8 Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting This Blog

Like with yesterday's post, there are some things I wish I knew before starting this blog. Hopefully, if you plan to start a blog - history, book, or otherwise - this post may give you some tips before you kickstart your blog.

Item 1: Have a clear, definitive idea of what your blog will be. Yes, you can have a "book blog" or a "history blog," but what exactly will be the focus of your blog? "Books" and "history" are just types of blogs you can have, but figure out what the focus of your blog will be. Reviews? Recommendations? The Tudors? Museums? Libraries? Having a specific focus in mind will help you figure out your blog.

Item 2: Set up your blog's look ahead of time. It's perfectly okay to change the look of your blog later on, but don't change your blog's look regularly. Once you find a look you like, stick to it for some time.

Item 3: Write up and pre-schedule your posts well in advance. Having your posts for March, let's say, drafted and scheduled for publication on your blog by mid-February will help you out in the long run. This way, you're not worried about what you'll post in the upcoming week when they're already written up and scheduled.

Item 4: If you're on a writing streak for your blog, go with it. This way, you can get more posts drafted and scheduled in one go. And you can get ahead this way, as well.

Item 5: If you have some free time, use it to work on your blog. You don't have to work on your blog for hours on end, but use a bit of your free time to work on it. Again, this will help you out in the long run.

Item 6: Don't be afraid to ask for help. Whether it's post recommendations, asking what post(s) people are liking or not liking, etc., asking for help and/or opinions is perfectly okay when it comes to your blog.

Item 7: Look into having guest posts and/or interviews on your blog. Having guests make posts on your blog, and interviewing authors (or historians) can help make more people aware of your blog.

Item 8: Promote your blog in whatever way(s) you can. Whether you have only one way to promote it, or have 5 ways, promote your blog. Share when there's a new post on your blog, ask for blog post recommendations, and make the link of your blog available.