How To Blog (101): The Basics of Blogging

Why do I love blogging? Let me count the ways, Darling…

As the Internet penetrates deep into territories that forbid the Bible, Christ, and hope, when I blog, I travel at the speed of fiber across international boundaries. With minimal financial investment, I can safely reach places instantly where it would otherwise be a long, expensive, and dangerous trek to bring the Gospel message…
…and I can do it
weekly,
comfortably wearing pajamas,

Bible and coffee close,
a dog or chicken
perched
upon her lap,

kids and hens
and husband circling.
(and still go on mission trips, too!)

The STATS:

Since launching in June, 2017, my site has had 27,000+ views, 15,000+ visitors, downloaded in 80+ different countries, on every inhabited continent, including places like China, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Turkey, The Philippines, Nepal, and Pakistan, and in several different African countries, too.
Are you thinking what I’m thinking?  Holy moly! Those countries don’t allow Christians in very easily, do they? I just gotta trust that the Word of God will not go out and return void, right? Even if someone accidentally clicked, they just accidentally got “Jesus in Everything” and might be intrigued enough to read more!  Haha! How awesome is God?!
IMG_0338-01
“I just gotta trust that the Word of God will not go out and return void.” ~TCGW (photo credit: IG Brian @orphanrunner, Chicago)

“How do you get started as a blogger/writer, Church Girl?”

Maybe you’re wondering this yourself. Beginning writers often have some big questions about blogging and there’s a ton to learn. I’ve been asked this more than a few times in throughout the years and I think I can be of assistance here!
 
Last year on Facebook Live, I shared for 35 minutes about blogging with a captive audience at the request of my girl, Danyele Ritz. She heard me wax poetic about blogging a few months previously and decided to start her own blog called “Deeply Rooted in Christ” and needed some help. 
Cool, huh? So I totally wanted to help her and others out.

What did I talk about? Here’s The Content.

1. How/why I launched my blog.
2. Length of blog posts and how often I post. I’ve changed it up since then…
3. Subscribers and mailing lists… how do you manage it all?
3. Lessons learned in my first year as a Christian blogger.

Guess what?

You can learn from my mistakes and lessons so you don’t end up as frustrated as I was or work yourself to death in those first twelve months! Are you up for it?
Here’s a BONUS: I HAVE A FREEBIE FOR YOU! You can click HERE to listen to that entire talk on YouTube.
You’re welcome. MU-AH!Blogging 101 (1)

Why did I start blogging?

  • God was going to squish me like a grape if I didn’t start taking the calling to write seriously! My heart was finally lining up with my head, so I grabbed my board and surfed the web. I. Just. Started. What else was I going to do? Not obey?
  • God had given me a divine opportunity to write for The Christian Standard magazine and I wanted a place to display my creative writing for future work. (You can read my later hilarious work for them in “Ministry Life” at the link HERE. I landed this job because my editor read the blog! Woot, woot! )
  • I love researching and writing for my senior pastor for sermons and writing for other pastors with TCS, but I also needed a creative outlet for “my stuff”: the mom, the wife, the “girly-swat”-who-loves-coffee-and-cosmetics-and-couture-and-chickens-and-children-and-church-and-Christ all at once. I wanted to write for a more varied audience, too, and be a little more funny and zany, a little less serious.

So I do.

Why will you begin your blog? What’s pressing into your heart today? How can I help you along the way?

Ask yourself: Are you willing to do whatever it takes for the Kingdom? Is this the calling? If your answer is yes, WHY ARE YOU WAITING? Let’s go!

Here’s that link again for the YouTube listen. CLICK THIS! 

Get on and glean, Friend! Then get back with me for next time. I’ll spell it all out JUST FOR YOU.

 

If you’ve somehow missed my other posts in this series, be sure to click to read  #102, #103,  #104, and #105!