How To Start A Blog

How many of you have wanted to start a blog but don't know where to begin?

It may seem a little overwhelming at first but trust me, it's not as hard as it looks. You'll learn a lot as you go too. I know many of you have something amazing to share with others and I encourage you to put it down in a blog.

Blogging can be a very therapeutic activity. It provides a much needed outlet in our lives as moms, and allows us to express ourselves in many ways. Each one of us has something different and unique to share, and with the internet being so prevalent these days, what better way to share it than on a blog.

Today I'm going to share with you a few things I've learned over the past 2 years to help you get started yourselves.

First all you have to do is choose a platform. There are many out there but the ones I'm most familiar with are Blogger.com and Wordpress.com. I started out with blogger and recently switched to wordpress. I would recommend blogger because it's very simple and easier to understand, but I've found wordpress to be much more advanced which can be a good thing if you know what you're doing. I'm glad I started with blogger, but it was such a pain transferring over to wordpress. So if you feel you're pretty computer savvy then I would definitely suggest going straight to wordpress.

Second, you need to decide on a theme. What are you most interested in? What would you like to share with the world? What are your talents and how can you use them to serve others via blogging? Or you can simply share things you've learned in your life through trial and error. That's kind of been the theme for my blog. There are so many things I'm interested in and I'm just learning and sharing as I go.

Third, find a way to be consistent. You don't have to spend hours on end blogging, but I've found it best to blog regularly. It's the only way to keep the inspiration flowing, as well as keep people interested. Figure out what works best for you, even if it's just once a month.

Benefits of blogging:

1. It can save you time. I know what you're thinking... yah right! Well if you're blogging about recent happenings in your life and your kids lives then it's pretty much taking the place of a journaling AND scrap booking. I've learned that scrap booking is just a huge waste of time and money, sorry if I'm offending any of you that love to scrap book. This is just my opinion and I'm just thinking in more practical terms. I've spent TONZ of time and money in the past on scrap booking and only found it to be overwhelming and I could never seem to get caught up. I keep a family blog as well as this one and I simply print it out every year. It's so simple to do. I'll tell you more about that next week since I should be receiving another one of my blog books in the mail soon.

2. It's a great way to make new friends and connect with other people who may share similar life stories and interests. I make my way around to other blogs about once a week. I've made a lot of friends that way and continue to learn from them. Blogging is not all about yourself :) It's also about expressing interest in others and taking the time to see what they have to offer. It's also a great way to find inspiration. There have been many times I've stumbled upon someone else's blog and read an article that totally struck a chord and ignited a whole new topic I felt inclined to share on my own blog.

3. It can help you grow and improve. I've come so far over the past two years. I've become a better writer, a better photographer, videographer, cook, dancer, have become more organized by using the Day Planners I developed, I've become more creative, I've been better about making regular meals and planning fun activities to do with my kids, and just recently started learning the guitar. It has somehow opened up my mind to new possibilities. By sharing these things with you, it's provided the much needed motivation to pursue them. I've learned that by SHARING what you learn, it's more likely to stay ingrained in your memory. Blogging about my goals has also kept me more accountable to follow through with them. Nobody likes to fail in front of others :)

4. It can be a great way to promote your business. I hate saying this because I don't like coming across like I just want to make money, but it has been extremely beneficial to our business. And just so you know, I wouldn't share anything on here that I don't believe in 100%. I'm just keepin it real :) And as far as my new little business venture (Lil' Star Boutique) goes, the main motivation was to help my mom earn money with her incredible talent. All proceeds go to supporting her way through school.

Well I hope this helps get you started. Feel free to ask me any questions, I will be sure to address them either in a comment or via another blog post.