March 14, 2015

VIDEO: How to Start a Blog, Design It, & Be Successful

After doing my Youtube Advice series, there were many questions about blogging. As I stated in my previous advice videos, I am not a “professional” and I still am growing as a blogger/vlogger. However I have some tips to share on starting a blog, make it visually appealing, and making money. I have also teamed up with Nicole, who is going to share her tips on developing blog topics, maintaining a schedule, and getting more readers in her video here. Nicole has a blog (www.classtocloset.com) and youtube channel where she shares fashion, fitness, beauty, and other fun posts and videos.

How start a blog: Many use Blogger to host their blog, because it is simple to use and has many features. You can visit this help page, or check out my video for steps on creating your blog.
How to get a domain name: Blogger automatically gives your blog a free url address ending in “.blogspot.com”, however many like having a solid “.com” url. When you are first getting started, I would recommend just going with the free one to see how well your blog does. Choose a url address that is easy to remember and accurately represents what your blog is. Registering your blog address costs $10 a year. You can follow the steps here to purchase one.
How to make your blog look professional: Having a cohesive visual design on your blog is essential. Always use a simple layout and avoid cluttering the sidebars. It’s best to use a white or soft pastel background, that way the text can be easily read. Also keep your font color black or a shade of grey. You do not have to be a pro at graphic designing, or even know HTML to achieve a visually appealing blog design. Blogger has many preset templates, that you can customize to your liking. You can also find many free templates online:

How to organize your blog: On blogger, the layouts section is what will adjust the sidebars on your site. You can add gadgets, such as a profile, followers section, navigation menu, and more. Making your blog easy to navigate it important for keeping the user on your site. It is best to at least have a search bar and tag list on your blog. Properly tagging/labeling each blog post will organize your posts into categories. Having a menubar is also helpful. You can click here for instructions on creating new pages on Blogger. Pages are similar to blog posts, but are not displayed on your blog feed. They are useful for adding an About Me section, gallery, or contact page.
How to make money blogging: You can monetize your blog by placing ads through Adsense on your blog. If you already have an account on Adsense from Youtube, use the same one. Follow the steps here to see how to place ads on your blog. I would also recommend using affiliate links when suggesting any products or clothing on your blog so you can earn commission. I have a video here all about this topic, as well as one here on getting sponsorships.