Starting a blog can be an adventure, but the process of bringing it to life does take time. I've been blogging now for almost three years and as many people know my blogs have changed since its started. Originally, my site was meant for portfolio work to showcase to future employers what I'm capable of and my site wasn't originally called "The Working Blonde". Within this past year of rebranding myself, it was time for my blog to get a makeover as well.
How I got started blogging came from a simple idea of writing about things that I do on a day to day. Though, I wasn't sure if people really cared especially future employers. It was time to rethink and go to the sketch book. Here is how I changed my site and blog to something I'm proud of.
Start with a Sketch Book: Before just designing a site filled with content, brainstorming is key in figuring out how you want your blog to go. Focus on one topic is a great way to get started and make sure it's something that you're passionate about. Write down different blog topics based on the concept you've decided. From there, you have a few blog post ideas to get you started when you launch the site.
Brainstorming a Name: Coming up with the name of your blog is extremely important. It will become your identity on the web. Once you thought of the concept to write about, the name is easier to brainstorm. Start writing down certain words that describe your content/brand. A word chart or web helps dust the cobwebs to sketch out different word pairings together. How I came up with "The Working Blonde" was by taking aspects of myself and how I'm a lifestyle blogger. I wanted the title to represent a characteristic of me- even if it's my hair color.
Deciding on a Website Host: When it comes to bringing your site to life, it's important to choose the right one that fits your goals. The most popular ones are: Wordpress, Wix, Squarespace, and Weebly. For my personal site, I decided to use Wix after being a longtime user of Wordpress. When it comes to Wordpress, choose a template that you want your brand to be. Most of the templates that are free on the Wordpress are decent, but some of my favorite templates can be found through other entrepreneurs who create templates for a living. Even my own site if slightly based off a Wordpress template I fell in love with. After using Wordpress for a long time, I decided when I wanted to make a professional site, I had my mind set on Wix. Instead of using coding all the time to make sure the layout look good, I could drop and place anything I wanted. I found it easier to start with a blank canvas and allow my site to be whatever I imagined. If you seen my site the past couple of years. it's definitely changed multiple times. It's now become something I'm extremely proud of.
Create the Social Media Pages: You never want your website to link to any personal pages you might have. Once your site is live, you need to make sure you have social media pages built out so it's linked to your site. Create a Facebook Business page so it looks more professional. Change your Instagram to what your page is. For example, my name on Instagram is now The Working Blonde. Also, make sure your Pinterest is up to date with the name and what boards you want to showcase based on your brand. You want your social media to be branded based on your site and what social media you are mostly on.
The Apps to Bring the Blog to Life: To help with branding and accuracy, there are great free apps to use. Grammarly is a tool that many college students use. It's suppose to help with blog post grammar and spelling errors. You can use the free application or if you are looking for more features to maintain your grammar and punctation, it does have plans you can pay for. For social media, I've tried hard to keep my photos branded and visually appealing. In the past, I've used Canva. It's a simple and free app that allows you think creatively with many templates for all types of social media platforms. It also offers branding options- if you are looking to join the membership plan. A program I can't live without now is Trello. Trello is a free app that allows you to organize your content. I use it to create blog ideas, maintain on schedule as well as helps me stay organized on what I need to do for each post.
Creating a blog can be an exciting time, but it take thought and organization on how it turns out. My blog has gone through makeover after makeover. Now, I don't think it will be changing anytime soon. I'm now and will always be The Working Blonde. Happy blogging!
