I don’t know if this is relevant especially with many people starting out on Vlogging; but I guess you can use it too. Friends have been asking me this for years and now, finally, I am writing it. Apologies for the delay but hey, this is kept simple and with an updated view from my own experience (especially delays). So without further ado, here are are my six steps in starting a blog.

1.Identify your objective

What do you want to achieve with your blog? It’s not enough to just say “I just want to write” or “I just want to share”. A lot of people have been doing that. Every activity starts with a vision, and your blog should be part of the mission to achieve what you see happening years to come.

Your objective also helps you map out your blogging goals which then gives you a view of the content you are going to share and the tone you are going to use.

2. Identify your strength and interest

We attract people with the same vibe. Don’t make your blogging ventures difficult by simply writing about stuff which you are not an expert. Be kind to yourself and to your readers.

One thing that sells best in the digital field is “authenticity”. People can easily smell a liar and a cheat especially if you are sharing about things which you are not good in. They want someone who can give them valuable information, advises, and one that connects well with them.

So start listing what you love to do, why you love doing it, and from there determine what your readers may want to learn from you.

3. Choose a platform

It is important to know the best platform to use. Other simply assume its best to use a certain site for their blog where in fact it’s not. Some blogging sites are best for photographers, others are best for business owners.

The same way if you to boost your social media presence. Identifying your platform not only helps heighten your visibility online but helps you attract the right people too.

4. Create an Motivational Directory

There will be times when your braincells run dry of ideas. It’s good to have a motivational directory for inspiration. Of course, this is not an idea to plagiarize — don’t you dare copy someone else’s content or rewrite it. As a content writer, this is the lowest trick to capture your audience. You can repurpose it but with proper acknowledgement of the work and with the author’s blessing. Again, authenticity is the key.

A motivational directory is a list of sites which inspires you to create content. You can get ideas you want to share while you learn from them. It pays to also acknowledge an author or creator in your content — it’s but right

5. Just Write

Just write, start a video — just get it done. Don’t worry too much on your grammar. You can just edit it later. What keeps so many of us procrastinating on publishing content is our worry. We want everything to be perfect. Well, don’t let the desire to perfection get to you. Just write, read, review, and publish.

6. Plan your content

You may have noticed I placed the “plan your content” as the last tip. Well, that’s because planning can sometimes lead us to procrastinating. Don’t get me wrong though, it’s better to plan things out. It keeps you guided. But if you are just starting out with your blogging venture, like just getting one content out there (your first content) , ditch the planning for later.

We want such perfect plans for our blogs we forgot, we will never truly know the next step until we have started with the first step — to just move.

Now, how to plan your content? just list ideas down. It is best to start with inspirations from the books you’ve read or the links you gathered (from the motivational directory). It is also good to keep a notebook with you always or have a notepad on your phone to write it down (I like the notebook better) wherever you are.

Schedule these content when you’d want to share them. It is also best to have an idea of the upcoming events in case you want to relate your work with that event. Planning can help you get things organize — but please if  you are just starting out, just write.

These are just some steps I’d like to share on how to start a blog. Of course, there may be others who also have better steps than I do or may give one that’s more fitting to your liking.

Try to find more ideas and see what would work best with  you including the style you want to have when you write or share your content.

… and in every writing remember, you are writing to inspire not to impress. Keep it simple and make sure it will help others to pursue their best selves.