HOW TO START A BLOG

Courtesy: sarcasmlol.com

There is no greater agony than

bearing an untold story inside

you.

Maya Angelou

Hello lovelies,
I have received quite a number of requests from some of you guys who want to get into blogging but do not know where to start from. So I have put together a few tips that I hope will be of help to you who placed requests and to any other  reader who might be interested in the same. It isn't much, but I hope it will make sense to someone.Most of what this post is about are lessons that I have learnt in the past one year.By the way, www.beinglynn.com is celebrating it's birthday this month and there is something very special cooking for you guys.Watch this space

Starting a blog with no proper research or direction is like testing the depth of waters with both feet.(Perhaps this should be lesson 1😍😍😍

1.Find out what your interests are.

See the  most beautiful thing about writing is that you can write about just anything. A pen , a tea coaster, a dress, a day in your life.You can even develop a story just from a statement someone said.So when you're starting out, it's important to single out the things that interest you other than groping in the dark. Sometimes this takes time.In my case for instance, when I started out I wanted to do creative writing....entirely. But then I later developed an interest in writing about fashion and food and lifestyle in general. I have always had an interest in those two, except I never thought I'd be interested in writing about them....As you know though, we live to learn and there's always a some more of you left to discover.

2.Choose a name 

After settling on what you want to blog about ,choose a name that best represents what your blog is about.Is it about food??is it about fashion?is it about technology? is it a bit of everything?

3. Make use of readily available resources

Blogging doesn't have to be an expensive affair. Actually what matters most is the content of your blog.It is an investment yes, but you don't have to splurge in order to have a great blog.

Google has provided a platform where people can create free websites and so has WordPress.All you need to do is log on to www.blogger.com with your Google account and the rest is a walk over. Blogger has several templates that you can use to customize your blog and the dashboard is pretty simple to navigate. The same goes for WordPress. Just go to your browser and key in  www.WordPress.com and from there you'll be given a pretty simple step by step guide on how to create a blog.

The only limitation these two have is that you won't be able to customize your domain name.It will either be lynn@blogspot.com or lynn.WordPress.com.

Moreover, you will be restricted to only  utilizing the built-in templates provided.

Otherwise if you're willing to splurge and go all the way, you can get a customized .com or a .co.ke domain name for less than 50 dollars.That's about 5000 Kenyan shillings annually and thereafter get a web designer to customize everything to your preferred taste. Most web designers in Kenya charge averagely 200 dollars (About 20,shillings) for the registration of a domain name, designing and hosting.The price tag can go higher or lower depending on what your preferences are.

4. Learn from the best.

You have registered your domain name...Now what?I think this is a universal rule that applies to any venture that one wants to get into.You see, people who have been in the game for some time have learned lessons from mistakes that they usually hope that those who come after them don't make, which is solely my motivation for doing this post. If you follow www.bikozulu.co.ke, www.misterleft.com or www.justjoykendi.com then that makes the thousands of us.I can swear I've read all of their posts 😚😚😚

Read and read and read some more.

One of the reasons why I draw inspiration from these people is the kind of fierce and passion that they put into their writing.No fear or favor.  And that brings me to my next tip:

5.Don't limit yourself. 

“If it sounds like

writing, I rewrite it.

Or, if proper usage

gets in the way, it

may have to go. I

can’t allow what we

learned in English

composition to

disrupt the sound

and rhythm of the

narrative.”

—Elmore Leonard

There is no rule in art, just expression.

If you wake up and all you want to do is insert a Swahili word after every English word, so be it.Just like I said in my first point, a writer should always keep an open mind.Don't restrict yourself to things you feel people will enjoy reading while suppressing some of your best ideas.Do not try to downsize you imagination and if one morning you wake up and all you want to talk about is your hair pin or your tattered boxers then so be it!Allow yourself some space for vulnerability

That is the whole point! 

5.Give time some time.

Giving time some time is as simple as saying give yourself some time.Be patient with yourself.Rome was not built in a day and neither will your blog be.Allow yourself room for mistakes, allow yourself to grow.Learn from those mistakes and make changes where necessary. Give yourself a break.Every good thing that was ever built or made took time. Patience patience patience.

I don't know if there's a better way to say this.😉😉😉

Wishing you the very best in your quest.

So go ye and write your hearts out.

Don't forget to subscribe, share and comment.

Yours truly, Lynn