Homeschool Blogging Basics – Day 2. Plan

{Warning: There are 2 1/2 days on planning because I am excited to share, plus I like step by step pictures.}

Purpose, Plan, Performance, Persistence and Payoff.

5 Days of Homeschool Blogging Basics.

Day 2 Plan.

After defining the purpose of your blog from day 1 of homeschooling blogging basics and assuming you want to build it into something beyond a homeschool diary read by close friends and family, next you need to devise a plan.

Looking back now, I see 3 steps that have contributed to my blog having a great start.

Step 1. Plan – Professional Blog. Set Up!

One focus of the plan is to give your blog credibility.

I know there are other platforms like blogger, but the one I chose was self-hosted WordPress because it is the one chosen by serious bloggers. Remember, I wanted credibility and a professional blog and that is not necessarily free.

The one I went with is WordPress.Org or self-hosting and not the free version WordPress.Com.

Look at this infograph, which compares them side by side and is a great help for beginner bloggers.

I like baby steps in understanding new things and since this is a beginner’s course, I will keep it easy for you. But it’s worth taking time to understand the difference.

Self-hosting means just that. You are in full control baby.

You will need to find a host and get a domain name and a few other things. I will explain start up tips at the bottom of this post.

It’s not as scary as you think, but I chose self-hosting because I wanted freedom in everything.

You are not limited in design, plugins (my layman’s definition: something extra like a piece of software besides what comes with your theme and it allows you to customize things with almost no coding knowledge, and there are oodles and oodles of free and wonderful plugins) and ads when you are self-hosted.

You decide design, if and where you want ads, and what plugins you want.

Plan for future success by starting with the right platform. Some hosting companies like Bluehost  (which I use) have an eazy peazy way to install WordPress.

I installed WordPress and then I chose a free design. That was it and my site was up in just a few minutes.

Easy as 1, 2, 3 Set Up

Look at these easy steps to start up.

1. Choose a host like Bluehost.

This is a company that will “house” your blog and service you. It was important to me with all the reviews that I read, that I had a “live body” that I could talk to.

I wanted somebody that would explain technical terms in baby terms and that I could call basically 24/7 if something was wrong on my blog because I am the (not) techincal person taking care of it.

So I chose Bluehost and went with the $3.95 plan.

The other reason was because they have a one click install of WordPress. Oh yes, and I could call them while I was installing WordPress.

Think of WordPress as the engine that purrs the car and the theme you choose for your blog as the rest of the car to make it pretty and functional. I will tell you about the Genesis framework too, but will tell you about that on Day 4. Persistence.

2. Choose a Domain Name.

I knew that it was important to choose a blog name that reflected what I was going to blog about, but I didn’t realize that choosing such a long name would have some downsides.

SEO likes shortened links (more on that in Day 3. Performance). So though I love my blog name, I could have gone a lot shorter.

I do feel that my blog name identifies my main blogging theme, which is “homeschool” and the change through the years, which is the “dynamic” part and of course the “plus” because I knew I had other passions like planners in general and organization and I didn’t want to limit myself to just homeschool.

Think about your blog name and grab at least three or four variations of it in case one name is taken when you register your domain name.

3. Grab your credit card, phone, cup of coffee and create your blog in minutes by using Bluehost.

Look at the pictures of the rest of the steps. Eazy, Peazy!!

Login in to Bluehost. Remember your password.

Look at the C-panel or Control Panel and decide if you need help or go it alone. Believe me, try it on your own because I am not techie and it prompts you right along.

See WordPress under Website Builders, click that baby.

Click brand new install and watch it go.

Be sure you select your new blog name from the drop down menu so it knows where to install the WordPress framework.

Wait for it!

Install it Now.

Ta tah. Done.

It’s completed and you can browse hundreds and hundreds of themes or use the free themes that come with WordPress until you decide the look you want.

That is what I did too. There are several free themes with WordPress and I added a theme just to get me up and going and to see what the back end looked like. Too, I wanted to focus on awesome content for now.

I am going to talk about some other must-haves in your blog on Day 3. Performance, but I want to keep this easy so you can visualize a 1, 2, 3 step process to starting up your blog.

Step 2. Plan – Pretty Blog

The plan it pretty part of the blog probably came easier to me than the techie part because of my love for planners, but it certainly is a part of your blog that is just as important.

I have gone through many free themes and a few paid ones and it seems like themes can be an ongoing changing process.

Check out these three basic things to making your blog beautiful besides choosing the theme.

•  Color. Though I have tended to make my own color matching schemes, you certainly do not have to. There are many ways to find colors that compliment each other and look good on your blog. Look at the website Kuler Adobe and click EXPLORE and you will thousands of color combinations.
•  Font. Pairing fonts is easier now than ever thanks to Pinterest. Search for fonts or pairing fonts and you will get thousands of combinations.
•  Layout. Though I list it last, it certainly is not the least important. There are many themes with different layouts and a few things that you want to pay attention to is if the layout feels more like a website or blog. The trend lately has been to go to a layout that looks like a website. This is great for those that don’t want to blog as often and it showcases their best content on the front. Then there are layouts where the emphasis in your blog right away, which is how my theme is right now. This goes back to my purpose too because I have not blogged as long as many others and I want day to day content to be the focus. I had/have websites before and for now, my purpose is growing my blog.

There are some mistakes new bloggers make and I tried to avoid many of them in the beginning.

Look at this list of dos and don’ts for beginners.

Do put these on your blog.

•  Put your sweet pretty face right up there.

Read about taking photos and some basic tips are that lighting or the lack of it is everything.

I am not a professional photographer, but I read a few tips about how to take pictures and when to take them and after shooting a gazillion pictures, I finally found a profile picture I loved.

Followers need to know that you are a real live breathing talking human being.

Unless you’re some obscure huge conglomerate of businesses, forgo the cute avatar and make your blog personal.

Tell a new follower “howdy ho, I’m a homeschooling mom like you” when they see your pretty picture. Okay, okay.

• A call to action to follow your blog and that is NOT leaving your blog the minute someone lands it.

There are many schools of thought on this, but I am a believer, since my blog has grown to almost 7k followers in two years, that your call to action first should be to follow your blog before following on social media.

Your blog subscribers or list is your most valuable resource for growing your blog and you want to build that first.

Sure, social media goes hand in hand with your following, but your blog followers are your first and loyal resource.

So make sure a follower knows what a privilege it would be for you to have them follow.

I have my social media buttons on my page, but it is not the first thing a new follower will see.

A new follower has to stay on my page and “visit” for a while and then they get ask by me to follow with a popup after 20 seconds.

Okay, see if you can set up your blog with Bluehost and process this information first.

I have some more dos don’ts to share with you about planning your premier worthy content on the next post Day 2 1/2. Also, I will be sharing plugins on Day 3. Performance and more tips on Day 4. Persistence.

Hugs and love ya,

Did you see my Forever Blog Planner? Of course, I think it’s one of the best out there! tee hee hee

If you missed day 1 of Homeschool Blogging Basics, you can grab it at the link.

Also, check out iBlog Pro, Proud to be a Co-Author