For a first time blogger, the need to set up a blog is strong but they stop just before starting.
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A man walks into a shop because passing by, he sees something he has been looking for, for a long time. On entering the shop and asking for the price, he is told a price that sounds too far-fetched.
"I need it but I can't pay that amount." He tells the shopkeeper.
The shop keeper sees the enthusiasm with which the man looks at the object. The object has been lying around the shop, with no one even looking at it. Putting all of this into consideration, the shop owner decides to strike a deal with the man.
"Since you are interested, and this is the only remaining piece, I'll bring down the price. But you don't have to pay me all the money at once. Pay half now and I'll keep it away until you bring the other half."
The man agrees to the deal but concerning the payment, is skeptical. But he tells the shop owner that he will come back with half the money. The shop owner agrees. The man leaves only to pass by the shop several times afterwards, just to remind the shop owner that he will still pass by with half the money. Nothing happens after that.
Then some time later, he goes to the shop ready to pick up the item, but much to his surprise, the shop owner tells him that someone else had bought the item a few minutes ago and had left with it.
First time bloggers in a sense are much like the man in the story. They have an enthusiasm that is very strong. The excitement of starting a new blog is mixed with hopes and aspirations.
They see far into the future and welcome it as if it is already here. They know what they want to achieve, and where they want to be, in the next five years, with their blog.
And so getting it right with their blog the first time, becomes an obsession for them. If they don't get it right immediately, they won't start, because to them everything must be perfect from the start.
Many first time wannabe bloggers, get trapped in this so-called 'getting it right the first time,' syndrome. This is where you set out to start a new blog, definitely on your own, but put it on hold and don't publish it. What are your reasons for putting it on hold?
Starting a new blogging project
The impact a blog can make is enormous because if done right, it can be a source of value and good information. And so if you are thinking of starting a new blog, have in mind that you are going to use it to impart value, by offering something to an audience, based on your expertise or passion.
So what can you offer?
There are so many things you can offer, based on what audience you choose to target. For example, you may decide to target an audience of book lovers-bookworms, people who are obsessed with reading books.
Here the value you can offer is by starting a blog that talks to this audience about new book releases, up coming book events and reviewing bestsellers. You can follow this up by placing a buy now button that links to different online sales outlets.
This is what Amazon is doing with Goodreads. On the Goodreads website the book cover is shown with a brief description of what the book is all about. Then there are three buy now buttons beside the book cover one to Amazon, one to Barnes and nobles and the last one to Lulu.com.
Sounds easy, right?
Explained this way, it does sound easy. But many people with the enthusiasm they have in wanting to start a blog, are blocked in their efforts to start one. They are blocked not because they do not have the willingness to start, but because they want to get it right the first time. But another reason is that they are undecided.
If you want to start a blog for the first time, there are three ways you can do it.
a) Do it on your own,
b) Pay someone to do it for you, or
c) Buy an already established blog.
d) Partner with someone
Let's go into some details to explain each one separately.
Doing it on your own
Setting out to start a blog on your own is one way of familiarizing yourself with the whole concept of blog creation. In it you become the architect of the blog from start to finish throughout the setup process.
Today, you can build your own blog free, because it is simple and setup doesn't require much time. You can get a blog up and running in less than five minutes without having to be a great designer or programming guru.
Everything is done for you, prepackaged. There are ready made themes, you can select and use as template for your blog. There are tools for customization and you already have a simple menu to start with.
Pay someone to do it for you
If you are someone who wants to get things done the fast and easy way, then you don't have to stress yourself trying to figure it out on your own. You can hire a web designer, to build your site for you at a cost. Head over to Fiverr if you don't want to spend money on professional web development.
Buy an established website
When you don't want to spend money on website design, and you don't want to create your site by yourself, then you can buy an already established website. There are so many sites offering up websites for sale. Try Sedo dot com where you can buy and park a domain and still earn from it, too.
Partner with someone
You can use this last option if you don't want to do things by yourself or buy a website. Partnering with someone you can establish a joint-venture where each person offers their own contributions. This might be a good option because if you are undecided then you could get some boost from your business partner.
Whatever you choose to do, whether to create your site on your own, buy one or get it done for you professionally, the most important aspect of starting a blog, is actually starting it.
But here is where many procrastinate for a great number of reasons, thereby putting their chances of eventually building a blogging business on hold. So are you thinking of starting your own blog, to communicate your thoughts and expertise?
A good advise to you is not to procrastinate. Start right now, don't delay, because,
-attempting is better than not trying at all. If you don't try how would you know the simplicity or difficulty involved in running a blog?
-Knowing firsthand what creating a site involves is like learning a new subject. It's an experience you can bank on for the future.
What your first blog represents
Stepping into the world of blogging for the first time requires creating a blog. This will be your platform from where you will make your first timid appearance onto the blogging scene.
It is what you can call an 'introduction' of yourself to the blogging community. However, it may not be the best introduction that you will make, or the first best impression.
For the simple fact that you have taken that first bold step to publish content in a world where there are seasoned bloggers, with vast knowledge and experience in blogging, is a good start.
But this is where most people are tied down and choose to stop. Why?
Reasons you prefer to delay
a) You want to get it right the first time
For many people the reason they choose to delay in their blogging, is because they want to get it right the first time. Blogging is hard because it requires some work during the intial stages, and this, especially if you want to do it on your own.
.And so many are obsessed with the idea of making sure they get everything right before they start publishing. One simple piece of advice you may need in such moments is,
"Don't think of getting it right the first time, think of getting it out there!"
Blogging in the beginning is never easy simply because like all other things in life, starting is the hard part. And so if you are worried about getting it right the first time, this seems quite impossible.
b) You cannot make up your mind
For most people, making up their mind over whether to start something or not, is a always a constant struggle. They keep battling the idea of starting something in their minds but can't seem to decide if they should go ahead or not. In the end they do nothing but hold back.
When you hold back on starting something, you delay the gratification that comes with starting it. That sense of satisfaction that you will derive, and the confidence to keep pushing forward is missing.
If this holding back can be equated to holding back on any of your life's dreams, then you've just done that.
c) Your dreams are not so strong
If you have dreams of becoming you own boss, you can start by creating a simple blog and with time scale it up into a full fledged business. However, since you cannot make up your mind about whether to start or not, this could mean that your need to realize this dream is not strong enough. The problem may not be with starting. Definitely you have that willingness to start but as one article puts it,
"everything is in your head." It goes on to say that,
"More often than not, the things we let hold us back are in our own minds. They aren't actual physical roadblocks, rather mental or emotional mindset trips."
A lot of the things that hold us back are simply mental-or in our minds. This means that if ever we are going to start a blogging project, we have to get rid of of the mental blocks that hinder us from starting. Some of the mental blocks that could prevent you from taking the decision to start are,
- the feeling of fear
- being influenced by other people's decisions and,
-lack of confidence.
Another point to consider is how you see yourself. Are you like most people that openly or constantly condemn themself, because of mistakes you've made in the past? For example, do you sometimes describe yourself using words like, "I don't think I'm good enough?"
One article considers this as "Labelling Your Efforts" The article points out that,
"Any time you start something big or life-changing with labels like "not good enough" or "stupid," you shut down your growth before you've even begun."
It goes on to give a simple advise.
"Let go of the labels and approach your experience with an open mind and heart. This is what allows you to create possibilities that are more and better than what you know."
Growth comes through experiences. The expression of your thoughts or the expertise that you want to share in blogging, is growth that you have to experience.
When you allow your mind to trick you into believing you are not good enough, you can be easily swayed by other people's opinions. From then on, what matters more to you will be what others think of you.
How to approach blogging
Approach blogging with an open mind
When you start out blogging, have an open mind towards it. Only this way can you really know what's good about it and what's bad about it. With an open mind you will be able learn how to accept what comes along with starting out the first time.
For example, your blog presentation style will not be perfect in the beginning.
You will most certain find difficulty finding what to write about.
And definitely when you read blogs by more seasoned bloggers, this alone will scare you into thinking that you may not get far in blogging.
There is room for improvement
Reading other blogs and the numbers attached to them might wow you. Looking at the share numbers alone can make you wonder if you too can arrive at such numbers.
But what those numbers tell you is that if others are getting them, you too can also churn out the same numbers and more if you work towards it. And so there is room for improvement, because you will realize that even if you won't be good in the beginning,
-with much effort you can grow,
-you won't be perfect, but you can work towards perfection.
Perfection means making mistakes and learning from them. But to learn from your mistakes,
-you need to get started now, and not later.
- don't be bothered about how good your blog will be, or what people will say or think about it.
Get started now
So are you ready to get started with your own blog? And why must you start one, now? There are more than 150 million blogs on the internet and every day more and more blogs are being created.
See the number of blog posts published daily. Just seeing those numbers alone should discourage you from starting your own blog, right? But then think of the average life span of a blog post. Rarely does a blog post last as fresh content for more than a week.
This means that before one blog post has ended it's journey, a new blog post should be up and ready for the audience. This goes to show that there is still a need for more and more fresh content. The demand for fresh content is still high. With the changing times, content must be written to reflect changes.
For example, cars were once made with no airbags in them. But the cars of today are all fitted with airbags. It's the same car people are driving, but with the changing times, that same car is designed with more accessories to reflect those changes.
What you can do
In life it is never too late to learn a new subject, or start something new. Age shouldn't be a barrier to what you can do for yourself, otherwise people like model Maye Musk who signed to be a model at age 69, wouldn't have achieved that dream if she held back.
A lot of people are doing amazing things simply by deciding to do them. Once you make up your mind, once you decide to start your blog, you shouldn't have any difficulty at all moving it forward.
If you are still undecided, don't worry ! Here are a just three tips to help you get started.
1) Just Get started!
Just get that blog started right away! What are you waiting for? Don't wait for the sun to rise in the morning or for the moon to come out at night before you get started.
Don't wait until you hear from me before you take the decision to start your blog. I might be on a sandy beach right now with my phone switched off!
2) Don't worry about perfection
With much knowledge comes perfection. Starting out is good. Waiting to get it all right before you start is equivalent to not starting at all. You just have to start from somewhere. Understand that the laptop or mobile phone or tablet you are using were not made perfect on the first day.
Years of research and testing have all made them perfect.
3) Start with the knowledge that you have.
The ideas that you have for your blog is good for starting your blog. Once you start, you can expand on those ideas by gathering more information and learning more.
The internet is full of useful resources to help you develop your ideas in the direction that you want. So start with what you have. The best part of it all is, once you have started and published your first blog post, you can always update it to add newer content.
Conclusion
As a first time blogger it is necessary to take these first essential steps in getting your blog started. Once you are able to get through this point then all you have to do is keep posting fresh content capable of keeping your audience excited. The big take away here is that
-You need to get started and not wait.
-You need to try and not wait till you get it right.
-Debunk all the negative thought you have about yourself not being good enough.
Now over to you to start. Was this post helpful? Comment below and share.
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