Say what you will about the internet and social media, but for many it’s proven to be a great outlet to showcase their passions. A lot of that success is found on YouTube, but not everyone has the charisma and confidence to get in front of the camera (the reason why I hide behind words and photos). So what should you do if you struggle with stage fright but still want to put yourself out there? The answer is simple–start a blog!
I love blogging because of its multimedia potential. You can use words, pictures, audio clips, or a combination of various formats! If you’re looking to get yourself out into the blogosphere but don’t know where to start, here are my tips as someone who has been blogging on and off for the past 7 years:
Find your Niche
On social media platforms like YouTube and Instagram, rarely will you find popular accounts that post a little bit of everything. Generally, they tend to fall under one category or another, such as makeup, food, or memes. Blogging is like that too. My advice would be to pin down what you’re passionate about– hair and makeup tutorials? Book or movie reviews? Feminism?–and make your blog revolve completely around that topic. You wouldn’t find this article on my book blog, for example, because it doesn’t have to do with books. When you find your niche, you’re able to connect with like-minded individuals and gain their readership.
Use a combination of text and images
The world we live in is highly visual. We spend hours looking at other’s photos on Instagram, take photographs as momentos, and admire people who are capable of producing things that are pleasing to the eye. That means that putting pictures on your blog will serve you well, even if blogging puts a heavy emphasis on words. Personally, I like making a cute banner to put on top of my blog posts to draw readers in. The website Canva is a great resource for creating graphics and illustrations for your blog or social media.
Cross-promote on social media
You may notice that many bloggers have whole Instagram accounts or Facebook pages that act as extensions of their blog (I am one of them). You can certainly do that if you feel so inclined, but even if you don’t, social media is a great way to direct traffic to your blog. Even something as simple as putting the link to your blog in your instagram bio will help pique people’s interest. It also helps to put the links to individual posts on Facebook or Twitter, or using the swipe up option in Instagram stories if you have it.
Get Yourself on a Posting Schedule
How often you post to your blog is entirely up to you, but there should be some consistency to it. For example, if you want to post once a week, pick a specific day (post every Monday or Thursday or Friday) instead of just posting randomly. Most blogging platforms give you the option of drafting and scheduling posts, which should help you immensely in posting regularly.