Hello my beautiful readers!

When I first started blogging (which wasn't too long ago), I was absolutely clueless as to how to get started, but eventually I found my way around this blogging world and now I think I know the basics of blogging. I am no expert here, I just want to share the things I know. Before I get started I just want to say I do not own any of the pictures except for the first one with @begumsbeauty watermark. Click on the pictures to find the source.

1. Brainstorm. The very first thing you want to do is brainstorm your ideas. What are you passionate about? What can you enjoy writing about? Keep in mind that this is not a one-post-and-I'm-done thing. If you want to have a blog that grows into something you need to keep adding content to it. So brainstorm your ideas about what you like and what you're interested in writing about. It doesn't have to be one specific topic. You can have multiple focus for your blog. For example, my blog is a beauty, fashion and lifestyle blog. To be honest, its mainly beauty and fashion based but randomly I have other posts that doesn't fit in the beauty and fashion category so I categorize it in the lifestyle section. It really doesn't matter as long as you love what you're putting on your blog.

2. Name your blog. The second thing you want to is think of a name for your blog and the URL. What will you call it? This was honestly the hardest part for me, till this day I'm still struggling because i'm such an indecisive human. I keep changing the name of the blog. I would really recommend thinking of a good URL that you really like and won't change because when you change your URL too many times, you loose readers/followers. In terms of the name or the title of the blog, you can change it around.

3. Get on the net. Once you have your ideas, URL, and title for your blog you are all ready to get on the internet to create your blog. This is my favourite part! There are many websites that allow free blogging services for example, Blogger, Wordpress, Wix etc,. The two I am familiar with are Blogger and Wordpress. I would recommend either or. When you have chosen which blogging service you want to use, all you have to do is create your account. The only thing you need for this is an email address and you're set.

4. Be creative! Now that you have created your first blog, it is time to get creative. You can use the built in templates or customize your own. I would recommend you stick to a template the website provides, just to keep things simple and less overwhelming in the beginning. Once you get the hang of it, you can start being more creative and adding your own twist to your blog. There are plenty of free templates on the internet and videos that will help you design your blog the way you like.

5. Write, write write! The technical stuff is all over! Now start writing (well i guess typing, but you know what I mean)!! It is important to have content on your blog. This is what will drive the readers. But don't write just to create content. Write because you love to write about your topic, hence you made this blog. You don't need to post everyday but if you have one or two good quality posts per week then it should be enough to start off. If you can write good quality posts everyday then by all means go right ahead.

6. Good photographs. This is actually key to being a good blogger. Sometimes people will just come to your blog because you have nice pictures. Good photos attracts traffic. Ask yourself, is your blog visually appealing? With the growing use of smartphones, almost everyone can take great pictures so it is important that you make sure your blog is not lacking good quality pictures. When I started blogging, I had horrible pictures and just terrible editing skills and I new that to attract readers I needed to improve my photography and editing skills. There's just so many blogs out there, that people will simply not tolerate looking at poor quality pictures. Not saying you need to buy a DSLR for your blog, you can take great picture with your smartphones, but just make sure the lighting is good and the editing is decent. It just takes practice but it's not complicated.

7. Do not plagiaries  In relation to photographs, if you use another persons picture or ideas, always always ALWAYS cite it and give them credit. There is no room for plagiarism in the blogging world. For example, for this post I have used pictures that I googled and thought were visually appealing for this post. I added the link of the original site underneath each picture and mentioned in the beginning of the post that I do not own these pictures. Here, I not only provided readers with the link to the original site but I also told the readers that these pictures do not belong to me. Everyone works hard to put their work out there and a person who gives credits to others for their work just comes out as a genuine blogger.

8. Networking. Now that you have this great blog with your wonderful posts how do you attract readers? There a few ways to do this. Most common way to do this is sharing it on your social media. This is something I really struggle with because I started my blog as something that's really private. I mean yeah, its on the internet for the whole world to see but since I never share it on my social media and no one really knows about it. I feel like its really private and I kind of like it like this. Another way for you to attract readers is by commenting on other peoples posts. Don't be annoying and ask them to check your blog out but leave genuine comments on other peoples posts that interest you. Trust me people will check your page out this way rather then if you were to ask them to check it out. Lastly, connect your blog to platforms like Bloglovin', Pinterest, Tumblr and leave the link of your blog on your bio's.

9. Be patient. Only if you're really lucky, then it probably will not take you too long to get ahead in the blogging world fast but for the most part it takes time. There are millions and millions of blog out there, it will obviously take some time for your blog to make it to the top. Don't loose hope because everyone started from the bottom. Be patient and enjoy the process. Write about things you love. Make it a hobby and don't worry about how many followers you have and who will read it and what people will say. Just keep writing your heart out.

10. Where do we go from here? Now that you have established your blog and you are regularly posting, you can start earning money. Take this as a grain of salt. You can potentially make money with Google Adsense but it takes a long time. Basically, once you have a certain amount of content, you can apply for Google Adsense and if you get approved then you can put adds on your blog, that will generate income. Now don't get too excited. The income is very minimum. You would have to be getting crazy amounts of traffic to get a decent income. There is no harm in applying for it and putting the adds up. Who knows one day your blog may have enough traffic to earn a living.

I hope you enjoyed my tips for new bloggers and how to get started. If you have any comments or questions please leave them below. 

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