The Fear of Blogging
Blogging can help you express your ideas and thinking process. Therefore, many try to begin blog writing. Some became bloggers after retiring, while others picked it up before graduating.
So, you can rest assured that there is no fixed age at which you can begin your journey as a blogger.
Do not worry about the ad revenue, traffic data, or search engine optimization (SEO) when starting your first free blog. Although those skills are extremely important, you will likely learn them one by one before starting your second blog.
Your first blog post will also be your worst blog post.
And guess what!
That is alright.
You will also witness many unfavorable responses from many individuals based on how you promote your blog posts and whether you have the necessary content writing skills to avoid sounding too boring, too robotic, or too unserious.
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| Article image: An imaginary group of new bloggers |
If you still want to give it a try, the following generic tips might be a good starting point to prepare for what is to come next.
It is Okay to Start Small
There is no need to write long, complicated blog posts. In fact, you will likely post less frequently because of the perfectionism associated with writing and editing lengthy posts.
Your first blog will help you fine-tune your style and develop the discipline required for more professional blogging projects. Even if you have no plans to write for another brand or website, sooner or later, you must start thinking about each post as a tiny unit of a bigger project.
Besides, blogging allows you to continuously update your old content.
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Therefore, do not be afraid to make mistakes. You do not need to get Grammarly Premium or buy a dedicated domain name when you just want to test your ability to post at least once a week.
Keeping blog posts between 200 to 300 words can help you when you are a newbie blogger. As you learn about various blog post lengths, you will want to revisit your older posts and add 100 to 300 words to them.
So, your first blog post might seem too short right now. However, in the next 2 to 5 years, it might have more than a thousand words. Again, there are many writing and editing skills that will help you avoid some well-known drawbacks of writing for some word count limits.
Do Not Blog Alone
Bloggers often network with other content creators. Many have followed prominent bloggers who share essential tips with their community. There are also dedicated forums that focus on helping new bloggers understand some basic HTML, CSS, and SEO skills.
Do not rely on your introversion as an excuse to not interact with other content creators. As a new blogger, you will likely get a lot of complaints about not checking content with Grammarly.
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Experienced bloggers will also inspect whether your blog has a clear target audience. If you write about too many different topics, this approach will make it harder to retain audiences. However, on your first blog, experimenting with different topics will be a nice practice before you start more strategic blogging aimed at creating loyal audiences and generating revenue from legal and proven methods.
Your Passion and Relatability Matter More Than the Trends
Fear of blogging has a lot to do with the fear of failing. If you want zero criticism and instant success, blogging, like many other activities, is destined to disappoint you. At the same time, you want to avoid falling into the trap of trending topics.
Many trends disappear once newer trending topics emerge. Surely, SEO based on keyword tracking and trend monitoring has its importance. Still, avoid worrying about those concepts when you start your first blog. Those practices will show their true power when you start your second blog or revamp your old blog posts with new skills.
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Long story short: Your first blog must serve you. Once you have understood a few core strategies in SEO, indexing, content writing, website-powered revenue sources, and marketing, you can start narrowing down your focus.
As an upcoming blogger, prioritize sharing ideas about your genuine passion, life experiences, and relatable stories. Later, you can apply the principles of professional blogging to your second, non-free blog, which is a small component of a much bigger marketing plan with a laser-sharp revenue focus.
All the best.
