Starting a Blog & Yak Shaving

DIY MIGHT BE A LIE!

Yesterday I was on chat with tech geeks for nearly six hours correcting some email problems I was experiencing on my blog; not happy time fur sure! I waited another two hours for the fix to kick in across the internet so I could try to meet a deadline. Have you been there done that? 🤔

I was set to blog about something arty today but found upon waking at O dark thirty that I was just not in an arty mood. I was still in a tech venting mood that was messing with my sack time.

Oh yeah I did some venting yesterday. The tech geeks got an earful, my dog was horrified when I screamed at the computer and my husband tip toed around and then demanded I quit for the evening at 7! Sound familiar? I sure hope not! 😀

But if you are thinking about starting a blog fasten your seat belt. As a writer and blogger I have a small cubby-hole office in the corner of my dining room; a recent addition so I could actually rescue my dining table back to eat on instead of covering it with work.

That would be a big change from the last eight months since I had a brain fart and decided I could do this great experiment called blogging. If others could do it-I could too! How hard could it be? Ohhhh, right, right, right, right, right! Feels a little like drowning maybe?

I CALL BULLSHIT!

Now I admit, my tech and computer skills have maybe gotten a little stale (read not what they should be here) but I am a quick study and pick things up faster than most.

So like any normal person I just went on my google machine and started doing research. Turns out there is a whole butt load out there about starting your own blog. So much so that it was very hard to pilfer through it all. You too?

Who to listen to? Who not? Why? Why not? There were lots of opinions and facts; bunches of courses and recommendations. What did they all have in common? You could start a blog yourself and have it up and running in 15 minutes (very loud air horn here!). I call BS!

Yep! Saw that one over and over again-you? Even stuck a toe in the water and emailed with a few of the folks that were claiming this while making their money pushing all the programs and products to help you do it their way. Whose better? Who to pick?

TRUTHING ABOUT TIPS, GADGETS & APPS OH MY!

There were different recommendations on suggested platforms, programs, plug-ins and apps mainly for Wordpress self-hosting which allows you to own your content (what? Like I don’t own it somewhere else?) And yes you do! Confusing? Absolutely! Been there done that! 🤣

Bring on the videos too. After about 30 my eyes glazed over, my head hurt and I needed a drink. Tutorials showing you just exactly how easy (not!) this process was going to be all over the internet. I decided I was not going to be able to set it up by myself; much less in 15 minutes and I am a college graduate! You heard the hard truth here.

Enter my handy, dandy tech hack for hire (psssttt…write this down you will thank me later…google Lorem and ask for Nick) . I told him what I liked, wanted and gave him my branding stuff. He went to work and viola (that’s french); look at me! Even posted my first three blogs for me to look like the real deal until I could learn how to do it myself. Happy time yes?

Done with only one major meltdown from me about what was design vs set up ( my tech tard status kicking in). He is the reason I am on Squarespace in order to have a lot more stuff for less money, an easier design platform to learn and chat support instead of email or none from other blogging sites.

Don’t get me wrong; it still isn’t easy for someone like me or maybe you but it’s a good way to get started. You have self-hosting and some free lovely themes to work with on your branding. You won’t break the bank having to buy plug-ins for the look and features you want and many items are already built in that you will need.

SHAVING THE YAK!

If not familiar, the term was coined by an MIT geek that just basically means you want to do one thing but you end up having to do 30 or so small things first in order to get the big thing accomplished. Welcome to blogging life! And it won’t just be tech issues that will begin your yak shaving expert training.

Tech peeps understand this phenomena so well it is an accepted part of their daily work life. That’s what has trained them in patience; they already know they are going to have to take you through a series of smaller steps in order to fix the bigger problem.

They already know what to expect and how long it could take and they never lose it even when and if you do (I have to admit that yesterday the tech said he was really trying to help me and I needed to lose the salty language…😮😀).

FINAL THOUGHTS & 6 TIPS ON STARTING YOUR BLOG

So what am I trying to tell you today if you’re still with me?

• Be patient and kind to yourself. This is a really hard thing to do even when so many make it sound so easy

• It’s OK if you can’t DIY and need help. Call on Lorem to help you and ask for Nick

• Even though everything seems to point you toward Wordpress….consider Squarespace and get more for your money and tech support via chat

• Find the blog that feels like your tribe to follow for help….you like their branding and you like how they talk to their audience. Maybe they are who you should stick with. Trust but verify as well. I unsubscribed to a few blogs who talked the talk but didn’t walk the walk

• Listen but you have a gut for a reason. There is intuition there and sometimes it is right. The blogging world is full to overflowing. Different birds are going to fly their own way so don’t be afraid to stand out and think outside the box

• Finally, expect Yak Shaving. It not only has become a part of everyday life (so you want to cook a turkey…) but will be your way of life in tech town and blogging world in these beginning months to come.

You might want to read other blogs in the Just Because category. Hey don’t be a stranger! Let me hear from you on what your blogging struggles have been and where you are on your journey. Give me some tips on what you would like to read about to help you with it OK? Until next time…

Cheers,

ArtsyChowRoamer

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