Ask yourself: Why should I start a blog?
This may seem strange, but why do you want to create an indie business blog? Blogging is not something you should do because everyone else is doing it. It needs to be something that you will enjoy. If your number one reason for blogging is to sell things and get customers, you won’t be blogging long. Sure, that can be one of many possibilities from blogging but you won’t see those results right away. Blogging is a slow building process, and if you don’t see those results immediately you could lose your motivation. Think on a simpler scale: do you want to make new friends or just have a place that’s yours to journal. The reason why is personal, but you should think about it.
How to Create a Blog: Start with a Blog Host
There are a number of different places you can set up your indie businessblog. Right here on IndieMade, for starters. But you can also use Blogger, Typepad or tumblr. Most are free to start and you can pay to upgrade to have more design control. Poke around some of your favorite blogs and see who they blog through. If you have products to sell, or portfolio to share too you may consider using a service that has it all: blog, store, etc. all in one. (Like IndieMade!)
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Your Audience
Once you’ve determined why, and if blogging is for you, then think about who is going to be reading your indie business blog. When you think about how to create a blog, remember that it’s really members of the craft community who are all reading each other’s blogs. If you, a crafter, are reading other crafty blogs, who do you think will read yours?
Your Posts
Your indie business blog isn’t supposed to be a 24/7 advertisement. You want to create posts and content that will keep people reading. Information, projects, funny stories, artist spotlights, and great pictures are all things that will keep your audience (the craft community) coming back. If your posts are just talking about a new item you just listed, or your necklaces going on sale, then what reason do they have to read it? Go take a look at all the blogs you like to read. Why do you like to read them? What are their posts like? You should structure your blog this way as well.
Content
When I first started thinking about how to create a blog, I sat down and thought about all the creative things that interested me. Embroidery, paper crafts, cooking, baking, gardening. You get the idea. Make this list for yourself, and these topics should be what you blog about. You don’t want to blog about things you THINK you should blog about or it’ll never work. Always write about things that you are interested in or passionate about. This is a huge factor in maintaining your blog and avoiding burnout. It’s OK if, once in a while, you post a sale happening in your Etsy store or website, or you let people know if you’ll be selling at a craft fair. Generally, though, having an Etsy link or widget on your sidebar will be enough to attract customers.
How often?
This can be a hard question for some. Only you know how much time you have to dedicate to your indie business blog. If your only goal for blogging is to just have a personal place to journal, then you can do it whenever you like. If you want to create an audience, however, you should think about trying to keep things fresh. Start with three to four days per week for a month or two and see how that works for your schedule. If you realize you can add more, great. If not, it’s ok! In my opinion, you never want to push yourself to just make posts to meet the three-to-four posts a week quota. Your content will lack and your audience would rather there only be two great posts a week than three or four boring ones.
Blogging is not for everyone. In today’s world it seems like you have to have an indie business blog to create a customer base and make sales, but that simply isn’t true. Having a blog is more about connecting with the craft community and sharing your interests and ideas. No matter what, it should be fun for you. By keeping these few things in mind, you will be well on your way to starting and maintaining a great blog!
