Looking for a creative extracurricular activity? Starting a blog is the perfect way for you to express yourself as a person and share what you’re passionate about. Whether it covers news, science, fashion, a controversial issue, or something else, a blog can give your readers—as well as college admission committees—a bird’s eye view of who you are as a person. If you’ve decided to start your own blog, you may be wondering where to even start. Here’s a quick guide to help get your blog up and running.
Choosing a topic and platform
First, you must decide what you want your blog to be about. Think about what interests you. What can you talk about for hours on end? Remember, a blog is something you can use to express who you are, which means you want to choose a topic you can passionately write about. This makes it even more fun when you’re writing too; you don’t want your blog posts to be a worrisome and disheartening task to complete. You should look forward to writing! Once you choose your topic, start thinking about some publishing and creative platforms you can use. Wix, Wordpress, and Blogger are a few good examples of free places to create and/or host your blog. Canva is another fun creative platform you can use; try using their website templates to publish your blog and make it more attractive with logos, fonts, and custom images and graphics.
Related: 3 Ways to Pursue Your Passions in High School
Scheduling and promoting your blog
Starting a blog can take up a lot of your time. It can be hard to keep up with if you don’t create a schedule, especially with school and things like homework and extracurriculars. A schedule is an important component to maintaining a blog if you’re in high school, college, or any other part of your life. Making and following a schedule will also help you post consistently. If you’re inconsistent with the days or times that you post or if you procrastinate, it can cause you to have fewer readers, as they won’t know when there will be something new to read.
Promotion is another vital part of having your own blog. If you don’t promote your site, you won’t have any readers. After working hard to create something that you’re proud of, you want people to see it! There are many ways to promote your blog. Try hanging up fliers if your school allows it. You can also promote your site through social media by sharing new blog posts and reminding your followers every time you post.
How your blog can help (or hurt) your college applications
Having a blog can affect your college applications in a good or bad way—something that may encourage or discourage you from creating your own. Your blog is a reflection of yourself and shows what you’re passionate about. College admission officers may look at your blog and be very intrigued; it can give them a glimpse of who you are outside of grades and test scores. Creating a blog and consistently updating it also shows great worth ethic; they’ll see this is something you’re really interested in and committed to. It can also help with whatever field you hope to pursue; for example, a blog can help prospective Journalism majors become stronger writers and showcase your talent as a writer. You’ll also learn skills that are needed for any job or career, like personal responsibility and time management. However, a blog may hurt your college applications depending on what you write about. For more controversial topics, colleges may not particularly like what you have to say. It may even change whether you’re accepted or not, so always think before you post.
Related: Writing Habits to Kick Before Going to College
Creating a blog is a great idea if you can commit to it. It can be your outlet to express yourself with anything you may be interested in. Maintaining your blog can sometimes be stressful, so it’s important to create a schedule in order to be consistent with your writing. If you choose a topic that’s interesting to you, you’ll look forward to writing and have lots of fun. Sharing what interests you may even help you find a group of like-minded people who have the same likes and dislikes, ultimately leading you to your very own community. Just remember that anything you put on the internet never really goes away, so be smart about what you post and always keep your future in mind.
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