Recently I did an interview with the newly launched Inkbike – a fab new website founded by Kaeyo Mayne which talks about building projects and businesses from the very start. What a brilliant idea! I feel like we’ve all got skills and things to offer to the world, but it’s scary to put yourself out there and sometimes it seems logistically impossible – this website breaks it all down and is so motivating. If you want to read the interview you can do so here.

I thought this week I’d talk about my thoughts when I first started the blog and what put me off and how I feel about those thoughts now. If you’re having these thoughts too maybe this will help? I don’t know but it’s worth a try because I honestly think if you have a passion and you have a little fire in your belly to talk about it then DO it.

We all have those negative thoughts though and these were mine:

I’m not a writer…
I believe that most people have the potential to be a writer. My advice is don’t try and write how you think you should write – write how you would when you’re talking to a friend. That’s how I like to blog. I think it’s portrayed as genuine and you can almost read how it would be read aloud. That’s why I use my Yorkshire’ism. Some people may cringe at mistakes made or typos, but for me I don’t #panic if there is one. I simply edit it when I see it. The main thing is to relax, don’t over think it and write your thoughts.

I can’t afford it…
Money is a tricky one, because I don’t think you can assume it’s completely free to create a blog. Obviously you need a device to write with, internet connection and a device with a camera would be ideal as I think blogs with at least one image is more enticing. However, initially to start up your blog – once you have a device and connection, you don’t need to spend anything else. I literally started it from my phone in bed when I had a broken bone. Obviously, the first post was cringe and the images were just a handful I had from facebook. But it was a start and that buzz when you press publish is great. Getting comments and feedback is even better.

People will judge me…
Talking about ‘feedback’, of course with the world we live in, there will always be people that judge you. I always have that little thought in the back of my head that people who know me will think I’m self-centred, egotistical woman who loves the sound of her own voice (well, typed). But I have to remember I started this blog with a purpose and it wasn’t to gloat or get attention. It was to be the person that I didn’t see in the media when I was growing up. To talk about the fashion that I don’t see online. Whatever your niche is, use it. Because the people that judge you will have their niche – and they’re just too scared to release it!

Also I think for me it’s a case of, people judge me when they see me in the street straight away. I’m kind of used to it. So this was a way for me to be judged by my words rather than my disability. (Not that I’m ashamed of my disability at all – but people obvs have preconceptions which gets in the way of having real chats.)

I haven’t got time…
Again, I can’t make assumptions on how much time we all have. We all have things to do, health to manage sometimes jobs to work and to have fun in between! What I would say is a blog is there for when you want it to be. There are no rules – its your space to build when you want to. Obviously if you’re wanting to build an audience, a regular update is beneficial so people come back to your site. But no one is sat next to you pressuring you to publish another post! If there was I’d be fuming.

Honestly though – I would say for me now, it takes me about an hour to write a post (2 if it’s a long one) then another hour to take pictures and edit them. If I haven’t got time or haven’t prioritised a blog one week, I try to not let it overtake my brain and just pick it back up when I’m ready. Although this is easier typed than done sometimes – I’m still working on that.

I wouldn’t know where to start…
If I’ve twisted your arm and you’re thinking yes gem, but how? I’ll show you what I did. Go onto www.wordpress.com and click ‘get started’ then you’ll be faced with 4 steps to set up. This page being the first asking you things like what your site will be called and be about. My advice is keep it as open as possible to start with then you have room to experiment with different content!

Basic checklist for beginner bloggers
– title of blog (eg mine is my name)
– headshot for putting on your site
– introduction blog to explain what your blog is about

and that’s it!

Don’t forget to visit inkbike.com yourself and check out the articles posted there – I can guarentee it will get you fired up if you’ve got that project brewing in your mind!

As always, let me know your thoughts on starting up projects and blogs – did you find it difficult? Are you having issues with your blog – I can’t promise I’ll know the answer but i’ll give it a good go! If you have, use my contact page links. And if you want to investigate inkbike more – here’s their facebook and twitter!

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