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It\u2019s new and relatively unknown. Blogging is a concept many people are trying, but not many know what they\u2019re doing. It\u2019s evolved significantly in the past few years, and the future looks promising in the millennial world. This week I\u2019m answering one of the main non-travel related questions I get: how to start\/maintain a blog.<\/p>\n
Recently, I was putting together a presentation for a speaking event on blogging and while I was creating it I ended up writing this post as well. I know many of my readers have contacted me with questions regarding the new world of blogging, so what better time to answer them.<\/p>\n
Here we go!<\/p>\n
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To be a blogger you need a niche <\/strong><\/p>\n You can\u2019t be a \u201ctravel-fashion-beauty-fitness blogger\u201d and be successful. Maybe you could have been eight years ago, but not today. These topics are too broad and there are too many different subjects. It may be hard to narrow down what you want to dedicate yourself to, but having a central theme is the single most important aspect of blogging. Define yourself and who you are. Think specific, and know that you need to start with a designated audience. Me? I\u2019m a \u201ccollege student adventure budget traveler\u201d. There are thousands of college bloggers, adventure bloggers, budget bloggers, and a million travel bloggers; but there\u2019s only a few specifically similar to me.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Commitment is key <\/strong><\/p>\n Blogging is not easy. The world may make it seem like we whip out an article over a hot cup of coffee as a candle flickers next to us on a cool evening. In the real world, it\u2019s more like 2am and my coffee is cold and the candle is burning down my dresser but I\u2019m not even noticing because I\u2019ve been staring at the same paragraph for an hour. Ah, the joy.<\/p>\n Blogging is a job and it takes (a lot of) time. Almost all successful bloggers spend long nights and days with no pay, hovering over their computer and creating content before they even started getting followers. It is an investment before it reaps the reward. If you want to make money off a blog, you need to prove yourself first.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Know your voice <\/strong><\/p>\n Everyone has a voice and everyone is going to write differently. Don\u2019t try to copy anyone else\u2019s work, because it won\u2019t be true to who you are. Find your writing style and stick to it. I\u2019ll admit (If you haven\u2019t already noticed) that I\u2019m not great with proper grammar or correct sentence structure. There are a million people out there who would\u2019ve told me not to start a blog because I don\u2019t write like a god-gifted descendent of Shakespeare or Hemingway. Don\u2019t try to change yourself for the business.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Don\u2019t always listen to professionals <\/strong><\/p>\n BUT LISTEN TO MEEEEEEEE. Aren\u2019t I such a hypocrite? \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n It\u2019s easy to get sucked into \u201cthis is what you need to do to be a successful blogger\u201d. But the truth is that you need to figure out what works for you and disregard the people who try to tell you it can\u2019t be done otherwise. If you put enough hard work and passion into your blog, anything is possible. I pay very little attention to trends and what the \u2018blogging world\u2019 is saying because frankly, I could care less. I blog the way that is going to make me happy – because if I\u2019m not happy, eventually my readers won\u2019t be either. It\u2019s not mathematics, and there is no perfect formula.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Know there is never going to be the perfect time <\/strong><\/p>\n You want to start a blog, but you\u2019re waiting for work to calm down or for school to get less busy. I\u2019m here to tell you there is never, ever, ever, EVER going to be a time in your life where you feel ready to start a blog and take a leap. The truth is, you just have to go for it. It\u2019s okay to have a blog and not know what the hell you\u2019re doing (welcome to my life). But that\u2019s the beauty of it, because great opportunities can come from the smallest chance. If you don\u2019t try, you\u2019ll never know.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Now\u2026.GO BUY A DOMAIN BEFORE THE NAME YOU WANT IS GONE.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n BEHIND THE BLOG: HOW TO START YOUR OWN It\u2019s new and relatively unknown. Blogging is a concept many people are trying, but not many know what they\u2019re doing. It\u2019s evolved significantly in the past few years, and the future looks promising in the millennial world. This week I\u2019m answering one of the main non-travel related…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":120,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"tpl-no-header-footer.php","format":"standard","meta":{"sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,8,22],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"IMG_0980\"](\"https:\/\/img.shaleewanders.com\/2016\/03\/IMG_0980-1024x1024.jpg\")
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