On Friday last week I put out a call for questions about anything related to blogging on my afternoon post and Facebook page in hopes of putting together a Q&A-style post to address the questions you have have about starting a blog, marketing a blog, etc.
The questions poured in and I quickly realized that a one-time post wouldn’t be sufficient or would be entirely too long that you’d likely pass out from information overload about a quarter of the way through. Plus, I want to give each topic and question the attention it deserves and not skimp out because I’m worried about the overwhelming length of a post.
All of your questions inspired me to start a mini series on the blog: Blog Talk Tuesdays!
Each Tuesday for the next few weeks, I will dedicate one post a day to a topic related to blogging. I’ve divided your questions into several different categories and will tackle them that way. I’m a stickler for organization and flow and this seems like the best way to handle your questions.
Plus, having the posts categorized by topic will hopefully allow you to read the posts with topics that interest you and scan or browse over those that don’t apply to you.
Maybe I should create a blog post composed solely of Sadie pictures to publish in conjunction with the Blog Talk Tuesday posts for those of you with no interest in blogging? 
Now that the introduction of Blog Talk Tuesdays is done, let’s get crack-a-lackin’ with the first topic!
Oh! Before we delve into it, please know that I am not a blogging expert by any means. I’ve been blogging for just shy of two years, so my answers to your questions are based on my own experiences, research and trial and error.
I will eventually post all of these posts on my Blogging page as a resource so you may find them easily in the future.
Blogging Basics: How to Start a Blog, Blog Focus, Self Hosting and More
- How did you start your blog?
I started by blog through WordPress.com, a website that allows you to set up a free site using pre-fabricated templates. I selected a template that they already had available, made my own banner in Microsoft Paint (anyone out there remember the peanut butter cookie banner?) and started posting!
Of course I was overwhelmed and confused about the set up a bunch of times, but I turned to the valuable resource that is Google and read many different tutorials and eventually figured everything out myself. Trust me, if I can do it, you can do it. I am horrible with computers.
- Did you design your own blog?
Yes and no. But mostly no. 
I worked with The Blog Fairy on the design of my blog. We emailed back and forth many times and I gave her ideas and color schemes and overall guidance, but she was absolutely the brains behind the blog design that you see today. I highly recommend her services!
Another great resource for any blog-related questions, design and assistance is my friend and computer genius Tim Parkin, who may by reached by email at tparkin@gmail.com.
- In your opinion, what is the best blogging platform?
WordPress, without a doubt. This may sound harsh, but for the most part I don’t even try to comment on Blogger blogs anymore because I am blocked from commenting 99.9 percent of the time. But there are ways for those who use Blogger to change this. As Brittany explains, “If you use Blogger, you should allow Anyone to comment instead of Only Allowing Registered Users. I often times don’t comment on blogger blogs if I can’t just use the name/url option, which is turned off when you choose to Allow Only Registered Users.”
Also, the vast majority of bloggers I know who began blogging on Blogger have switched to WordPress. Michelle actually put together an amazing post detailing exactly HOW to transfer your blog from Blogger to WordPress which you may see here.
I also want to add that while I created my blog through WordPress, I write all of my blog posts through Windows Live Writer, a free downloadable program for PCs that syncs up with your blog when you hit “publish.” It is an AMAZING program and cut my blogging time in half thanks to the ease of uploading and cropping photos, automatic linking and other fantastic features. Highly recommended!
- Do you think it’s important to own your own domain?
Yes. Longtime PBF readers will remember when my web address was peanutbutterfingers.wordpress.com. Talk about a mouthful! It took me a LONG time to buy and set up my own domain (pbfingers.com) and I wish I would’ve done it sooner.
Domain names are so cheap (under $15!) and are easy to set up on your blog (click here for step-by-step directions for WordPress users). Having your own domain name not only conveys a sense of professionalism (do you know any companies with “.wordpress.com” in their web address?), but it also makes it much easier for people to remember you and find you online.
- How did you decide what to blog about?
When I decided that I wanted to start a blog, I always kept in mind my number one tip for bloggers: Create a blog you would want to read.
I knew I loved reading healthy living blogs every day, so I figured that genre was a good fit for me. I also wanted my blog to be a little different and I knew I couldn’t limit myself to talking solely about food and fitness because I’d pass out from boredom and quickly lose the fervor I have for blogging if I could only write about what I ate or what workout I completed every day.
When I expanded my blog to include musings about my life, I knew I’d always have something to say.
Plus, Sadie loves the spotlight.
- Do you feel like it’s better to have a focus to your blog? Do you not include certain things on your blog because they don’t necessarily fit into the main focus of your blog?
While blogs are great in that they give you freedom to write about whatever you want, I think a focus is extremely important. Sure, I blog about my life, random thoughts, The Bachelorette, my dog, my wedding and travels, but my blog has consistency through food and fitness.
Every day readers know they can expect to see my breakfast, lunch and dinner and typically they’ll also see a recap of my workout in the morning. I think that this continuity is imperative because a blog full of random thoughts and musings can be hard to follow and overwhelming. Of course there are exceptions to this, as I can think of a small handful of blogs that were created on the principle of being totally random, but they attack randomness with humor and diligence that somehow gives their blog a sense of focus and organization.
- Do you think it’s necessary to post all the time to have a successful blog?
No. I think you can post once a week and still have a successful blog. If you do this, make sure that when you post, you’re posting on the same day, around the same time each week. To me, the most important aspect of posting is having a schedule. Your readers want to know when you’ll be posting so they know when to come back!
- How did you tell your friends, family and coworkers about your blog?
I didn’t right away! For a couple of weeks, Ryan was the only one who knew about my blog. I then told my family and then a small handful of my friends, explaining that I wanted to create a blog as an outlet to write about food and fitness since my desk job had me writing about pharmaceuticals and their side effects all day. It took me a couple of months until I felt okay with sharing my blog with all of my friends.
As for telling my coworkers, I wanted to keep my blog separate from work since it follows so much of my personal life and never actually told any of my coworkers. The coworkers who knew about my blog at first discovered it on their own. Eventually the vast majority of my coworkers knew about my blog. In fact, when I quit my job and explained to my boss that I was going to be pursuing freelance work, he said “And your blog, too, right?” Apparently everyone knew!
- What does it mean to be self-hosted? What is the benefit of self-hosting?
With a self hosted blog, you have a lot more freedom and flexibility and you have complete control over your site. You have the ability to install more plugins, have dynamic advertisements and can customize your site to your heart’s content. I personally switched to self-hosting for the advertising opportunities, which I’ll cover in more detail when I post about making money through blogging in this series.
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And that was the first installment of Blog Talk Tuesdays! Phew! I hope this post was beneficial for some of you out there.
Also, please know that it’s totally normal to feel overwhelmed and nervous about starting a blog. I can assure you that every single blogger has been there. I’ve done so much reading and research about blogging and still sometimes feel like I know nothing… but I continue learn something new every single day. Blogging is a marathon, not a sprint.
If you’d like to read more blogging tips, please check out my Blogging Tips for Beginners post.
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P.S. This post is super helpful…thank you!
thank you so much for the tips! I’m new to blogging (and use blogger) and had no idea about the “commenting” situation! THANKS AGAIN! got it taken care of now 😉
This is an absolutely fantastic post. I started my own blog about a week and a half ago and love doing it. These are great tips and I can’t wait to hear more.
BTW – Love your blog. It’s one of my faves!
Thank you!
Fabulous post- very helpful, thanks! This is a great idea for a series! I could esp use the one about getting your own domain.. I want to asap, but was a little confused whether to do it through wordpress, or to just purchase my own from Go Daddy and go from there.
since you already blog from wordpress, i would just buy it through them so you don’t have to transfer it!
Good stuff! I just switched my blog over to WordPress and purchased my domain. I LOVE it, I guess I was living under a rock ;).
Love this advice! I can’t wait to apply it to my blog 🙂 Thanks for sharing.
Hi! This is very random, but in that photo where you are eating peanut butter off your finger, where is your shirt from?! I LOVE IT. It looks yellow, and absolutely gorgeous. I’ve been searching for a yellow shirt. Hope you can help! Thank you 🙂
thank you! it’s from bebe, but i got it years ago. :/
Ahh this post was so frustrating but sooo helpful at the same time! What I learned from this post:
Blogger= GONE, WordPress = HELLO!
Thank you soo much for this post!
I started a blog afew months ago, and just got so overwhelmed that I gave up, but have always wanted to get back into it.
After reading this, I feel like I can do it!!
Thank you, this helped a lot! I’m going to try Live Writer for my next blog post and see how it goes. My blog is on WordPress right now, but I hope within the next couple years to expand to my own domain. I’m finally getting hits on my blog from people I don’t know and its thrilling. Thank you Julie!
P.S. Reading your blog inspired me to create my own.
Awesome post Julie! I just started my blog less than a month ago, and I am having so much fun with it 🙂 It’s great to hear about the nitty gritties from someone who has been there. I totally agree about wordpress! I have used both blogger (for journalism projects as a student) and wordpress, and I like wordpress leaps and bounds more than I did blogger. I need to see if there is something like live writer for Macs!
Love this! I’ve only been blogging for 2 months and it is so much fun 🙂 I always get confused with “self-hosted” and how you still have your blog looking like it is on wordpress? Is it worth switching over? I’m on WordPress now and can’t use WLW because I have a Mac. It can take forever to get pictures up if the internet connection is bad!
Im so excited you’re starting this! I just switched to self-hosting on Saturday and some moments I’m really happy about it, but others I get really frustrated and overwhelmed.
I’m totally confused about FeedBurner. When I look at my subscribers, every number is different. Yesterday’s number of subscribers was 3, today it is 16, but average for the last 7 days it is 1. What is the actual number of subscribers? I totally don’t get it
I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this and how helpful it was!!! I can’t wait to read more 🙂
This was great! I know when I first started blogging, I really only told my fiancé who was the one that wanted me to start it! It took my awhile to focus on what I wanted to write about, but now that I’ve got that figured out, it’s so much fun!
Thanks for all the extra advice too!
All very interesting stuff, to be most of which I’d never appreciated in regards to blogging. Maybe one day I’ll pluck up the courage to start my own 😉 lol
This is all such great information Julie! 🙂 I just started blogging almost 2 months ago! I look forward to seeing more with the series!
This post came at the perfect time! Thank you so much! I can’t wait to read more about self hosting because I’m having a dilemma with it myself!
Great tips. I’ve read multiple blogs that praise windows live writer. I have a mac and I’m wondering if u know of any good blog programs, I’ve tried ecto and I was a little “meh” about it. Thanks! looking forward to this series.
Amazingly helpful post! I am definitely a newbie to blogging, and I need all the help I can get! I am going to begin using windows live writer immediately (how did I not know about this before?!) – I feel like posting with lots of pictures takes forever. I am GREATLY looking forward to this series! Thanks again!
I have heard windows live writer is awesome! But I have a MAC, and I don’t think it works with that!?! 🙁 Anyone know! I use blogger on a Mac and I feel like uploading pictures takes me the longest. It’s so frustrating!
nevermind, I re-read all the comments. 🙂
This is so helpful!! I can’t wait to see what you blog about next Tues!
I guess us mac people are at a disadvantage…. must find something like WLW!!! 🙂
This was very helpful! I’m still on Blogger but have switched to Disqus for my comments. Seems to be a bit easier for folks! I tried to get into WordPress but had a terrible time with it for some reason.
For Mac users, it looks like the best WLW substitute is called “Blogo”. Mashable did a good piece on the top 10 similar apps you can get for your Mac here: http://mashable.com/2008/11/28/blogger-mac-apps/. Unfortunately, none are free 🙁 BUT most have free trials, so you can see what fits you best.
I have done quite a bit of browsing on the subject– I am in the process of starting my own blog but waiting to take the plunge on some of the entry level expenses, such as this one. If you already have a site up and running, its around $20, which is probably worth the time you’re spending.
Hope that helps anyone! Never thought I’d wish I had a Windows computer again…
And thanks for the great piece PBFingers! Love your blog.
Love love love love love this idea. Tuesdays are going to be my new favorite day of the week while this series goes on haha. But seriously, I love and appreciate your insight. Thanks so much!
Okay, so if I have blogger and want to switch to wordpress, do I switch and THEN buy my own hosting? Or buy hosting first, open up wordpress account and then bring blogger oveR?
This is going to take me allll night. ha!
Blog Talk Tuesdays is right up my alley! Thanks for these posts. It’s like a mini blogging class from the convenience of my own home. 🙂
I loved this. I can’t wait for next week’s installment. I’ve been looking into wordpress for awhile and now you helped to push me in that direction. But I did allow for all comments so at least I have that going for me and my blog!
I love this comment and relate so much! I blogged for a while and then got rid of it because it was all over the place, not well designed, not really me, etc. Glad to know I’m not the only stopper and (hopefully) restarter!
This is really cool-thanks! I’m thinking of starting a blog again… I will wait until after your series to see if I have what it takes. The time was so…scattered. I didn’t do enough research at first!
I love LOVE WLW! Such a time saver. I’m going to look into getting my blog designed from the Blog Fairy. I love her designs!
Love this post and the idea of blog talk Tuesdays. 🙂 I’m 3 months into this blog and about ready to pull my hair out. ha! Thanks for the tips and the inspiration!
Awesome post! I’ve been wanting to buy a domain for awhile, guess now’s the time. Thank you!
Very informative! Thank you for the information!
Thanks for posting, Julie. Although, as a Blogger user, I would argue that although WordPress may be the platform of choice, Blogger is really upping their game. I have been using it for 5 years and it suits me just fine 🙂
i wish this occurred more often than just tuesday- I don’t want to wait a week for the next installation 😉 This may have been the kick-in-the-booty that I need to finally start my own blog!
Of Interest:
How do you blog EVERYDAY? You always seem so happy and upbeat with every post. Do you ever have an ‘off’ day and “don’t feel like it”. With my blog, I go in spirts. I realize you have made this your full-time occupation so it is more of an obligation that just a hobby as it is to me, and once was to you.
But I would really admire some tips on how to keep “in character” and not go off on stressful rants etc.
love this question!!! to briefly answer it, if i really don’t want to blog, i don’t – but i definitely have more to say! stay tuned! 😀
Thanks for doing this 🙂 I am very much looking forward to seeing the rest of your tips series!
So, I went to go switch over to wordpress last night and my blog name is already taken! My backup blog name is taken too. 🙁 What do you think about having a .net or .org if I decide to pay for the domain. The .com was taken as well!
Thanks for all your advice! I finally started my blog last night after three years of lacking the courage to start a blog! I love your blog and your positive attitude!
I am a huge dog lover so a pic of Sadie thrown in is always an awesome treat. Good information on the blog scene. I’ve always been curioust but not enough to start one of my own.
Julie – I have to let you know that this has helped SO MUCH! You actually inspired me to start my own blog, which went live on Sunday, so this was absolutely perfect timing. You had some amazing tips, and I can’t wait for future posts – it is a lot of fun, but a little overwhelming – so your posts are great. Thanks!
Thanks SO much for this post! I went back to my old blog on wordpress.com after I read it. SO much better! 🙂
Thanks for the info! Our stories are oddly parallel with the switch to freelancing, so I am all ears. The Live Writer tip has already saved me some time and picture formatting headaches. Looking forward to Tuesdays!
I LOVED this post, so informative without being wordy!!!
Julie – I just read this post. It’s great. Looking forward to your Blog Talk Tuesdays series.
I have a friend who is starting a blog, I will definitely be recommending this series to them!
ps: love the sadie pics!!
With whom did you register your domain name? I feel like there are a ton of sites out there that do it and I was wondering if you had a recommendation. Thanks!