Ever wanted to create your own blog, but never knew where to start? Or maybe you have, but you have long since given up on it? Sometimes when creating a blog, things don’t turn out so good, and your blog collapses before it even has the chance to shine.
The About Page. Everyone knows that every blog must have an About page. You’ll start with your About page by describing what your blog is about, why you created it, and whatever else you want to throw in there. You also don’t want to publish your About page without giving a little information on yourself. If you are very open, or you are soon to publish a book, you should state your name, age, where you live (I’m not saying your home address, but what country you live in, at least.) and some fun facts about yourself.
You might also want to inform the viewers on your writing. That is, if you are in the state of publishing a novel.
Remember to make your About page short but sweet. The viewers want to know what they are reading, but they don’t want to have to go through tons of information and details. Keep it to the minimum.
Some nice scenarios to start your About page could be:
“Hi there! Welcome to [Blog name here]. I’m [name here] and I am [age here]. I enjoy [hobbies or interests here]”
“Welcome to my blog! Here you’ll find [information on your blog here]. It is run by me, [name here], I’m [age here] and I live in [country or state here]”
“[Name here] is the soon-to-be-published author. He/She currently resides in [country or state here]
The Contact Page(!) If you are looking to have a professional blog or you are serious about what your blog is about, you might want to consider a Contact page. Usually, the Contact page will be named “Contact Me” or “Contact Info” and should contain different options on how to reach you, via it be email or phone number. A great option when creating a Contact page is to consider having an alternate email address for your blog. That way, you will have two different emails. One for your personal use, and one for your blog.
Contact pages can look like:
For business opportunities and inquires, please contact me at: [email here]
Questions? Concerns? Want to have a chat? Please contact [name here] at:
Note: Always spell your email with the symbols in parentheses. An example, Advicewonders (at) hotmail (dot) com. It is much easier for you and other people to do it that way.
The Sidebar.
The sidebar is incredibly important to your blog. You should always, always, always, always, have a sidebar. Sidebars are like the easy portal to the rest of your blog, easy for your viewers to navigate through your blog. It is also much easier and relaxing if you have things such as:
- Search (so that searching a post will be quicker than a snap of the wrist!)
- Archives (If your blog has been up for a long time, and/or you have written hundreds of posts, archives is a great way for viewers to navigate through the piles of daily posts.)
- Links (Facebook page or profile, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Goodreads, etc.)
- Email subscription (Or “Follow” button)
- Recent posts (so your viewers can always get caught up on your awesome blogging)
- Categories (Only if you categorize your posts)
Other Pages. Other pages include:
- My Writing/Books, for those who have books or novels published.
- Videos page, for those who vlog or do any sort of videos, such as DIY or makeup tutorials.
- Book Reviews, for the book bloggers out there, reviewing one book at a time.
Updates.
When it comes to updates, make sure you know what you’re doing. Viewers, and your fellow followers, aren’t pleased when you write daily or weekly and then disappear for weeks, or even months, at a time. Trust me, I know how it feels. Don’t disappear off the face of the Earth. Instead, set goals for when you will update. Daily? Every two days? Once a week? Once a month? Being spontaneous with your blog posts is fun, just don’t disappear for too long!
The Header.
The header is another incredibly important part of your blog. It should catch the eye, have a nicely sized font (not too small, not too big,) and a short description. Such as “The ramblings, reading, and writing advice of an avid bookworm”
The Faceless Blogger. For those who want to remain the Masked Magician or the Caped Crusader, it’s okay if you don’t want to show people your real face. Privacy is more important than how your blog looks.
Comments. People comment to compliment you (most of the time.) That’s why it’s important for you to respond back. Unless, of course, there are too many to simply reply to all. Reply to the ones that ask questions or need a little help with your blog. Sometimes, it is good to just say, “Thanks! That means a lot!” when someone compliments your post.
Blog Stats. Blog stats are more important than followers. You should know that for future reference. It determines how many people are visiting your blog a day, what posts are being viewed the most, and also posts that viewers have been searching in your blog’s search box. Always keep an eye on your blog stats so that you can improve what needs fixing.
Public or Private? This is a very important question to ask yourself before posting a post, page, or picture. Ask yourself this each time before posting something new on your blog: Is this something I really want to post on the internet? Is this picture explicit or rude? Is this inappropriate? Will it hurt other people’s feelings? Will this hurt my reputation? Is this personal for me?
Once it is on the internet, there is no taking it back. It is too easy for people to save a picture or copy-and-paste a sentence in less than ten seconds. Once you click send, publish, or post, it’s out of your hands and into others’. It’s gone.
Your Blogging Goals. Set goals for what you want to do for your blog, or where you want to go. What posts do you want to write? Do-It-Yourself? Books reviews? How many followers do you want? How do you want your stats to look? Do you one day want to have your own blog platform?
The sky is the limit, guys.
Scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours kind of thing. Okay, so obviously there’s some confusion with the name of this one 
. But here’s the thought: With me, I like to follow the people who follow me. It’s a great way to support your fellow bloggers and let them know that you care and support their blog, and that you give thanks to them following you.
Be Persistent, Not Pushy. Don’t force your viewers to comment or follow. People don’t like it when you’re screaming in their faces (metaphorically) on the fact that they need to follow you. But be persistent in the world of blogging. Explain to them why they should follow you and your blog. Just tread lightly, don’t force your viewers to do anything.
Grammatical Errors and Spelling Checks, Oh My! Do not, under any circumstances, I mean NOT, post something without checking for grammatical errors and making sure your spelling is on point. Make sure there are no fragments or run-on sentences, and that there isn’t any oversight on there/they’re/their catastrophes. (Did I mention NOT to post anything without checking for grammar or spelling mistakes?)
WordPress has spell checking at the push of a button, and it will help you whenever your not sure about a sentence or a word. (Dictionary.com doesn’t hurt either.)
Don’t forget to capitalize!
You’re Ready. This is it. Your final step into the world of blogging. This is where you write your first post, where you get your first follower (eek!) and you find out how easy it was all along.
You’re ready.
Advicewonders 