I have a confession. If you’ve been reading Blue Egg Brown Nest for a while you know that I am working on being honest & true to my feelings. If not, then how can anyone really get to know us? And those that judge or guilt or shame what our truth is, well, they don’t understand what it is for one to have good boundaries and our own identities. I am aiming for freedom this year!
Now, what was I saying? Oh, my truth is that I heart my blog more than I heart decorating, creating and painting. I was a painfully shy child that never spoke up or had a voice that could express what I wanted or felt or NEEDED. Yes, it was very sad and I’ve been in therapy all of my adult life trying to feel better about it. There you go. BUT, I have always been good at writing. Writing is a safe place to be. You can think about what you want to say, you can walk away and come back, you can delete or ignore. You have options that you may not feel when you are face to face with someone. Now, I know that there is a whole fear out there about us loosing our social skills due to Facebook, text, email, etc. I’m not really talking about that. I’m talking about a safe place to get it all out. Like in a journal or a letter or….a BLOG!
I never read a blog before starting my own. No kidding. I started one because I had a garage stuffed with furniture that I was getting ready to Chalk Paint and I wanted to talk about it.
Now it has become the most amazing tool in my life. It belongs to me and I get to sit and write and “talk” and share and what is even cooler is that I get to hear from people all over the entire WORLD that want to read what I say. They can relate and empathize and get inspired by little, old me. The only saddness I feel is that I wish we could all gather together in one space and hug each other and talk about our struggles to be creative in this world. In Heaven we will do this:)
If you are creative and want others to know, then start a blog. If you are struggling with pain in your life, then start a blog. If you are funny, insightful, have a different perspective on something, then write about it. You may not have a ton of readers or gain a huge following OR you may. Glennon Melton from Momestary is a great expample of a mom with a rocky past that started a blog. She just started writing about her own truth and a ka-zillion people now read what she has to say. That’s awesome, but it’s not all of it. I think we all have a need to download what is going on in our head before it explodes out of us and a blog is a great way to hit a button and send it out into the internet universe and free ourselves from it.
So, this week I am going to do a little series on blogging. I hear that I have inspired many of you to start one and I want to share with you the ups & downs that I’ve learned throughout the years.
Here’s a little guideline that may help you get started:
1. Know your craft/project/service that you will be writing about. You don’t have to know everything about it, that will be part of the fun. Your journey will unravel in your posts and throughout your process.
2. Start your blog. WordPress seems to be the most popular at the moment. You will be able to start it yourself.
3. If you want your own domain name then you will need to register it and buy it. Before you choose a name be sure you do your research. There are so many darn names out there and yours may be taken or there may be something so close to the one you want and people may accidently mistake your page for something else and vise versa. Make the name personal.
4. Things going well? Are you gaining traffic and want to look a bit more professional? Now is the time to hire a web designer. Ask around or do a search. Some designers will want to approve you because they take on your job. For an intial overhaul of your site expect to pay $500 plus.
5. Want to sell from your site? If you are selling small items that you can ship you can look into an online payment plan. You will need help to do this. If pieces are more one-off and you want to stay small then have people email you with inquiries as I do. This is a less commercial approach and allows you to have more control.
I will be sharing a few other insights this that I’ve learned from this very powerful process. Hope you enjoy.
Love your blog and your honesty! You are truly an inspiration, I always refer back to your excellent tutorials…thank you, Lori
I loe your blog and thanks for the inspirations. I stated mine this year for a similar reason–lots go stuff! I like the painting and doing of the projects, but I do not like writing as much as you do. I wish I could paint and photograph and someone’s would do the writing! LOL
I love reading your blog and follow you on Facebook. Thanks for the nudge! I have started my my own blog and have just a few posts written but haven’t made them public yet. This is a great help. Keep doing what you’re doing!
Love your style and love to see what you are doing!!!
That’s awesome! I’m absolutely thrilled-I’ve started a small business and want to blog…but I’m SSOOOOO intimidated by it! You’re a great writer and teacher!
I have been following your blog for the last year, and your tutorials. You don’t know it but you changed my life, with the help of your amazing videos, I learned how to paint. To say I’m completely obsessed with all things paint and furniture is a huge understatement . I’m so excited for your insight on blogging I have been going back and forth on starting my own. Last night I actually sat down and started outlining a plan on how to start. So this could not come at a more perfect time !!
I’m also a mother of two small children, and quite frankly don’t know how you do it all. So thank you for taking the time to share and inspire. I don’t think I would have found this amazing new path I’m on if it were not for you.
Thank you,
Sarah
You are so right about writing being a safe place. I would much prefer to put what I need to tell in writing so I can make sure it says exactly what I want people to know – sometimes, when I try to tell, the words become jumbled, but in putting them down on paper so to speak, I have the visual and can make sure the turn of the phrase is just right. (Sometimes on paper they are jumbled too, but you get my drift.) Thanks for your encouraging words of motivation.
I really enjoyed reading this post – you’re right, blogging is a great way to communicate for those of us who aren’t naturally extrovert! I have just started a blog myself, writing about the loveliness of chalk paints and other things that pop into my mind. Looking forward to your next post! 🙂 Helen x
Who knew 2 of my FAVORITE bloggers read each other blog!! MAKES me love you even more!!
LOVE WINS!!!