How about a blog? It’s a place where you can share your information one week at a time, one idea at a time and allow people to come and see the information, get to know you.
It’s a space to build up that know, like and trust factor…
But how are you going to do it?
What do you need?
How can you set yourself up for success? Let me take you on a journey…
What’s a blog?
Let’s start at the beginning.
One definition is “a regularly updated website or web page, typically one run by an individual or small group, that is written in an informal or conversational style.”
And that sounds pretty much dead-on to what a blog is.
Whether it’s your website that hosts the blog pages (like this one), or you ‘borrow’ space on a site that’s dedicated to storing and sharing these stores/posts that’s completely up to you.
Do you need a blog?
That’s a difficult question.
Do you have to have one? Then the answer is no.
However, consider that if you put all your ideas, sharing your experience and knowledge on social media (whichever one you prefer), then it’s:
- Easy to get lost in all of the other noise
- Not yours, we all know that social media is using someone else’s space and you can get chucked out at anytime
If you’ve got information to share, be it tips and tricks, advice, stories, experience, then a blog is a great place to write and share it.
Of course, it does mean a lot of writing – and everything that goes with it.
It’s time to ask yourself – are you a writer?
There’s no shame in answering no.
Please don’t push yourself into spending time on something that you don’t enjoy.
Remember there are other options available – one of them should fit you.
This needs to be something that you enjoy doing – you’ll be doing it for a long time!
Your place or mine?
If you’ve made the decision that a blog is a good option for you, then you need to think about where you’re going to save it.
It boils down to two locations:
Your website
Or
A blog platform
Of course price is going to play a part in your decision.
Your Own Website
Your own website is going to mean that you’re paying for a website name (michellektraining.co.uk), an online place to host the site (the company that stores those pages and makes them available to the internet).
Those are the two main options that you need, there are others, from SEO apps, stock photos, images reduction, page design.
But on the flip side, it’s yours.
You can choose how it looks, what it says.
A Blog Platform
Yes, it’s going to be a lot cheaper – even free.
Of course, the free version will put limits on your choices, from the web address (mitshk.wordpress.com), to its look and potentially how many articles you can post.
You can take a step up – for a cost – and pay a monthly or yearly fee to have a choice of domain names and colours/templates to use.
The flip side here is that you don’t have the stress or pressure of the tech site.
You can get on with writing and sharing yourself and your genius.
Next Steps
Shameless self promotion time.
If a blog is the route that you want to take, then I’ve written something to help.
It’s my planner The Consistent Online Content Creator
Let me help you navigate through the things that you need:
- Things to think about before you take the plunge
- Creating your ‘brand’ – name, look and feel
- Getting started online – selecting your blog hosting choice
- Planning, creating and scheduling your first months content
Available from Amazon, find your direct, local link here: https://michellektraining.co.uk/consistent-online-content-creator/
Online Content Creator
Do you really need online content?
Getting Started with a New Blog (current post)
Is a video channel more your thing?
Talking without the video = podcast
Recent Posts
- Copilot for Presentations: Same Prompt, Two Results
I’ve been having a proper play with Copilot for presentations lately, trying to work out whether it can genuinely save small business owners time when building a deck. Short answer: it depends. Longer answer: it depends on where you open it, and even then, results can shift from one day to the next. Why I… Read more: Copilot for Presentations: Same Prompt, Two Results - Word Dictation: A Faster Way to Write
If typing isn’t your favourite part of running a business, I have some good news. The Word dictation feature has been quietly getting better for years, and it’s now useful for everyday work. Instead of typing out your next email or document, you simply talk, and Word turns it into text. I’ll be honest with… Read more: Word Dictation: A Faster Way to Write - Lost in a Long Word Document? Try This
If you’ve ever scrolled up and down a long Word document trying to find one specific section, you’ll know how much time (and patience) it eats up. The good news is there’s a built-in tool that solves this in seconds: the Word navigation pane. It’s one of my favourite features for working with longer documents,… Read more: Lost in a Long Word Document? Try This - The Easier Way to Format Your Word Documents
If you’ve been manually formatting every heading in your Word documents, I completely understand — it’s just what most people do. But Word Styles formatting is one of those built-in features that makes the whole process so much faster and more consistent, and once you’ve tried it, you’ll wonder why you ever did it the… Read more: The Easier Way to Format Your Word Documents - The Fastest Way to Copy Formatting in Word
If you’ve ever spent time getting text looking exactly right in Word, only to realise you need to apply the same formatting somewhere else, you’ll know how tedious it is to redo every single click. The good news is that copying formatting in Word is much easier than you might think — and Format Painter… Read more: The Fastest Way to Copy Formatting in Word
beginners blog guide, simple blog advice, easy blogging tips