A Blogging Guide
Today's post is a little different to the usual posts you'll see on JHM, but one I've wanted to do for a while so I thought why the hell not. Instead of rambling on about a bunch of favourites or preaching to you about a new product release, I'm dishing out my blogging tips in a little guide which is basically everything I've learnt from blogging in the past 6 months. Blogging isn't as simple as picking a theme, choosing a name and whacking up some pictures, there's a lot more to it and it is a very time consuming hobby, but oh so fab. Starting a blog can be really daunting but once you've got your photography, content and social media nailed, you are good to go.
WEBSITE/HOST | With so many hosts out there, choosing one to start with can be hard and with it being the most important thing about starting blogging, l would say it's pretty crucial to get it right the first time. There are three main sites to choose from when starting a blog - Blogger, Wordpress and SquareSpace, all three are very different and all vary in how they work but you will soon find the one you like. I actually started off on Blogger but moved over to Square Space this last month as I wanted a bit more flexibility.
Blogger is probably the most popular, it's the one that peolpe started off on back in the day and one that is still used by many bloggers just starting off. For starters, it's free to use. (apart form your theme) but there are no extra costs. If you're a beginner then this is a good one to start off with as it's really easy to use and everything can be found with ease. However, as your blog grows and you want to start changing your design a big more, you may find it restricting which is what made me change to SS.
Wordpress is an all round favourite in the blogger community. You can pretty much do anything with this one and I've heard it's incredibly easy to use. I haven't ever used it myself so I can't give a detailed explanation, but there is plenty online to help you!
Onto my favourite; SquareSpace. Since moving over, I haven't had any issues and am getting on really well with it. It's easy to use, everything is there in front of you whether it's changing the font or adding a scrolling gallery into your home page. With 24/7 customer care, you are basically taken on a step my step guide though email whereby someone is there to answer any questions you have. The only minor downside to SquareSpace is that you do have to pay a monthly fee of about £7 but unlike Blogger, you don't have to pay any additional fees for a theme, you pick one out from their templates and just edit away until you are happy with it!
BLOG NAME | Picking out a name for your blog can also be hard, I personally had one in mind for a long time so I instantly knew when I set it up, although this isn't always the case so I would say just think carefully about your name and don't pick one you will hate in a few years! In terms of domains, when i was on blogger I had '.blogspot.com' on the end but now I'm on SS I have paid for my own domain and much prefer having it this way.
PHOTOGRAPHY | The thing that worried me the most when starting up JHM was not having a mega expensive camera to take my photos with. I thought that the only way to get crisp and clear photos was with some fancy camera that had 3 lenses but I was so wrong. Up until next week (I've recently upgraded to a Panasonic LX7), I have been using my iPhone 5s camera. With a clear white background and some blankets, candles and makeup bags as props, I've literally been relying on my phone camera and natural lighting for 6 months and I'm actually really pleased with how my photos come out each time. By all means, go grab a new camera or if you've already got one when snap away but for those who haven't, don't feel like you need to go and buy one to blog, make do with what you've got and upgrade when you're ready.
CONTENT | Choosing what you are actually going to write about on your blog is important when targeting and creating your audience. I started as a beauty blogger and still am really, but I am going to be introducing some fashion and lifestyle posts too, just to keep things interesting.
SOCIAL MEDIA | By far the most important thing about blogging in terms of getting your blog out there. Getting your social media site set up as soon as you can is really important as it means you can get your content out there and promote promote promote from day 1. It is also the easiest way to build up a following and you can interact with other bloggers and make some fabulous friends along the way. Bingo.
Do you have any tips on blogging?