Every new project starts with a beginning. And this is it. The first post on this shiny brand new blog.
As Plato said,
The beginning is the most important part of the work.
And that is so true today. Whether this post is good, or not, it marks something significant. Significant to me, and hopefully significant to you too, if you are following along.
Join Me and Start Your Own Blog
As I am sure you are aware, many people start a blog. Some even make money blogging. However, wanting to make money is not a requirement for starting a blog.
There are some people who genuinely want to help others. They start a blog with the sole reason of helping people live better lives. Or master some skill. If that is the sort of blog you are looking for, then unfortunately you are in the wrong place.
This is because I am starting this blog because I love to write. However, I also want to make some money from this new hobby. If this is you too, then you ARE in the right place.
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Decide to Start Your Blog
Yes I want to make some extra money. But why have I started a blog? I could find easier ways of making extra money I am sure.
I have started this blog as I am taking part in a new 5 week challenge. The Quick Start Challenge with Dean and Craig is a 5 week coaching program around establishing an online presence with a view to making money.
This is the action that has encouraged me to start this blog. Unless you are in the challenge too (let me know in the comments if you are!), you will have a different reason for starting a blog.
The one thing that you will need is a bit of motivation to get going. You might have been considering it for ages but just need the right kick to start you on your way. Consider this YOUR kick. If I can make a start, so can you. Make that decision and start your blog.
Pick Your Blog Topic
If you have been considering jumping into blogging, you probably have a topic in mind. If you are going into blogging with the ultimate aim of making money, don’t make the mistake of just picking a topic to make money.
You definitely need to have some interest in the topic. Let’s say that you are going to write a post per week. That is around 50 posts in a year. There are not going to be many topics where you could write 50 posts and still maintain some enthusiasm!
I love dogs. I have a dog, Poppy. I know there is money in the ‘dog’ niche as people are dotty about their pets. Yes I buy Poppy healthy treats and toys almost every day and she has 6 coats. No, she is not spoilt! Much as I love dogs and obsess about healthy food and treats, I would struggle to write 50 posts.
But I am interested in blogging and it is always changing. Combined with productivity which is another interest, I could easily write 50 posts. Make sure that you pick your blog topic carefully. If you don’t, it is almost certainly doomed to fail.
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Do You Have Time?
Now that you have made the decision to start a blog, you need to consider the time factor. Clearly, blogging will take a certain amount of time per day / week / month. Can you make this time?
How Much Time Do You Have?
You might think that you literally don’t have any spare time. But that is not entirely true is it. We all have time we could free up if we needed to.
Instead of thinking that a task would take you 3 hours, and you couldn’t possibly spare 3 hours, change your thinking. I work in 20 minute time periods. You can always find a spare 20 minutes here and there. It doesn’t even technically have to be ‘free’.
Let’s say you travel to work by train for a 30 minute train ride each day. You could spend 20 minutes working, and still drink your ‘soy macchiatto extra hot with no foam’!
Don’t fall into the trap of thinking everything has to be done on your computer or it is not work. Use your tablet, your phone, or even a pen and paper. I do all my thinking with pen and paper. I seem to be able to think easier with a pen in my hand. Or 6 actually as I like to use different colours!
Even if you drive to work, you can dictate or just think and plan. Again this is what I do when I walk the dog, then I write it down when I get home. Yes I could dictate it into my phone but I like to just think first.
I bought a Chromebook so I could use it in the kitchen when I am cooking dinner. It doesn’t take much brain power to watch pasta boil over, sorry boil, so I can think and cook. But yes you probably wouldn’t like dinner at my place.
There are loads of opportunities to grab 20 minutes in your busy day. You just need to look for them.
Plan Your Time
Grabbing 20 minutes is great. But you don’t want to spend 19 of those valuable minutes wondering what you are going to do. So always have a plan. Know what you are going to do next.
Buy a pretty notebook and use it. Yes OK it can be a plain black one if you are a manly man. Mine is a pretty floral notebook. With a matching pencil case, since you ask.
Write down your activities and tick them off. Remember when you were at school and you used to write down your homework so you could remember to do it. Just like that.
Break your tasks down into 20 minute mini tasks. Take writing this post. I might do the planning first, as a task, then the writing as another task, then add the pictures, proof-read it and publish it as a third task. The post may take me an hour to create but I have done it in 20 minute slots.
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Let’s Get Started
The activities in the Quick Start Challenge for the first week were to:
- Start a blog.
- Create an ‘About Me’ page.
- Write a blog post.
I have done these now. If you are following along, you need to do them too. And we’re blogging!
Penny x
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