Step 2: Create actual blog or How I Did Not Know Anything
Step Two Create actual blog or How I Did Not Know Anything
One of the benefits of being insecure is constantly accepting that you just don't know anything. Therefore, you seek out experts.
Today and yesterday I've been researching how to set up a blog, and how to actually drive traffic to a blog. I could have just blasted up a free WordPress, but I want to do this right. Do it optimally. self-promotion-visibility, whatever, involves having random strangers read my stuff. It's true that the blog may devolve into an abject failure, but it's still a learning exercise. Failure's a fine teacher.
So research I did.
In doing I immediately encountered a zen-koan level piece of advice:
"Social media is next to nothing." (http://bit.ly/2wFIi9i) or in other words, 'In order to post, you must not post'
Well, shit. So much for my daily post plan. But If I'm going to something wrong, I may as well choose WHAT I do wrong.
Logic.
One of the wonderful things about research is realising how little you knew in the first place, and Jesus H Christ did I not know how this works.
By far the most useful advice I've found so far is this guide: https://blogbasics.com/start-blog/
Despite the fact that they use Times New Roman, which had me wondering if the site's been up since Geocities was a thing.
I've worked out that I have roughly 100 days to finish all three novels. I want to write stuff. I have a lot of stories, poems, and other such things. I'm trying to combine all that into some kind of URL. Otherwise, I'm defaulting to 'vishwritesstuff.com' but that sounds like Parseltongue.
There is a simple solution to this entire mess. Use medium.com.
Medium is tempting. Medium means minimal effort. But, that said, I wrote down the actual feature list I'd like and Medium can't cut that. I need categories for all my writing; short story, flash fiction, novel 1, novel 2, sci-fi, fantasy etc and an easy way to find each piece, search functions, maybe multimedia for my performances...Medium is the easy mode button to skip all this bullshit.
I know I'm not selling t-shirts, but I do have a lot of content I want to put up, hence straying from going with the simple set-up-a-free-site option on wordpress.com I may as well learn how to do this properly if I'm going to do it at all.
BUT, after a couple dozen open tabs, I've crystallized the whole thing into a few simple steps:
1) Write down all the features you want your blog to have. Be as specific as possible
Solid advice:
https://blogbasics.com/i-want-to-write-a-blog-but-i-don%E2%80%99t-know-what-to-write/
2) Choose a platform that provides said features
Solid advice :
https://blogbasics.com/start-blog/
http://www.dearblogger.org/blogger-or-wordpress-better (For a more detailed look at different platforms)
3) Choose hosting options that also provides said features:
Solid advice:
https://startbloggingonline.com/best-blog-hosting-sites/
4) Choose URL
Solid advice:
https://www.godaddy.com/garage/smallbusiness/launch/10-tips-for-choosing-the-perfect-domain-name/
https://moz.com/blog/how-to-choose-a-domain-name-whiteboard-friday
Also here's a short story about a really bad poker player: (1500 words ~5-7 mins read)