Are you asking yourself What is a Blog and Should I do it?

I’ll admit 3 years ago I had no idea what a blog was!!!!  2 years later here I am blogging!  How did that happen?

From my experience you’re either in the blogging world or you’re not.  It’s as simple as that!

I tell people I’m working on my blog and they either know what I’m talking about or they give me a blank stare.

How it happened!

I came across a woman called Marie Forleo on Facebook.  I love watching Marie TV.  Her messages are so inspirational and she keeps it real.  I found out she had a blog so I subscribed and entered the world of blogging.

Then came Abby Lawson – Just A Girl and Her Blog!   I followed Abby for a while before she put out this 7 day challenge to start your own blog.  So I took it!

I also purchased Abby’s e-book – Building a Framework – Everything I Learned My First Year of Blogging which to this day still helps me immensely with my blog.

Now I probably subscribe to way too many amazing blogs that I find time to actually read!!!!

(There are absolutely no affiliate links in this post, just sharing my experiences and how I got there).

WHAT IS A BLOG ?

On Wikipedia a Blog is described as – a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informational diary style text entries.

You can read a brief history of The Blog by clicking here!

About 15-20 years ago I knew a friend who was a traveller from Wales and he used to put all his photos and travel adventures onto this site.   This was so his family could keep track of where he was and what he was getting up to.

That’s what I thought blog’s were, on-line diaries!

The best way I can describe a blog is that it’s an interactive website with helpful information on a certain topic/niche.

So, basically you have this website that you post regular articles on (blog posts) about a topic (niche) you are passionate about.  It’s up to you whether you want to take it public (post it on the world wide web) or keep it personal.

Many blogs these days go public because they’re out to help others by sharing their knowledge on their Niche.

What is a Blog Post?

My description isn’t all that different – a  Blog Post is the actual on-line article you read on a Blog.

Basically, what you’re reading right now is a blog post.

What is a Niche?

A niche is simply a single topic you want to blog about.  i.e. mine is dogs.  Other’s have food blogs, travel blogs etc.  Then you can niche it down even more and have Vegan food blog, Bus Travel blog, specific breed of dog blog etc.  Do you get my drift?

SHOULD I DO IT?

Only if you want to!  But here are just a few questions to consider first!

1. What would my niche be?
2. Do I have the time to put into my blog?
3. How much time am I willing to put into my blog?
4. Will this blog be just for me or am I going to publish it?
5. Am I following any other bloggers right now?
6. Do I want to make money from my blog?
7. Am I willing to learn?
8. Am I passionate about my niche?
9. Could I talk about my niche until the cows come home?
10. Do I have something to contribute to the niche?
11. Do I have spare money to spend setting up my blog?
12. Can I set it up on my own?

If most of your answers are YES to the above questions, then you’re on your way to deciding whether you should blog or not.

My suggestions would be to-

1. Start following other blogs!  These blogs do not have to be in your niche either.  Subscribe to them and see how their blogs run.  I subscribe to Organisational blogs, Bloggers who blog about how to blog, other dog blogs, food blogs etc.  This is to dip your toe into the water too see if you want to swim.
2. Decide what your niche would be!  This is important and something I’m still working on.  I need to hone in on exactly what I want my blog to be.  Yes it’s on dogs but exactly what about dogs will it be about.  If your niche is too broad you may lose momentum with it.
3. Learn all you can from other bloggers!  You don’t have to spend money doing this, subscribe to their blogs and learn how they do things.  Bloggers are generous in sharing their how-to knowledge.
4. Write Blog Posts on your Niche!  Start writing them now to see if you are able to actually make the time for your blog.  Also whether you’re passionate enough to come up with Blog Post ideas.

The secret is not to get too overwhelmed or too wound up in reading too many other blogs, that you forget about your own.  Or become too fearful to try it yourself (if you’ve decided that’s what you want to do).

I started my blog and then scared myself out of doing anything with it for about 8 months.  I thought I was crazy and what did I have to say about dogs that people didn’t already know?  Well you’d be surprised!

The advice that got me going again was from Denise DT at Luckybitch.com– and she basically said ‘you don’t have to be an expert in your field, just join in on the conversation’.

Combine that with Marie’s advice – ‘that you are your own unique voice’.  These two ladies got me to lose my fear and just blog.

I have a long way to go and will never stop learning but I’m okay with that, and you should be to.

Are you thinking of starting a blog?  What awesome blogs to you subscribe to?  Billy and I would love to hear from you.

Cheers

J & B

Woofalicious Tales