Bloggy-type help: Writing your first blog post

The-very-first-blog-post

I started a thing a while back, about helping people that email me about blogging. Usually I just reply back to them and give them advice, but I thought it’s probably more useful to share here so that other people can take something from it as well, hopefully. This email popped into my inbox:

I have been following your blog and the Photo-a-Day challenge for a while now and I have to say I love it! I love the fact that you combine so many great things in one place, and it keeps me on my toes for taking pictures with my phone. It all seems so effortless in the way you write and capture your audience; as I’m sure it’s not!

Since 2007 I’ve been living in South East Asia (born and raised in Holland), as I was following my (now) husband here. I have been thinking of starting a blog for the longest time, but with a full time job taking up 60hrs of my week, it was just impossible. We recently moved to Phuket (Sept 2013) and here I am unable to work unfortunately. But as we say in Holland ‘every disadvantage has its advantages’, this will give me the opportunity to do things I have never been able to do. Like finally starting my blog.

I have created my page already, and kind of have an idea what I want to write about. But I am getting stuck on my first blog post… Do I write about what I want to do on this blog? Or just dive in and start about things that keep me busy, and about which I want to write about in the future as well…

Was wondering whether you could give me some insight in how you got started on your first post.

Firstly, thank you for the beautiful compliments. I’m so glad you love Photo A Day. Let’s get cracking on my response to you Frei.

How did I decide what to write in my first post?

I can remember the exact day I decided to start a blog and write my first post. I’d wrangled Hubby to go out on a walk with me, which is a very hard task, and we were walking around Bondi with Lacey in the pram. We’d taken the hard route {i.e. lotsa, lotsa hills}, my face was bright red and I’d done quite the killer workout. It was a Sunday, I’m sure, and we’d planned to cook a beautiful home-cooked meal, but on part of that killer route was the fish and chip shop, so we ended up buying something naughty for dinner instead.

I just remember thinking how pathetically unrestrained I was, and that I was never going to lose that pesky baby weight with my antics. So I started a blog. A weight-loss blog. Lacey was in bed, and I just sat at my lap top, googled blogging platforms, thought of a name, and started. This is my very first post.

The take-away

So, Frei, I think it’s less important what you write for that very first post {because I don’t think many people read mine, to be honest} and more important that you just jump in and start. I’m the sort of person that will decide I need a new dress, go to the shops, pick one and buy it. My mum on the other hand will deliberate over that dress for days and days. You can always take the dress back if you don’t like it, and you can always delete that very first post if you get wildly popular and decide you didn’t like the way you started your blog.

Personally, I don’t like to read about intentions. I don’t find it particularly interesting or necessary when people apologise for not posting regularly, or when they write what they’re going to write about… just write it, I say! Jump in!

Bloggers, what’s your very first blog post about?

P.S. Email me if you have a blogging-type question you want help with. I’d love to hear from you.

Image credit: Brooklyn Morgan

13 thoughts on “Bloggy-type help: Writing your first blog post”

  1. Great post. I completely agree. I wrote my first post about why I was starting a blog and why, even though I knew it was self-indulgent, it was important to just do it. Then I wrote about my actual love (words) in the second post. Still love my second-ever post much more than my first! Just start writing. Fantastic advice.

  2. My first post was pretty much an explanation of why I was starting a blog. It was moreso for my friends and family’s benefit because I’m pretty sure they’re the only ones who read it at the time.

  3. Thank you for answering my question Chantelle and giving great advise! In the meantime that I asked you the question I did start my own blog {I think I’m more like your mom, and deliberate on what to do and how to do it} at http://freisdays.com. Since I started with my blog it’s going much easier to start writing about a topic and I’m loving it! A great creative outlet 🙂
    Thanks again for your advise and being a great role model in this blogging sphere!

  4. It’s like ripping off the bandaid really… But once you do it it’s done and you can just write. I wrote about starring at the blank white page wondering what to write and after that it was done. It’s nice your so willing to help those starting out to, very generous of you Chantelle. x

  5. Fabulous post! I totally agree with the ‘jump in’ approach … works for me and allows me to explore a topic/thought that is on my mind. Thanks for sharing, Chantelle! <3

  6. It depends. In the past it used to be a bit of intro, which later become ‘About’. Nowadays it’s just “Hello World” (I’m programmer, what do you expect? XD) to kick start, because not many people read it and you only start to get some traffic after some contents.

  7. This has come at an eerily coincidental time for me. I used to have a blog, but it came to a natural end when good ol’ “real life” got in the way. Lately I’ve been thinking about starting another blog, with a different purpose. I’ve been deliberating about my first post for a couple of days now. I still haven’t decided which route I’m going to choose but your post has definitely given me food for thought and inspired me to rip the band-aid off, so to speak. Another great post, Chantelle. Thank you 🙂

  8. I put quite a lot of thought into my first blog post – it was around the end of 2013 when I first considered it, and decided that the 1st of Jan would be an awesome time to launch a new blog! I explained how I was seeking a hobby, something just for me, something that would combine my mummy self and my teacher self and give me a creative outlet (and also a way to give back). I wrote about the joys of pinterest and a great ‘photo a day’ app called ‘collect that I was loving at the time. I’m so proud of how my blog has grown over the past 7 months. Bigger and better I say! It’s nice to reflect on the beginnings…
    http://teachertypes.blogspot.com.au/

  9. Thank you for the post 🙂 I’ve always been the type of person to plan things ahead, and when you mentioned about your mum who will deliberate over, that’s like me too. But, like you said, jump in! Sounds scary to me but will definitely give it a go.

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