Why And How – Blogging for Creatives

You might have seen this already on social media, but I’m currently writing an e-book called “Blogging for Makers and Creatives”. While I continue to build this resource, I thought I might share a few thoughts here as well (and there will be more later).

If you are a maker, creator, artist or writer, my question is, “Have you ever wanted to share your creative process, products, or passion with the world?” I feel like that’s a no brainer, since most of us who are creaties DEFINITELY want to share with othesr… but we aren’t always sure where and how to do that. Obviously social media is a great place to share, and many creatives are on Facebook, Instagram, Threads and more! I’m here to say, starting a blog can be another great way to connect with your audience and grow your creative business.

A Few Thoughts on the Why:

Create Your Own Platform for Sharing Your Story: Blogs allow creatives to share their journey, inspiration, and behind-the-scenes content with their audience.
Build a Relationship with Your Audience: Blogging helps you foster a deeper connection with your followers. By sharing insights into your creative process, you build trust and authenticity.
Boost Your Business: A blog acts as a tool for attracting new customers, driving traffic to your shop or portfolio, and giving your work more visibility online.
Control Your Narrative: Unlike social media platforms that can change their algorithms, a blog gives you full control over the content and how it’s presented.

I could write full blog posts about the four thoughts listed above, but please hear me when I say, blogging offers options that other platforms do not!

First Steps to Starting Your Blog:

Choose Your Platform: I recommend using WordPress on your own self-hosted account (NOT WordPress.com). I’ve been designing websites since before WordPress was even a thing, and once it became a thing, it became my preferred platform. WordPress makes it easy for me to design a website/blog that looks good AND works well AND is user-friendly for YOU.
Define Your Blog’s Purpose: As a creative, there are a lot of reasons why you might want to blog. Consider those reasons, and what you want to achieve? Are you wanting a place to showcase your art, a place to share craft tutorials, or a place to share your writing and/or your story? If you know the WHY, it will be easier to create content and keep the blog updated on a regular basis.
Pick a Domain and Hosting: You will need a domain name, which is the www.yourname.com part, and a place to host your blog. I am happy to help with both of those steps and will walk you through it, if it feels to “techy” to handle on your own.
Design Your Blog: You can absolutely design your own blog, and there are hundreds of thousands of free or low-cost templates and themes available for WordPress. I would never discourage anyone from doing it themselves, but I am also always willing to help! DIY is not all it’s cracked up to be if you’ve never worked with WordPress or themes or widgets or plug-ins, and even the basic of themes require quite a bit of work behind the scenes. I offer custom design for those who aren’t interested in DIY or who just don’t have the time to worry about this part!
Create Your First Few Blog Posts: It can be a little intimidating to face a blank page, wondering what to write about. I recommed starting with a “welcome” or introduction post to share who you are and what you do. You can write about your creative journey and encourage the new readers to come back again. Another great first post is to share your more recent work or project, or write a tutorial/how-to post if you are interested in teaching/sharing your craft.

If this is all new to you, I understand if it feels like “a lot!” I hear often from potential clients that aside from the tech part, the writing part of blogging is overwhelming too. I will be sharing more on that aspect in future blog posts and in the new book, but I want to encourage you that it’s easier than you might think.

And if you’re ready to get your creative blog off the ground with expert guidance, I can help! Feel free to email and ask questions about any of the topics/items listed in this blog post, and we can always visit by phone as well. My goal is always to make blogging easy, and I love being a partner in supporting you and your new blogging experience!