Calm down. I’m not pregnant. It’s been a little over seven months and counting for my blog.
Let me begin by saying this. In no way shape or form am I a guru when it comes to this blogging thing. I can honestly say that when I thought about doing it five years ago, I didn’t think that it would actually come to fruition five years later. I could have started it eons ago. The excuse I kept giving myself was that blogging would be too much of a distractions from school. School finished five years ago. Still no blog. Then grad school started and I was back within the good graces of my excuses. Finished grad school and officially ran out of reasons. So I started it. Oh yeah, and my backup excuse was that I’m not tech savvy enough. And well, I’m not. Everything that I’ve created and designed thus far, I taught myself. Luckily WordPress provides templates with very detailed descriptions of cool things you can do to make it more personal. A majority of the material that I initially posted had already been written in advance and needed to be reviewed. Coming up with new material will begin to fry your brain over time. This was my attempt to stay ahead of the game. It’s also another reason why I only blog once a week. Writers block and burnout are real things friends. I get so excited about material sometimes that I rearrange my posting schedule a little more often than I should.
Started from the bottom now I’m here.
Now I’ve gotten rather fancy with it. I’ve got cards. International readers. A variety of content from ramblings in my head and childhood stories to book and album reviews. I’m constantly learning new features within WordPress. The coolest part was researching and discovering that there is an entire world of bloggers. Like we damn near have our own society. Finding and connecting with Black Bloggers United (Charlotte chapter) was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made concerning my blog. Shout out to my creative tribe! The connections I’ve made are priceless. GET CONNECTED!
Y’all know I’m one for lists but I’ll keep it short. A few tips for those that may be on the fence about starting a blog.
- GET THE MOLASSES OUT YA ASS:
The content isn’t going to create itself! The longer you wait, the more likely you’ll be fishing the internet and stumble across a topic you wanted to write about. Trust me. It happens all the time. But guess what…….it still wasn’t YOUR perspective……which brings me to point number 2. - IF YOU’RE STUCK ASKING YOURSELF WHAT YOUR BLOG WILL BE ABOUT, GUESS WHAT
and refer to number one. Remember, this is YOUR space. - PROMOTE YOURSELF LIKE HELL: There isn’t a conversation I’m having where I don’t mention that I’m a blogger or that I have a book club. At this point, not too much else matters to me. No one is going to be (or should be) as passionate about your work as you. Toot your own damn horn!
- DON’T FORCE IT: Give yourself a break if need be, but don’t give up. That my friends is how you keep the passion for it.
Pretty Dope Right? 