What I Wish I Knew As A Beginner Blogger

Hey guys! Today I’m excited to share a guest post from the amazing blogger behind imterrah.com! I hope you enjoy the advice that Terrah has to share with anyone who wants to start a blog. – XO, Cath

When people ask me questions about blogging and how to become a blogger, I tell them the truth. It ain’t easy, AT ALL. If you do not have a passion for blogging it is not for you. I’m sorry if that sounds a little harsh or rude, but it is the truth. You can ask any blogger, and they’ll tell you just that. You NEED to have a passion. If you lack passion for blogging it will become a chore because there is much more to blogging than writing down words. It is hard work. Blogging is a full-time job, and you have to be dedicated to for success to come.

Regardless of all the hard work that blogging consist of, I love it so much! Originally, I used my blog as a place to escape from the real world. And then, I found myself wanting to do it for real! It took me awhile to put my everything in it and understand the importance of consistency when it comes to blogging, but once I did…It was amazing! I was learning how to become a blogger. One thing future bloggers have to understand, it does not happen overnight! I took so many courses, free and paid, and I am currently in an Instagram for success course! I am continually learning, and the Social Media/Blogging world is ALWAYS changing.

Some amazing things I discovered about blogging, is the power you can have in the internet world! The technical and social media aspects of it all! Not to mention the amazing blogging community, it is fantastic! I have not met a rude or unhelpful person in the blogging world. I’ve noticed in the blog world; there is a lot of competition because so many people are doing what you are doing; however, everyone is willing to help each other! There is a hashtag #helpabloggerout – lol

If I could go back in time and give myself some advice on how to become a blogger, I would! However, I can’t so I thought I would tell you guys my advice/story on what I would do differently if I were to start over.

5 Blog Posts Ready to Go

I did not do this, and I am not sure why, probably because I didn’t even think about it! But, I am telling you now. Before launching your blog to go live, have some content on there that your future readers can read. Not just a site with nothing on there to explore.

I think that having posts ready to go is a good way to get started. I am still trying to have a few blog posts ready to go and scheduled for future dates, it is not easy, but it can help you save time in the future. Think about it, with posts drafted, scheduled, and ready to go, you can spend time on photography, images, marketing techniques, social media, and more!

Quality Images

Images can be a bit of a challenge at first! They are still difficult for me today. Whether they are images for your blog or Instagram, they all need to be high-quality images.

I am currently changing how I edit images, so they can all be a cohesive theme. I want people to think, man this is a great image! Believe it or not, people see your images before your words and if they do not like your image, whether it is Instagram or your blog they won’t continue to explore who you are if you do not have great images. I mean would you?

I have two ways to take my photos! I use my iPhone 7 Plus (I love Portrait) the most and I have a Canon camera, but a lot of my photos are captured with my iPhone 7. It is 2018 and as you all know phone companies are doing a fantastic job with the camera quality on the new phones. So, if you do not have a professional camera yet, I would not worry if I were you. Your Google Pixel, Galaxy, or iPhone will do the job just fine and capture fantastic images.

Now, let’s talk edit! When editing your photos, you do not want to over edit, because it will make your photos look amateur and it will take the focus away from what you are trying to promote and share. I learned a while ago to not over edit. Sometimes, I would still play with some edits, but I realized I like adjusting the brightness, contracts, highlights, etc more than anything!

Please remember, I am STILL trying to master the craft of photography – lol

If you want photo ideas, let’s say you aren’t too comfortable being in the photo yet, or you just don’t want to be in the photo at all. Helene Sula has a great post about different Instagram photography ideas.

Also, if you want to find the perfect way to edit. I just bought a subscription to Lightroom and here is a detailed, fantastic post by (again) Helene Sula! She literally embodies amazing photography! So, I recommend checking her out!

Planning

You need to plan it is honestly a requirement in the how to become a blogger handbook. There is no possible way you will remember to do everything you need to with your blog and in life. You have to remember blogging is a full-time job and if you do work a full-time job, it will get a little busy.

I have a passion planner, and I take it almost everywhere I go! I have my to-do list, my ideas, and my goals all in my planner. I love it! It helps me tremendously! I highly recommend getting a planner to using an online calendar, something to help you remember what you need to do.

One fantastic tool you can use is automation! Scheduling and automating is are a bloggers best friend. I plan everything I can, and without it, I would seriously be drowning in things to do. I am not going to go into detail on it in this post, but click here, and I have an entire article on automation tools.

Marketing

Figure out, how you would like to market! By that, I mean what social media platforms are you going to focus on to develop great ways to drive traffic to your blog. For me, I focus on Pinterest and Instagram. My third choice is Facebook because I am in numerous Facebook Groups.

You have to market to become successful in the blogging world. It is essential in how to become a blogger. If you had a website and no one knew about it, it would not be successful. So, you have to market, and at times you have to pay for the content that you market, so it can reach a broader audience.

You do not want to focus on all Social Media Platforms because you will get overwhelmed and you want to make sure you master a couple, so it can help you grow your blog.

My focus: Pinterest and IG

I shared with you all of the advice I would give myself on how to become a blogger! Blogging is a full-time job, but it is an incredible experience that I recommend if you are serious about it!

Below, I would like to share some helpful links with you guys that helped me learn and grow as a blogger and that I wrote to help others learn how to become a blogger:

SEO Related:

• SEO from a Beginning Blogger to a Beginning Blogger
• Website SEO for Beginners: Everything you need to start optimizing your website
• SEO For Bloggers

Social Media Related:

• The Best of But First, Coffee | A Look Back at 2017
• The Ultimate Guide to Instagram Stories
• 3 Ways To Drive Traffic To Your Website With Pinterest

Blogging is an amazing way to impact others positively! If it is your passion, I recommend giving it a try, and hopefully, this post helps you all! You may not be an overnight success, but with hard work, dedication, and passion success are in your future. I am still working hard every day on my blog, my Instagram page, and my Pinterest profile. It never gets easy only easier. With Social Media and the web constantly growing you will be learning something new all the time. It could be a new (helpful) app, program, code, anything! As a blogger, you have to adapt to the changes that are occurring online.

KEEP READING…

    

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Terrah LP is a Lifestyle Blogger from San Antonio, Texas. Her passion is marketing and social media influencing, she graduated with her Bachelors in Business Administration, Marketing in May 2016. Terrah hopes to become a full-time blogger (www.imterrah.com) and help small businesses with their social media/marketing in the future. Follow Terrah on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook!

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