So you want to start a blog? Tips from BlissDom

On the eve of another BlissDom Canada conference, I reviewed my learnings from last year. Can’t teach an old dog new tricks and all. This year they will try and teach me more new tricks and we will have more laughs–and probably a few tears and definitely a glass or two of soda. If you are a blogger, I hope you ‘get’ what I am saying here. If you are in Collingwood this weekend, introduce yourself we can swap business cards but not saliva.

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I have only been blogging for 5 months and have learned relatively nothing. Not true. What I have learned is that I have a lot to learn.

Here is the wisdom that other (also ill-informed) people have imparted when I tell them I am a blogger:

1. Blogging isn’t a real job. What do you really do?
2. How long does it take you to blog? 20 minutes?
3. I tried blogging once, but it didn’t go anywhere.
4. You have enough to say to blog every week? (These are people who clearly don’t know me).
5. I never really thought you were funny. How can you write a humour blog?
6. There are too many competitors. Why bother?

So here are the meagre offerings I have on starting a blog if you should so choose.

1. Ignore other people’s advice on starting a blog unless they are a successful blogger. And, by successful, I mean a blogger you like. I don’t mean, necessarily, a blogger that makes the most money, unless that is something you like.
2. Only you know what the blog needs to be about. The blog is ALL YOU. What does your cousin Penny or your neighbour’s, sister’s, friend’s accountant know about it?
3. Use WordPress. As much as it drives me crazy sometimes, it really is user-friendly. There are other perks like having most other bloggers using WordPress so you can commiserate have a common blogging language and more support too.
4. Don’t watch the stats every hour unless you have wine handy. It is super tempting to post a blog and see if it goes crazy viral in the first 10 minutes. If It does, amazing! But if it doesn’t it really bums you out and the wine goes down too fast.
5. Do support your blog with other social media. Choose somewhere else to tell people about your blog. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, the bulletin board at the school. Whatever makes the most sense for your reader. Cross promote, cross promote, cross promote.
6. Other bloggers are not the enemy. On the contrary. They are your best allies! Other bloggers will support you when no one else has the time for you. They will like your stuff even when you may not. They will share your posts when they are not sucky too. Make love not war.

I can talk all sorts of trash about what I learned at the social media conference, but I still don’t know much. I know that I am where I am supposed to be because as shit scared as I was about attending BlissDom, I am actually more shit scared now. The amazing women who have supported me over the past few days have made me understand that my peeps are not just the neighbours, friends, family and the neighbour’s, sister’s, friend’s accountant who have supported me for years, but they are also the bloggers who are trying to figure this out at the same time as I am. Who knew that I could feel so loved in a room full of strangers? Who knew I could feel so welcome even though I may be unconventional? Who knew I was so flexible… that’s for another day my friends.

Love to my new BlissDom peeps!