This is the first in a three-part series about some very common worries that
writers have about blogging.
If you're thinking about blogging, or if you've had a go but you're struggling, I hope this series will be helpful to you. Stay tuned for part #2 ("I'm afraid to put myself out there") and part #3 ("What if no-one ever reads my blog anyway?") in the next couple of
weeks.
One of the biggest worries I hear about blogging is "I'm not good with technology".
The world of blogging can feel very
daunting when you're new to it, with lots of unexplained and frankly weird terminology ("widget", "FTP", "child theme") and the potential for things to go horribly wrong.
If you've never created a website or blog before (or if you've had a go but didn't get far), it can seem like such a huge step that you're stuck
before you've even begun.
Why You Don't Need to Be Afraid to Giving Blogging a Try
Here's some good news for you about
blogging:
#1: Setting up and running a blog is easier than ever. Often, it's no harder than setting up a Facebook profile, and while there is a learning curve (especially if you want to do quite a lot of different things with your blog), it's absolutely something you can
conquer.
#2: There are loads of tutorials out there covering any task you might want to do. You can simple run a Google search for "how do I add an image in WordPress" or "how do I add an image in Blogger" and you'll find step by step instructions. If you prefer to
watch a video, search on YouTube and chances are, someone will have created one.
#3: If something does go wrong, there'll be a way to fix it (often with the click of an "undo" button). It's very hard to actually break your blog! (Even if you do, it can be fixed. I've broken mine a few
times by doing very techy things, and each time, I just reverted to the most recent backup.)
#4: You don't need to learn everything all at once. There's no need to take a course on blogging, or even buy a book. You can simply set up your blog and gradually learn each new task when you need to. For
instance, you might learn how to add a new post to your blog, and later learn how to include links within your post, then figure out how to include images and so on. At some future stage, you might move on to more involved tasks like setting up an email newsletter. The key thing is, you don't have to do all of this on day one!
#5: Blogging can be completely free. If you're going to be blogging as part of a business, then you'll probably want to invest in your own domain name (web address) at least ... but if you're just getting started, you can set up a totally free blog on WordPress.com or Blogger.com. You'll get an address with "wordpress" or "blogger" in it, but you can always pay to upgrade at a later stage.
Are you holding back from starting a blog because you feel like the technological side of things will defeat you? Or have you got part-way with a blog ... only to end up feeling stuck? Figure out the next little step you could take (perhaps finding a tutorial or asking a blogging friend for help).
Good luck!
