How To Make, Run & Manage Your Own Blog | Via Blogger/Blogspot

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Recently I have been asked a tone of questions one how I started my blog, edited it and manage it and so I thought the best way possible to explain this to people would to create a blog post dedicated to how I started my blog, right from the sign up process to the HTML and coding and then managing and releasing posts. This will be a text heavy post but I hope that many people will find this helpful in knowing my tips and ways I manage my blog.

Signing Up:
The easiest part of creating a blog is signing up, I chose to use Blogger but there are many other platforms you can use such as Wordpress, however for a beginner Blogger is the easiest and most efficient way to keep upnto date with your blog. It is also a much easier way to design the overall look of your blog. 

The signup process was pretty simple for my, Blogger will guide you step by step through what you needs, things such as: name, e-mail address and the most important part your blog url/name. Try and pick something that is fairly short, unique but will also be memorable to your readers, (yes you can change your blog name in the future if you please, but it becomes hard for your readers and viewers to follow). Also try and pick a name that would go specifically with what you will be blogging about, for me I knew right off the bat I would be doing a beauty related blog, I also know that I am quite little and short so littlebeautybug, just kind of went with my overall theme of what I was trying to create.

Once you have signed up its time to design your blog:

Design & Template:
Once you have signed up and made it into your blogger homepage which should look something like this:
To start designing your Template you want to click on the arrow that I have highlighted in a square red box above and you want to select the 'Layout' option. Once in that option at the top of the screen there will be a 'Template Designer' option in blue, you want to click on this. Once you are in there your can customize everything from your link colors, background colors and images, fonts and much more. This is the area you can really play around with and see what things look like. If you are advanced with HTML you can also add your own pieces into the customization of your template. You can also find pre-made templates on many other websites, however you do have to purchase these and I sadly don't like to pay for that.

For my blog I did much of my own work, after doing graphic design for many years I found it very easy to create all of my Headers, Buttons and all graphics that you view on my blog. I also take requests for this, if you wish to have a graphic made for your blog or webpage.

To add Widgets and different sidebars on to your blog you will want to again click on the arrow that I have highlighted in red above, and select the 'Layout' option, this will bring up the layout of your blog where you will be able to mix things around and move them as you please. You can also add widgets such as followers, search, tags and many more things. To add a widget click on the 'Add Gadget' which will most likely be highlighted in blue, there you will find many options for you to add. Again if you have basic HTML knowledge you can also make and add your own, which in my case is what I have done for my blog to customize it even more.

Managing Your Blog:
If your life is anything like mine sometimes you simply don't have time to blog, the biggest things I always like to remember is I blog because this is what I like to do, I don't do it for anyone else. However if people enjoy my blog for the things I post its always a bonus.

I find the easiest way to maintain a blog is:

1) Draft and writing up blog post's in advance
I have about 10 posts drafted at all times, that way when it comes time to publish a blog post, I have a good variety to pick from and I always have something ready to go when I need it. It also makes ti very quick and easy to post in a matter of seconds.

2) Schedule posts
Blogger also has an amazing option that you can pick the day and time that your blog post will be released, this is also a great feature if you have something to do in your day that you won't get time to be online but want to release a blog post.

3) Be as consistent as possible
Pick a time period where you would like to release posts, I try to do one post every two days and I try and stick to this posting schedule as much as possible, but sometimes life just gets in the way and even that doesn't work.

4) Preview your posts before you publish them
My favorite part about Blogger is that there is an option where you can preview your blog post's before they are published, I use this feature mainly to see how my images look in a post and if I need to retake the images or change them, etc. I find this also really helpful in seeing how long the post will be and to help me edit and proofread the posts.

5) Stay positive
Blogger and blogging isn't about followers and if at first you don't get any, keep posting, Blogger for me and many others is a hobby and something that many people do because make-up, beauty, fashion and anything else is there passion and they want to creatively express that.

I hope that in some way you have found this post helpful, if you wish to ask me any questions be sure to leave them below in the comments section, on my tumblr or even on my instagram, I will always be happy to answer any of your posts.


4 comments :

  1. This seems so helpful to bloggers just starting out! Great post.
    -Charlotte
    http://www.incharlottesshoes.blogspot.co.uk/

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    Replies
    1. Thank-you, I'm hoping to do some more of these posts to help out beginners and those just starting out with blogger and blogging.

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  2. This is great, perfect for anyone that is only just starting out :)

    Would you like to follow each other on Bloglovin and GFC? If you do please could you follow & let me know on my blog, I will follow straight back :)

    beautysaveuk ♥

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    Replies
    1. Thanks I'm really glad that you enjoyed this post.
      I'll be sure to check out your blog and let you know if I followed or not :)

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Embrace and Ignite is a beauty blog run by Krystal-Marie which is dedicated to being the buzz-hub for the latest and greatest beauty products.

Thank you all for sharing my love of beauty and makeup and I look forward to connecting with you all in the comments section!