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Twin Cities Mom Collective

So You Think You Can’t Blog?

Since you’re reading this post, it’s probably safe to say you’re a blog reader. But…have you ever thought about being a blog writer?  Maybe you have, but you’ve ignored that little voice in your head because a) you’re not a techie and it’s probably too complicated to set up a blog site, b) you don’t think you have anything interesting to say or c) how could you ever find the time?  With a personal blog, it’s easier than you think to get started.  It’s a great way for grandparents, friends, and family members to stay in touch with what’s going on in your life and it’s a fun way to document your family’s history.

I started my blogging journey a little over three years ago for a purely selfish reason.  I had just begun to get serious about photography and had read somewhere that the fastest way to improve your skills was to shoot at least one photo a day.  I could do that, I thought, but I wanted a way to hold myself accountable.  My concept was this:  document the everyday happenings of our family with a photo and a short description…a family diary of sorts.  I decided to call it everyday365 with the tagline of “everyday…life is good”.

So You Think You Can't Blog | Twin Cities Moms Blog

That first year, I posted something every single day.  Every day.  Little did I know when I started that it would be the year my mom got sick and died of cancer.  I have that whole emotional experience documented…something I will always treasure.  As time went on, I realized how grateful I was to have this outlet.  I loved having a mechanism to share and document the cute way Elsa asked her boyfriend to the Sadie Hawkins dance, that time Greta slammed her finger in the car door, the story of Owen’s blue shorts, our family’s nickname phase and our Loon Olympics games at the cabin.  Things that are easy to forget as time passes.

So You Think You Can't Blog | Twin Cities Moms Blog

At first, my kids were irritated with my photos and postings, but now they fight about who is featured on the blog…they actually take their own photos and make their own suggestions on what I should write about.  Sometimes they serve as guest bloggers.  The whole experience has made me realize how little we actually share with our family and friends about what really happens in our lives.  When we get together for dinners or birthdays or holidays, we tend to skim over the details and highlight only the Cliff note version of our lives – and it’s typically the positive stuff.  Social media helps us stay connected, but it’s hard to track, follow, and look back on…it’s not tangible in the way a blog is.

My blog has been a wonderful way to capture and communicate more about what’s below the surface with our family and I hope it will live on forever in the memories of our kids, too.  I’ve found a way to turn the blog into a hard copy book and have been publishing one each year, creating a copy for each kid to take with them when they leave our house.  I’m not a crafty scrapbooker, but I can do this.  I can take a few minutes each day at my computer to tell a story, remember a funny thing someone said, highlight a family activity or share an emotion.

So You Think You Can't Blog | Twin Cities Moms Blog

With a personal blog, you’ve created it for you and your audience.  You’re on your own publishing schedule and you’re in control of who sees what you post.  On most blogging platforms, you can customize the privacy settings to only open up your site to those you invite. You can post once a day, once a week, once a month…whatever you feel like.  You can post a story, a paragraph, a twitter length statement, just a photo…whatever you feel like.  It’s your blog!  And, to dispel your last excuse, a blog is easier to set up than you think!  Mine is on WordPress, but there are lots of blog platforms out there to choose from.  I love WordPress because it’s easy to set up, it’s free, it’s customizable and it’s easy to use.  Here’s all it takes:

1)    Visit the WordPress sign-up page:  https://signup.wordpress.com/signup/

2)    Choose a blog address.  What you choose will become part of your website’s address.  My address is everyday365 and so WordPress created my website with the URL of everyday365.wordpress.com.  Just use the free address that WordPress creates for you – no need to pay for an upgrade.

3)    Name your blog.  This pre-populates your initial blog page, but no worries, you can change the name later.

4)    Set the privacy settings for your blog.  You can choose:

  • viewable by everyone – your blog will appear in search engines like Google or Bing
  • viewable by everyone, but block search engines – only normal visitors will see your blog
  • private – your blog will only be visible to users you choose to invite

5)    Create your blog by choosing the WordPress.com Beginner package.  That’s it!  You’ve created your blog!

6)    Now, go to your blog’s website address.  It will probably say “nothing found” and will display a link you can click on to “get started here”.  That will bring you to the posting page where you can write your first post.  Write something, publish it, and see what you think!  Play around with it…you can always delete posts later.

See, I told you…it’s super easy!  You’re now a blogger!

WordPress also has some great online resources to help you get started….check them out here.  I hope you’ll take the plunge and set up a blog…you’ll feel good about the memories you’re communicating and preserving and your friends and family will love you for it.  Happy blogging…I look forward to seeing you in the blogsphere!

3 comments

Leslie March 11, 2014 at 11:05 AM

Thanks for sharing! It is hard to set aside time to jot down memories. This post is inspiring…by setting an easy goal – 1 post per day or 1 post per week – it seems much more attainable.

Can you share which website or how you printed a hard copy of your blog? That has been one of the reasons I’ve avoided an electronic chronicle. I’m afraid that with the frequency of technology changes, I’ll lose the memories. Because of this, I still write my favorite ones down in a journal.

Thanks!

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Jen March 11, 2014 at 9:35 PM

Thanks for your comment, Leslie! I use Blurb to make my blog book. The other software I’m aware of is Blog2Print. Both applications take your WordPress blog website name as input and then “suck” in it’s content and photos. The software will auto-format everything into a book layout for you, but you’ll probably still have to go in and do some formatting to make it look the way you want it to. Good luck!

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mary timmers March 11, 2014 at 3:20 PM

Starting a blog is scary. Then it gets exciting and addictive. As you said, it can be used as a platform for a lot of things. Since I am an artist too, my blog has a large visual component. I’m trying to use more of my own pics rather than those from the internet. Having a camera at the ready helps a lot.

Thanks for sharing your family memories as well as encouraging many to start blogging!

Love,
Mary

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