Still sitting on an idea for a blog without having done anything about it yet? It\’s probably time to get rolling. Get some hosting, buy the domain, and find a theme you like (we\’re partial to Socrates), and you\’re ready to start in on the content. But before you jump in, here are a few things you should be ready for before going live with your new website:
Flesh Out Your Idea as Much as Possible
You should have a pretty good idea of what specifically your site is going to be about, what kind of style you are going to write in, who your ideal audience (and eventually customers) are going to be, etc. If you just want to have a personal blog that gives you a platform to talk about anything and everything you are interested in, that is your prerogative, just keep in mind that the more focused your topic the more interest it will probably have to more people. (Counter-intuitive, yes, but it\’s true.) So try to decide up front what your blog will be devoted to and what problem it is going to help people solve. This way it will be much easier to figure out down the road what kinds of products to put in front of your audience.
Have Posts in Reserve
It is best if you go live with your blog with a couple of dozen of blog posts or articles ready to publish. This will give you some momentum up-front and will help prevent languishing. At the very least, take some time to sit down and brainstorm potential article topics, so that when the novelty and shine of your brand new blog has worn off somewhat, you will still have an arsenal of great information to give away.
Don\’t Let Fear Stop You
This is sort of a caveat to the above two tips. Although it is ideal to have as much material and focus as possible ready to go when you launch your blog, sometimes you just have a gut feeling and a general idea of which direction to move in. This too is fine. Don\’t let fear or perfectionism stop you from getting started. If you need some encouragement, just scroll back through the archives of some of your favorite blogs and read the first few posts of your favorite bloggers. You might be surprised to find that what they started writing about bears no resemblance to the blogs they run today. This is totally okay: everyone needs to start somewhere. Including you.