I started blogging at a very young age (11 to be exact) and after years of writing, taking photographs and sharing posts online, I began to learn different tips and tricks that helped improve the evolution of my blog. I actually found some screenshots from my blog in the past and WOW! I posted them on Twitter here if you're interested. I have put together some points which I hope will give a little guidance for new bloggers when starting their own page. I am also wearing the gorgeous Claro Heart Detail Dress from Sugarhill Boutique in today's post (little embroidery details and stripes get me every time!)
BRANDING
Branding is the message and image you share on your blog. I think this is one of the most important factors as it show your readers who you are, your style and creates your own personal identity. Before starting your blog I would suggest sitting with a pen and notepad and planning what you want your blog name to be, what colour theme would you like, photography presentation, what topics will you focus on and what voice will you present through your posts. It's ok if over time this changes because you grow and learn more about yourself too!
HOW MUCH MONEY DOES BLOGGING COST?
As you are just beginning, the aim should be to spend as little or near enough to nothing. If you're going to spend anything, I would suggest focusing on getting a custom domain name (this is without the wordpress or blogspot on the end) as it will make your blog more unique to you and brands/company's prefer this. You could also buy products and items to give you something to blog about! On the other hand, you can find free templates on websites like Themexpose - if you start of with a basic free template, it's easy to then adapt it to suite yourself. For years I used XOMISSE to teach myself different html techniques, it's really handy!
SOCIAL MEDIA
The last point I wanted to mention was the power of social media - if you're looking for more blog engagement then creating social media accounts specifically for your blog is going to work. I personally use Twitter and Instagram when promoting new blog posts as these are the most popular. There are also Twitter chats hosted on different nights (I created a post about these last year here - it also includes the schedule) this helped me a lot in the beginning of my blogging days as I began to read and comment on other blogs which brought engagement to my own.
These are the top 3 tips that should help with any blogging newbie - I decided to start a new series on my blog called 'Thursday Thoughts' inspired by the Twitter hashtag. I want to start writing more talky and chatty posts so this will help me get that done as well as a OOTD post :)
OOTD:
Claro Heart Detail Dress - Sugarhill Boutique // £48
Red or Dead Glasses - Specsavers
Casio Watch - Topshop // £35
Let me know if you have any other tips for new bloggers in the comments!
laurie-elle x
twitter // instagram // youtube