Starting a Blog - Part 1: Planning

Although I’m still rather new to the blogosphere, I have been blogging for clients for about a year now. As I work in social media, I have learned a great deal about blogging in general and have used what I learned to help me build my personal blog.

Building my personal blog is a continuous process. I may not be famous in the blogging world, but I’m happy with what I have created for myself. I learn new things about blogging every day and I figured it would be helpful to share what I learned, especially for those who have been thinking about starting their own blog.

The “Starting A Blog” series is a three part series that will hopefully encourage readers to start their very own blog.

If you are interested in creating a personal or professional blog, the first phase of blogging requires planning! Here are 3 steps to complete during the planning phase:

Determine Goals & Objectives

I believe this is a crucial step. If you don't know your blog’s purpose before you start blogging, it can create utter chaos. I suggest writing down your goals and objectives in a notebook or in a word document before you even begin to think of anything else related to blogging. Ask yourself why you want to start a blog. Is it a hobby? Do you want to improve your writing? Do you want to grow your network? Do you want to build your personal brand? These are all questions you want to consider. Remember that no goal or objective is bad. Each one will vary per person. Having a clear goal and objective will help you build a successful blog.

Determine Audience/Niche

The next step is to determine what type of blog you will create and who you will write for. Majority of blogs are written for a specific audience. In fact, if there is no audience, then that blog is more likely to be a diary. Determining who will be your audience will help you create your blog’s focus and content in the future. Your audience can be really specific, such as college students, or very broad, such as individuals aged 18-40. Another aspect is to determine the niche. Will you be a fashion blogger? A beauty blogger? Or a lifestyle blogger? If you want to have a broader niche, I suggest determining your blog as a lifestyle blog - that way it doesn’t put limits on your audience or content. A helpful trick that will help you determine your niche is to brainstorm potential content ideas. Write all the ideas that come to mind and put them into categories of interest. If you end up having 20 beauty topics versus 100 travel topics – it will be clear which niche you should go ahead with.

Choose a Blog Name

This can be a tough one! Choose a name that reflects the purpose of your blog and the niche of your blog. You’ll want your audience to get a gist of who you are or what you are going to blog about just by looking at the name. Originally, my blog name was Wanderlust & Memoirs – which I thought was great for the niche I began with. However, after experimenting with my personal blog, I felt it was a little limiting and thus I wanted a blog name that would help me build my personal brand. In the end, I developed a blog name that reflected my goals & objectives. There is no harm in disliking the first blog name you choose. Though try not to change it every few months because that can tarnish your brand!

I hope the above steps have helped you get the ball rolling. Stay tuned for Part 2: Developing!

Filed Under: Blogging

The Internship Debate

There’s has been a debate recently that caught my eye online, which questioned whether internships are truly valuable. Unfortunately, there are some stereotypes related to internships - where the intern spend his or her days filing documents and getting lattes for other employees. This may likely deter students from pursuing an internship, but it’s important to note that not all internships are like this. It is your job to go out and find an internship that offers exactly what you want to do. Look carefully at the job description and ask questions during an interview to make sure you fully understand the tasks at hand. Internships are meant to benefit you in the end, so if you have to, be picky.
 There’s also another debate surrounding internships, which has questioned whether they should be paid or unpaid. While paid internships are what every student would like to take on, unpaid internships shouldn’t be ignored – especially if you can get valuable experience and/or school credit for it. I completed an unpaid internship for 6 months and I don’t regret it one bit! Granted, I did work in retail part-time (to make $$$) and thus was only able to commit part-time hours towards my internship as well. With attending school full-time, completing my internship part-time, and working in retail part-time, I had a lot on my plate! Though I will never regret that experience because it taught me things that I would never learn in a classroom.

During my undergrad, I noticed that many of the students in my class did not complete an internship. It boggled my mind. I remember the time I entered second year and was already looking at Indeed.com, Twitter and even Craigslist for an internship. I kept wondering: What about my peers? Did they not see the benefit of an internship? Only after entering their fourth year were they going out to find one – only because they had to, in order to graduate. And even at that, some students weren’t thrilled about the opportunity and some even lied about their internship experience. That completely dumbfounded me.

Why should you be an intern? For the following reasons: 

Experience
Where else will you put what you’ve learned in class into practice? An internship will give you the opportunity to learn about the work environment and provide you enough experience for entry-level positions in the future.

Stand Out Candidate
When employers look for candidates, they want to see more than what you have completed in school. They look for work experience. I’m sure you have been in that situation where you look at a job description and read “1 – 2 years of experience required” then think “well how am I going to get experience if no one is willing to hire me without?!” Simple answer: with internships.

Expanded Network
Internships give you the opportunity to meet new people outside of school. By expanding your network, you’ll have additional opportunities for future employment after you complete your internship. Doesn’t that sound fantastic?

I truly believe an internship, whether it be unpaid or paid, can provide the same benefits…aside from the obvious one of course, which is money. If taking on an unpaid internship will become a struggle for you financially, I suggest taking on a part-time internship and a part-time job at the same time. It’s definitely possible – I did it and I recommend it!

What are your thoughts on internships?