GirlGI | Girl Gone International GirlGI Issue 4 | Page 46

9 MUST DOS Bonnie Rose | www.bonnieroseblog.co.uk 1 Find your niche What do you want to blog about? Choose your concept. Write about something that sparks your passion or reflects your daily experience. 2 Decide on a name Make it relevant to you and your concept. Keep it original as you may want to create a custom domain and accounts on social media sites. Make it brandable and easy to remember. 3 Choose a blogging platform If you create your own domain, you might choose to self-host your blog on a ser ver such as Bluehost. Otherwise explore Wordpress, Blogger and Tumblr. Each platform has it’s own pros and cons. Select which one fits you best. 4 Select a theme The visual aspects of a blog are just as impor tant as the content. You can find free and paid themes for your specific blogging platform. Keep it simple and visually appealing to accentuate your posts. 5 Write Introduce yourself in your first post and begin your blogging journey! 6 Brand yo’self Anything you put on your blog should reflect you. Think of it as your brand. 7 Welcome growth Update your blog as you move on and don’t be afraid to tr y new things. Let your blog evolve as you do. 8 Be consistent Keep a consistent blogging schedule. This could be daily, weekly or bi-weekly. The more activity you have on your blog the more appealing it will be to readers. 9 Encourage comments Let readers know you appreciate their comments. Always reply to your readers. Choose a blog comment hosting ser vice like Disqus or CommentLuv. CAPTCHA may discourage some readers from leaving comments, especially if they are using their smar t phones.