How I Started My Fancy Navajo Blog

With a new year and new goals, a lot of you reached out to me asking how to start a blog. It’s a question I get asked quite often, so I thought why not make it a permanent post here. Today I will be sharing how I started my blog, TheFancyNavajo.com and some tips and tricks that I have learned along the way.

So how did I start blogging?

In 2015, I created TheFancyNavajo.com, because I needed an extra avenue to share things like recipes and DIY’s. Back then Instagram didn’t have all the bells and whistles like it does today. There were no Instagram stories, captions were limited, and you could only share one picture in a post. My have the times changed! It was also around the time I started to develop a genuine following on Instagram (around 500 followers) where it seemed necessary to start a blog because you all wanted to know more!

Did I have any prior knowledge about blogging??

NOPE, ZERO! I had no clue what I was jumping into. And to be completely honest I was scared to even start a blog. It sounded all too complicated. I wondered if anyone would read it. Could I get my 500 Instagram friends to head on over to my website? Would people take me seriously? I was nothing like the bloggers I admired. But nonetheless, I did my research, picked a blogging platform, called my smart IT brother for help, and then BOOM 4 years later I’m still here blogging. Who would have thought?? Certainly not me.

Creating the actual blog…

Once you have decided on starting a blog, the next part is deciding on a blogging platform. There are so many these days so I will only be discussing the platform I use. I started blogging on WordPress.com because a lot of my favorite bloggers were using this platform. It was also free and simple to setup. All I had to do was register, pick out a theme, write my first post, and boom…I had a website. Head here if you want to read my first ever blog post here.

What’s next??? Buy the domain name!!!

Once you have dipped your toes into blogging and people are reading your blogs then you should go ahead and buy the domain. Half a year into blogging, I decided to buy the domain TheFancyNavajo.com. This was relatively inexpensive, I believe it was no more than $20 for a whole year and it was built right into WordPress.com.

This meant when I shared my website, it no longer had wordpress.com associated with it. If you want to add legitimacy and people to take you seriously, then I think it’s best to buy the domain. I later switched to WordPress.org because I wanted to self-host my website. But that is a little more advanced, so I won’t go into that here. But if you are a pro at creating websites or plan on monetizing your website. I would start with WordPress.org first.

I have seen other blogs use Square Space and Wix and have raved about both. Just pick one that is understandable to you. Also, don’t be afraid to consult Google, Youtube, or the domain representatives. I don’t how many times I have googled how to do something when it came to blogging. Don’t worry if that sounds scary. It will be all worth it in the end and you’ll be a pro blogger in no time.

Disclaimer….

Now here is the part where I disclaim starting a blog is easy, however, maintaining it is even harder!!! Blogging requires a lot of passion, dedication, and trial and error. Early on it’s important to define your goals and what you hope to get out of it. It requires a lot of personality! You also have to be really creative. But hey, if you just need an outlet to express yourself, then blogging can be great way to self-heal. These types of blogs are actually my favorite, the ones where people share their life stories.

However, don’t let this discourage you. Not everyone is meant to be a blogger. There are so many social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. And who knows when the next big social media platform will emerge. So, it’s important to figure out which works best for you. If you are new to social media, I would try Instagram and Facebook first. Start learning photography, develop your own style, and start sharing. And if you already have an established following I would go ahead and get started with a blog.

Maintaining a blog….

So, you have started a blog but now you have to keep it up and running. You want to stay relevant right? You’ll have so many ideas but once you sit down to write something…. writer’s block or laziness kicks in! This is probably one of the most frustrating things about blogging. There is so much behind the scenes work that goes into producing one blog post that I don’t think a lot of people realize. Like if you plan on adding photography to your blogging this is another added step. It may even require you spend money you didn’t plan on already spending.

Ways I have overcome this….

Have a place to write down your ideas
Create a schedule of when and what you want to post about
Set aside a budget for blogging
Plan out a day to take photographs

But don’t worry it happens to all of us. I’m honestly still trying to figure this out. But here is one area that I think hits bloggers the hardest.

No one is reading my blog…

I think one of the more disappointing aspects of blogging is when no one reads your blogs. You spent all this time creating what you thought was a spectacular blog, but no one is reading it. Talk about a stab to your creative heart. If you are just starting out don’t expect a million views. Naturally as your audience grows, so will your blog readers. When I first started I was so excited when I had 10 views on a blog post. I couldn’t believe it.

You also have to make sure the content you are sharing is new and exciting. So, if you are creating blog posts that a thousand of other bloggers already wrote about, the chances are no one is going to read it. This can be frustrating, but once you develop your own point of view and style, this should come naturally. And the best advice I can give is to ask yourself, would I read it??? If the answer is, no, then it most likely won’t do well.

So, if you are wanting to start a blog, I say START. There isn’t anything stopping you, except yourself. I am always more than happy to help other bloggers start with whatever knowledge I may offer. Blogging is a lot of trial and error. But what it comes down to is, making sure you are having fun with it. Don’t give up! Happy blogging!