5 questions to ask yourself before you start a blog.

In the introduction to the #BlogLife101 series I told you what a blog is, gave you a little history about blogging, and told you that I would be back with a post called "Should you start a blog?"

Today we are  going over 5 questions you should ask yourself before you start your blog such as: Would your blog be a business or a personal blog & What is your motivation?

Having a blog is great! You know, as the blogger, that you have one cozy little corner of the world wide web all to yourself... that you control. You can tailor posts to your audience, or write posts simply to amuse yourself!

A blog can be minimal, without bells and whistles, or high tech and flashy!

Each blogger blogs for a different reason. Why would you be blogging?

I'm going to ask you to take out a pen/ pencil and a notepad that you can keep with you during the #BlogLife101 series because the questions I ask you today will be beneficial to future posts and valuable for you to hold on to.

1. Will your blog be a personal journal, lifestyle blog , or a business blog?
   
   • A personal journal would be a blog where you post your inner most thoughts and feelings to the world and you don't really care if people are reading it. 
   • A lifestyle blog is similar to a magazine or newspaper in the sense that you are building a brand, have followers, and need to post on a regular basis to keep your readers coming back (such as ApotheKayla or WinterStead).
   • A business blog would be attached to a business website and would be in place to describe your products or what goes on behind the scenes at your business.
     
2. What is your motive and your motivation?
   
   • Motive is the general reason you are wanting to blog. Do you want to share your art, or teach others about a subject that interests you? Or are you trying to spread the word about a cause like The Venus Project?
   • Motivation keeps you blogging. When you wake up you are motivated to write posts that your readers will enjoy. Are you wanting to show the world that a Mama's job is never done, or that one hundred years ago organic food was simply known as food?
     
3. Are you an expert at a skill and want to showcase your talent?
   
   • You don't have to be an expert at everything you write about, but if you are great at quilting and you enjoy showing others how to quilt then by all means share your talent.
   • A good way to think about your skill and if you should blog about it is this: will your writing/ or video blogging help to answer commonly asked questions about your particular skill. Also will your point of view be useful to your reader?
     
4. Do you want to build relationships with your readers and keep them coming back?
   
   • A static webpage may have a "contact me" option but a blog allows your readers the chance to get to know you. When your readers learn about you and why you blog they are more likely to return to your blog. 
   • A good reader-blogger relationship can really make the difference in your life and your readers life. The reader who feels like they have a friendly relationship with a blogger will also be more likely to spread the word about your blog, and able to give you advice about your blog that you wouldn't have thought of.
   • If you are not fond of interacting with people you can still blog, but you may end up being one of your only readers.
   • The comments section of any blog is one of my favorite part, readers can connect with you there or through social media.
     
5. Are you open to improving your writing and computer skills?
   • Bloggers, for the most part, would be yelled at by their English Professor. (Myself included) The great thing about blogging  is that you will not be using the typical APA Essay format when writing (I will write more about this later).
   • You don't have to be the best author in the world but you need to be open to learning about how to write a blog, and how to keep people interested. 
   • Some bloggers barely write at all; you can be a vlogger (video blogger) or share artwork/ graphics that represent what you want to share with the world. 
   • You also will not need to be proficient in HTML code, if you already are then you will be able to use this skill but it's not necessary.
   • You will need a basic understanding of the internet, social media, and research skills. 
   • Blogging will improve your computer skills, but it will take time and practice.
     
     
   
   These questions are pretty basic. If you have answered them honestly and you still believe a blog is right for you then stay tuned! I have many awesome posts coming up!
   
   Ahh.. so you want to know what I'll be writing about next? Good because I have a syllabus for you!---->>
   
   In a few days I will be back with a post called "What's a niche and how to find yours!"
   
   I also wanted to address the challenge that I started. You don't have to participate, and I will run it again on week 6. I wanted to give you a cool way to gauge your before and after progress!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   For day 1 of the #BlogLife101 Challenge my answer was...
   Post by Winterstead.
   
   
   Alright friends I will be back shortly with another post! Until then have a great day, and if you have any questions or comments for me about the #BlogLife101 series let me know in the comments section below!