A blogger's world!

So my blog is one week old today! One week is not exactly a long time but it feels as though I have been blogging for months and there is a lot that I have learnt in the last week and I am sure that I will continue to learn as my baby blog grows! So today I am simply just going to sit here and talk to you about what I have learnt so far, tips on starting your own blog (I am no expert but sharing is caring right?) and just some things that come along with being a blogger!

What have I learnt so far?

I have only been blogging for a week but it has been one of the most insightful, exciting and thrilling weeks of my life (excuse the cheesiness there! haha) and I obviously still do not know everything but starting a blog has made me look at things in a different light and change the way I do certain things such as handling my social media! Before having my blog, like most people I could post whatever I wanted on my social media without even giving it a thought! And technically I still can but before I put out a tweet or an Instagram, I have to think about who's reading and the effect it will have on my blog and how people perceive me. For example, now I would never tweet something indirect or silly or moaning like "oh grow up" or "I'm so angry" because I don't want to bring anyone down and if any of you beautiful people follow me, you might think I am a horrible person or something! If I put out an embarrassing Instagram, all of you guys will see it! I have just learnt to think about the effect my posts have on you lovely people because I want to brighten your day and make you smile so tweeting encouraging things is a way to do that and even if you don't have a blog try your best to make others smile and feel good because why not? It takes seconds to send out a tweet that could change someones mood for the day! Since I have had a blog, my social media is no longer all about me it is all about you guys!

Tips on starting your blog

First of all I am no expert but I have had a few people asking me to teach them how to start a blog and what to do and what not to do and all of these things! Blogging is an experience where you constantly learn, it gives you a chance to reflect on the things that you are writing about, it can be quite therapeutic sometimes! As I keep saying I have only been doing this for a week but I have started my blog and I am pretty happy with it, I have done a bit of html, I have posted every day, I have made my header, edited photos, made social network icons, interacted with other bloggers ect.

The thing is if you were to ask me how did you make your header? I couldn't just type up an email or a blog post, I would have to sit down with you for an afternoon and show you! For example, my good friend Becky recently started a blog and asked me to help her out so she came over and we spent the entire day together making it and setting things up and it is still not finished because it takes time to build up your blog! However, what I can do is give some top tips! I will also create a post that will be a step by step guide to starting your blog so brace yourselves for that one!

So I thought I would share with you some mistakes that either I've made or most bloggers make when starting out so you won't have to go through the same thing!

The first mistake a lot of bloggers make is picking their name! Not a lot of people think about their name in the beginning and this is the first thing I say to anyone who asks me about starting a blog, what will your name be? And a lot of the time they reply with "I don't know" which is perfectly fine but you really should think about it beforehand, plan it and don't rush it! Pick a name that is easy to remember and that is catchy and make sure that your url matches your blog name! If your blog name is 'billions of buttons' but your url is candycanes.blogspot.com then people will get confused and find you difficult to remember! My blog name is Charlotte Ansell because that is my birth name and that is my name on my social networks and it is what I plan to have as my you tube name in the future so that is the reason I have it as my blog title. You could just have your birth name or you could have a name that reflects what you write about and who you are as a person, for example at first my blog was going to be called 'makeupandmischief' because my blog is a beauty, fashion and lifestyle blog so the name reflected that but I would have to title my social networks makeupandmischief and everyone would get kind of confused so I stuck with Charlotte Ansell. Basically, just think about your name people!

Another mistake bloggers often make is just putting up posts every now and then but wondering why no one is noticing their blog! Leave comments on other blogs! If you don't leave a comment anywhere no one is going to see you! But don't leave comments like 'check out my blog please' and leave a link, comments are not a promotional tool, they are there for bloggers to get positive feedback and for others to see a glimpse of  your personality and if you leave a lovely comment, 9 times out of ten I'll click it and go look at your blog! Don't force your blog on people! It has the adverse effect! Also, I found this really helped me, promote on google+! I don't want to bombard my Instagram and twitter followers with blog posts being as I post everyday, so I promote my blog on google+! It helps get your blog onto search engines and the more you promote, the more people will see it and the more it will come up in google! Also, interact with your readers! Especially when you are starting out, encourage them to tweet you or leave you comments, give them oppurtunities to talk to you and get to know you! Take their requests, remember you are writing for them as well as yourself and without your readers, your blog would be useless really, you might as well create a diary!

Take your own photos! Try your best not to use stock photos as it is nice to have a personal touch to your blog and make people trust and believe what you are writing about! Anyone can copy and paste a picture from superdrug and say that they love this product! How do the readers know that you own or use or love that product if you are using a stock photo?! If you have to use stock photos for any reason such as if the products have yet to be released or your camera's broken but if you ever are in these situations explain this to your readers! They aren't phychic! Also, one of the main things I enjoy about blogging is taking photos!

Use social media! If the only social network you have is facebook, how are readers going to get to know you or see what you are doing, what you are wearing or what your style is? You need to connect with your readers and using other social networks such as Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr are great ways to do it!

Be patient! You may have just stumbled across a big blog like Zoella or Sprinkle of Glitter and thought "wow, how did they get so many followers?!" They have been doing their blogs now for about 6 years! It has taken a long time to get to where they are, it doesn't get big overnight and you need to be commited to your blog if you want it to be a success! However, don't make 'getting big' your focus, if you start a blog purely to get freebies and followers then I wish you luck because it is a lot of work for some freebies and just a lot of followers! Blogging takes time and it can be frustrating as much as it is fun but it is all worth it! You should blog because you enjoy it and no other materialistic reason! If you are willing to do blogging for years then go for it because it is so rewarding and to think that you could inspire people, help people and make them smile just by sitting down for half an hour to write a post is so amazing but you have to be in it for the right reasons! If you feel like you have no followers and no one is interested and you feel like giving up, just wait! Be patient, every blogger has felt like that at some point and for the first year or so it will mostly just be you and your blog and you will feel like it is a lot of wasted effort but if you are committed to your blog you will see results in the end! If your blog is good it will take care of itself! Don't stress about it, just write your blog about whatever you want to write a blog about and if you enjoy your posts then others will start to enjoy them too!

Also, a tip I would recommend to everyone (and a lot of bloggers do this) is keep a book or notepad where you write down all of your ideas or even just make a note on your phone and then you will never have to suffer with bloggers block because you will have a whole book full of ideas!

As for making your header and layout and all of that kind of stuff, you really just have to teach yourself! I can't teach you just by typing up a post, it would be too confusing! You have to have a play with things, download a photo editor and try things out, that is the best way to learn! If you get really stuck or just don't have a natural flare for design, type it into google or you tube and it will show you what to do, it is a matter of trial and error but I would suggest getting your blog to a place where you are happy with the design before you post anything.

Ok I think that is enough tips for today! Sorry if I rambled on a little bit but if this helped just one of you reading this then I will be very happy! I hope that you enjoy blogging and hopefully you won't make too many mistakes but if you do, it's okay! Learn from them! If any of you have decided to start a blog or have a blog already, feel free to leave a link in the comments below and I will be sure to check it out and it is a way for you all to get your blog out there and others will see it! Good luck!

All my social links are at the top of the page or on my contact page, I would love to tweet you guys or have a little conversation on Instagram! There is a follow button in the sidebar if you want to click that I would be extremely happy! See you in the next post!

Charlotte x