothing – but might mean the absolute world to them. Did you enjoy someone’s recent post? Tell them! Did you think their photography was on point? Say so! Do you just really love their Instagram stories? Let them know! Trust me, they’ll be over the moon to hear from you.

Remember, you never know when somebody is experiencing self-doubt about their blog, no matter how confident they may seem. Dishing out a couple of compliments every now and again could go a long way to changing that. And I think that’s pretty special. How about you?

What are your favourite ways to be supportive as a blogger?
I’d love to hear them!
Twitter | Facebook | Bloglovin | Instagram | Pinterest

Turning Your Blog Into A Business? Always Follow These 3 Rules

02/10/2018 by Louise Leave a Comment

Most people don’t start a blog with the intention of making it their full-time job. For most bloggers, it starts out as a hobby and a way of sharing their lives with others who they think might be interested. But if you tap into something that people enjoy and start to build a bit of readership, you’ve got an opportunity. If you monetize your blog and you get enough readers, you can make a good living out of it. Unfortunately, it’s not quite as easy as it sounds and you will have to put a lot of hard work in, but it’ll be worth it in the end. If your blog is starting to gain some traction and you’re considering turning it into a business, here are some things you need to think about.

Know Exactly What Your Blog Is

This is an important first step because there is a lot of competition out there and if you’re going to be a success, your blog needs to offer something unique. If you don’t really have a clear sense of who your audience is and what you’re offering them, you won’t get very far. You should have been thinking about this before you started your blog but if you haven’t been, don’t worry. There’s still time to work out what your online identity should be. Don’t try to get more readers by covering all bases and writing about anything and everything. People will come to your blog because they want something that only you can offer so make sure you know what that is and stick with it. The personality of the writer is one of the main things that keeps people coming back to a blog so don’t be afraid to let yours come out.

Get Some Business Training

In a lot of ways, a blog is very different from other businesses. However, it’s similar in a lot of ways and you’ll still need the same skills that you need to run a successful business. That’s why it’s a good idea to get a bit of business training beforehand. You can do an online masters in business in your spare time. If you start making good money you’ll need to start handling your finances as a business, paying all of your business taxes and looking for partnerships. Doing a business course will teach you how to handle all of that stuff properly so you don’t get overwhelmed when things start to take off.

Offer A Wide Range Of Services

People often get the wrong idea about monetizing your blog and think that it’s just a case of building a large readership and getting money from adverts on the site. That will make up a big chunk of your income but if you want to make it a full-time business, you need to offer a wider range of services. You could sell products through the blog, write and sell ebooks and offer freelance writing services. When you’ve got lots of different income streams, it’s easier to make your living from your blog.

Turning a blog into a full-time business is a long process and it takes a lot of hard work but if you follow these basic rules, it’ll be a lot easier.

Do you have any other tips for turning your blog into a business?
Be sure to let me know in the comments below.
With love from Lou Signature Twitter | Facebook | Bloglovin | Instagram | Pinterest

10 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Starting a Blog

17/09/2017 by Louise 17 Comments

Starting a blog happens differently for different people. Some are happy to just jump on the bandwagon and get stuck in, whereas others may spend a fair amount of time considering whether the world of blogging is for them or not. When I first decided I was starting a blog it was most definitely somewhere in between. I’d read a few articles online and had found them really interesting, but it wasn’t until many months later when I was off work sick that I actually decided I would like to sit and write one of my own.

I have to be honest with you here and say that I was absolutely clueless for the first year or so of my blogging life, and in hindsight, I wish I’d done a little more research into what it actually involved. Today I’m sharing 10 questions I think I would have benefited from knowing the answers to before I took the plunge. After all, my blog might have got off to a much better start if I’d thought everything through!

01. When starting a blog, what will you write about?

I think it’s pretty safe to assume that everyone who decides to bite the bullet and start a blog has an idea of what they’re going to write about, but it’s easy to get carried away and start writing about a wide range of different subjects just because you like a certain thing on a certain week. I genuinely think the key to a successful blog is to find your niche early on and then stick to it, and I’ll be talking about this in a lot more detail in another post.

When I started my first blog, ‘Confessions of a Secret Shopper’, I mainly wrote about fashion, beauty, and tales of my shopping trips. But it wasn’t long until I started adding in a bit of parenting advice, recipes and blogging tips and eventually, it just became a mish-mash of all different things. It was then that I noticed my original loyal readers had disappeared and instead I was getting new visitors who would just read one post and then left. And this was disheartening for me as I’d liked the feeling of being part of a little online community who shared a passion with my readers. It was then that I decided to re-brand as a lifestyle blog, and ‘With love from Lou’ was born.

02. Will you tell your family and friends about your blog?

In the 5 and a half years I’ve been blogging I’ve spoken to a lot of people who started their blogs without telling their family and friends about it as they felt embarrassed. Of course, the choice is entirely theirs to make, but almost every one of them then found it hard to tell their loved ones about this rather significant secret they’d been keeping!

I was always honest and upfront about starting my blog, and I’m glad I was as they’ve supported me all the way through my little online journey. I don’t think I would have gotten very far at all without their encouragement and words of wisdom. It’s great to have that little support network. I understand that not all families are like this though, and some of the other bloggers I chat with have friends and relatives who disapprove of what they do and it can be very difficult for them.

As a blogger, it’s extremely important to think about what you’re sharing online, especially if it concerns a loved one. I would strongly recommend talking directly with anyone you plan to mention in your posts just to make sure they’re 100% happy to be talked about. And I would never, ever use a photograph of anyone without asking for their permission first. Of course, this might not apply to you – you might not be planning on writing any personal posts, but it’s something to bear in mind anyway.

And finally, if you don’t want anyone to find out that you’re starting a blog then they don’t have to. In fact, many of my favourite blogs are written by anonymous writers. I think it adds an air of mystery to their blog and just like when you read a good book you have to imagine what they look like. I could never be an anonymous blogger myself mind you – I’m rubbish at keeping secrets!

03. Do you have the time to maintain a successful blog?

I’m not going to lie, maintaining a blog is very time consuming. When I first started writing my fashion and beauty blog back in 2012 I would write around 500 words of copy, add a few pictures, check my spelling and grammar and then hit publish. If I remembered I would share my post on Twitter, and somehow I managed to gather a nice little following.

Fast forward a few years and things have changed big time! Google now look at anything with less than 300 words of copy as spam, bloggers have really upped their game and started to put things such as SEO techniques into practice, as well as feeling under a lot of pressure to publish their posts at specific times on specific days. And don’t even get me started on the amount of time we spend promoting our posts across all the different social networks that are popping up all over the place …

There are also a lot more bloggers around nowadays than there used to be, so as a pro blogger I find myself having to work extra hard to try and stand out from the crowd and create good quality posts that people actually want to read and share across their own networks. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t change it for the world – I love my job – but I don’t want to give anyone any unrealistic expectations either. I probably spend around 20% of my time creating content and 80% of my time working my ass off to get it seen!

04. Have you come up with a blog name?

When choosing a blog name, you might want to consider how your blog will grow with you. For example, you might currently be at uni and wanting to blog about student life. Choosing a blog name with the words ‘Uni’ or ‘student’ in it may seem like a good idea now, but it could end up being extremely limiting in the future when you’ve got yourself a full-time job and a house in the suburbs.

I actually made the mistake of going for a blog name that was limiting when I first started out and I speak from experience when I say it’s an absolute nightmare trying to change it once you’ve gotten established as a blogger. It can be done, but I found it really quite stressful and wished I’d picked a more sensible name to begin with! Why not try some alliteration with your first name? Or even use your full name?

Which brings me nicely to my next point …

05. Is your blog name available?

So, you may have just come up with the most amazing blog name known to man, but there’s a good chance that someone else will have beat you to it and registered it already, dammit! The quickest way to find out if anyone else has the name that you really want is to quickly Google it – it will only take you a few seconds. Make sure that there isn’t an existing blog with the same name, and if there is, pick another.

Now, most people starting a blog will just register for a free URL with Blogger or WordPress, but if you really want to get ahead of the game then I would recommend purchasing your own domain name through a reputable registrar such as Gandi.net. You just type in the name you want and it will tell you if the domain is available, and suggest some alternatives if it isn’t.

And before you buy a domain name I would advise checking the availability of the name on social media. I can hear you asking why from here, and the answer is simple – using the same name across all platforms ensures your brand identity. After all, if you follow @myexample on Twitter you’d automatically assume that they’d be @myexample on Instagram as well, wouldn’t you? Make it easy for potential followers to find you by creating your social networks to look something like this:

facebook.com/myexample | twitter.com/myexample | instagram.com/myexample | pinterest.com/myexample

You can even use this awesome tool to check them all at once and save yourself some valuable time!

06. Do you want to work on a free platform, or go self-hosted?

I think one of the trickiest decisions to make when starting a blog is whether or not to go self-hosted. Self-hosted blogs are basically the ones that bloggers have full control over. I have blogged on both Blogger’s free platform, and on my own self hosted site and I would definitely recommend going with the latter. It takes a little more time and effort to get to grips with, but it makes life so much easier in the long run – especially if you’re planning to monetize your site at some point!

I run both my blogs through the ‘Managed WordPress’ section of GoDaddy’s website, and it costs me £4.99 per site per month to keep them up and running. The best part for me though is that GoDaddy set everything up for me a the click of a button – something you don’t get when you buy your hosting through other companies. If you are not sure you want to sign up with them, take a look at this review of Godaddy hosting and it may help you make up your mind.

If self-hosting isn’t your thing then I would recommend setting up a free blog on Blogger, as you can customize your site extensively so it feels like your own and still makes a little money through it too, whereas you can’t-do either of these things on the free version of the WordPress site. How sucky is that?! You can also transfer from Blogger to WordPress self-hosted at a later date if you want to as well.

07. Do you have a separate e-mail address you can use for blog related stuff?

Another mistake I made when I first started blogging was using my personal e-mail address for blog related stuff. It seems I was really naive as within the first couple of months of me starting up I had several companies contact me to see if I would be interested in reviewing some products for them, and then soon after that came event invitations, sponsored post requests and advertising enquiries. It took me hours every night to go through all the e-mails and I would often miss important none-blog related ones as they looked like spam – not a good thing to happen!

If you have another account you can use then that’s fantastic, but if not I’d urge you to create one especially for your blog. I created a free one for this particular blog when I re-branded – withlovefromlou@outlook.com – but alternatively, you could add a contact form to your blog for brands and readers to use instead. This way they can’t see what your e-mail address actually is. The choice is yours!

The other problem with being a blogger and having an e-mail address on show is that you will get spam e-mails on a daily basis. And I don’t just mean one or two. I mean a lot. In the last 4 years, I have apparently won several lotteries, had millions of pounds worth of tax refunded, won hundreds of competitions I didn’t even enter and have even been offered the enlargement of body parts that I didn’t even realise I had! I’m literally shuddering at the thought as I type this.

I just urge everyone who is thinking of starting a blog to be careful when they’re reading their e-mails. Things aren’t always what they seem …

08. Are you comfortable with putting yourself out there?

One of the worst parts of blogging has to be the fact that once you’ve posted something online it’s there forever whether you like it or not. So before you sign up you need to be sure of what sort of info you’re prepared to share. For example, do you want to remain completely anonymous to the world? If so, that’s great. You can get around having to post your name online and if you’re offered a product to review by a PR you can accept and just give your blog name or initials as the first part of your address.

You could also just share your first name. Or make up a completely different name altogether. The choice is totally yours. Just be careful when you’re writing that you don’t publish any personal details like your address, telephone number or even any personal details of any of your friends or family members. Oh, and if you have kids try not to post any pictures of them with their school badge or logo on show on any of their clothing. That can be a dead giveaway to where you are!

The other thing about being online is that there is always going to be someone who doesn’t like what you’ve written or someone who is jealous of you. I was actually aware of this when I took the first steps to starting a blog but it still shocked me when I received my first nasty comment. I didn’t let it bother me for long and, if anything, it made me work a lot harder which worked in my favour as I started getting paid work shortly after that moment.

My advice to anyone who thinks they wouldn’t be able to handle any negative comments but still wants to blog would be to see if you can gather a few friends together and write a joint blog with them. That way you have a nice little support network to help you through any tough times.

09. Do you know what you want your blog to look like?

When I first started blogging I just used a standard Blogger design, but as I got more established I wanted something a little more … me. There are hundreds of free Blogger and WordPress themes out there to choose from when you first start out, and I’d suggest going for something quite simple while you figure out your style.

If you can’t find anything you like though, and would rather spend a little money making your site look pretty then you need to head on over to Etsy. Some of the sellers on there have themes that are really cheap but are just as pretty as some of the more expensive ones. I paid just £11.99 for the very first theme I had on this blog, and people used to compliment me on it all the time. Bargain!

10. Do you have a strategy for attracting readers?

This is a question I can’t even begin to try and answer for you, so let’s think of it as a homework question. Have a think about how you can set yourself apart from all the other bloggers that are out there. Do you have a special skill that you haven’t noticed anyone else blog about? Could you use it to your advantage? And do you have any ideas on how you could get your blog noticed once your first post has gone live?

It doesn’t matter if you can’t answer those last few questions today. I’ll be covering ways to drive traffic to your site over the next few weeks and you’re more than welcome to drop me an e-mail or tweet me for any advice in the meantime.

So, did you manage to answer all 10 questions above positively? If so, you’re most definitely ready to take those first steps towards starting a blog. Way to go!

Do you write a blog? If so, is there anything you wished you’d known before starting it?
Let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading.
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