Building A New Blog From Scratch: Part 1

In this post, we are going to talk about building a new blog from scratch. This is part one of a series in creating your own blog.

I have had an idea for an experiment!

I am going to make a new blog. Not related to Writers Write or even writing.

And, I am going to be as sparing with time and effort as is reasonable while still maintaining quality.

My goal is to see how successful I can make this with one post a week and one audio/video podcast per week.

I will also be posting regular updates on the process here. If you’re thinking of starting a new blog, follow the series and try to create your own. (Sign up for our newsletter to watch out for new posts.)

Setting Things Up

So what do I need?

1. A Website

I bought a domain name.

I did this through a reputable webhosting service that I have used in the past so that I can rely them.

This provider has managed and unmanaged servers. Buying a managed server can be of help if you don’t know how to install software and manage a remote desktop or server.

My provider has a variety of options for installing software on their servers. Including what type of software you want to run.

I chose WordPress because I know how it works and it is very common.

I’ll talk about setting up the site in detail next time.

2. A YouTube Channel, iTunes Account, Etc.

You will need this to upload your audio content and videos. You can host this on your own server but that is expensive and will slow down your site.

You will also need social media sites. Twitter, Facebook, etc.

I am working on finding a good service that can help me automate posting to these site so that I don’t have to do them all manually. I will update you on that.

I will go into detail about some of this in a future article.

3. Editing Software And Hardware

I just use the adobe suite. There are free options I have tried in the past like Audacity but they are not as good as the Adobe products. And, I have been using Adobe for 20 years so it is second nature to me.

You will also need a good computer with a good graphics card to edit videos on. More to come on this.

4. A Topic

While I believe you can succeed with any topic you are interested in, it helps having a topic that is already popular.

But, it should not be something you are just doing for clicks.

If you don’t have an interest in what you are doing you will hate every moment you spend creating content for it.

Now, if you must make a website about second century Latin great. But, if you could perhaps expand that to languages in general that would probably be better.

So, I am going to write about Japan because I am interested in Japanese and because I have a diploma in Japanese Studies.

5.  People To Talk To

I have also recruited help from two people who are interested in different aspects of Japan.

1. Firstly, a person who loves Japanese novels. I have never met anyone who reads as much as this man in this one specific area. In fact I have never been in the same room as him without him reading a Japanese book on his phone or iPad for more than a few minutes.
2. Secondly, a person who is interested in Japanese martial arts and who has lived in Dojos in Japan.

Hopefully, this gives us a good spread and we will be able to bring a variety of topics to the site.

6. Choosing A Name

I think a name should be easy to understand and related to the topic. It should also help with SEO.

1. It should include the topic.
2. It should not be confusing.

I went with thejapanophile.com

Making Plans

I have made a timetable for planning and set aside certain hours of the day and week to achieve these goals.

I have set up a separate installation of windows just for the purpose of making content for this new blog so I have a hard separation of what I can do when I am working on the new site. No distractions.

Although as I edit this, there sure have been a lot of distractions this week.

However, this does means that I can’t make mistakes with passwords to different websites and that all my content is in one place. Annoyingly, I do need to restart my computer often though.

Choosing Topics

I have largely just picked fictional properties to talk about. This means I can group similar shows and books into groups and then talk about them in a series of articles and podcasts.

One audio podcast and one blog a week.

I am also simply going to look at the news and pick a thing that I think needs to be spoken about and that people will be interested in.

I have also allowed by co-conspirators to contribute their ideas.

The Last Word

This is an experiment for me. But, it will be a fun thing to do as well. I hope it does well, but am going into it with the mind-set that right now it’s just for fun.

I’ll keep you all posted on the progress with updates. Please read:

1. Building A New Blog From Scratch: Part 2 – WordPress
2. Building A New Blog From Scratch: Part 3 – A YouTube Channel

For now I hope this has sparked your interest in building a blog.

 by Christopher Luke Dean (blogs away)

Christopher Luke Dean writes and facilitates for Writers Write. Follow him on Twitter: @ChrisLukeDean

More Posts From Christopher:

1. The Greatest Fictional World Builders: Akira Toriyama
2. Creative Things I Learned During The Pandemic
3. The Writing War Machine
4. Why Writing A Book Is Like Going To The Dentist
5. What Makes A Compelling First Chapter?
6. How To Write An Action Scene In 3 Steps
7. How To Get An ‘A’ Analysing Poetry
8. Why We Need To Get Back To Writing With Hope
9. 10 Worthy Antagonists In Fiction & Tips For Writing Them
10. Why You Shouldn’t Only Write What You Know
11. Writers Talk 11 | The 8 Elements Of Setting

Top Tip: Find out more about our workbooks and online courses in our shop.