The world is battling the Covid-19 pandemic, and Malaysia has been under lockdown for close to 18 months. I have dealt with it as best I can, but pandemic fatigue has set in and rears its head frequently. During the weekdays, I’m eager to finish up work as quickly as I can. On the weekends, I’m bored out of my mind because I have nothing to do (or more accurately, I don’t want to do anything).
Last weekend, I heard of a workshop about how to start a blog, conducted by Aisha Preece. It was very last minute, and I had never heard of Aisha before then but I thought I’d like to attend anyway. Aisha’s hilarious Instagram (@aishapreece) sold me on the workshop. Although I have quite a bit of blogging experience myself, I wanted to learn something new and perhaps get inspired.
I had been blogging since 1999 and have started several blogs (hey, I’m 40 this year). My Apple blog actually had a fair bit of success. However none of them really took off, my blogging peers settled down with their lives and I sort of lost interest. Maybe I was ahead of the curve, or maybe I just didn’t know enough about how to grow a successful blog despite my online moniker being @blogjunkie.
Anyway, Aisha’s workshop certainly inspired me. That night, I decided to launch this site. Tech For Bloggers is my first blog in 20 years. I have grown to become an expert WordPress wrangler and the blogging industry has matured. I feel I have a good shot at making this site a success because I will be able to overcome any tech challenge I come across and because there are so many more options for monetization.
The Plan
Tech For Bloggers will cover all the tech you need to know to be a successful blogger, including website tech, marketing tech, gear and apps.
I have 20 years of blogging experience and technical knowledge, and also 20 years of habits, preconceptions and prejudices. I’m aiming to leave all of them at the door as I embark on creating a successful blog in 2021.
I will be deliberately building this blog as a new blogger. I will aim to primarily use options available to newbie bloggers, rather than build a custom solution for myself. For example, although my business offers web hosting I signed up to a WPMUDEV hosting plan instead.
I will keep records of my traffic, expenses and income, and I will be sharing them in public. To start, I have already begun compiling the ingredients used to create this site in the colophon.
Blogging Goals
So what are the goals of Tech For Bloggers?
Firstly, I want to share some of the stuff I’ve learnt about blogging over the years. Have a blogging tech problem? Tell me! I’m also planning on sharing everything I’m doing here on the blog to show others that starting and growing a blog is possible, no matter their skill level.
Next I just want to have some fun. This blog will hopefully help alleviate some of the boredom and nervous energy from pandemic fatigue into a productive outlet. Plus I’ve always enjoyed tech, so I think it will be fun to dive deep into apps and gear that bloggers will love.
The final goal is for this blog to earn some money. There are bloggers making a full-time income and more from their blogs. I’ll be happy if this blog earns me some “fun money” that I can spend on more gear and nonsense.
All that being said, I think I will be happy if I just achieve the first 2 goals. And what else can I ask for on top of being happy?
Thanks for reading my origin story. I would love for you to join me on my journey by connecting with me on Instagramor Twitter.
If you need help with your blogging tech, feel free to reach out! Tell me what your challenge is below and I’ll do my best to answer.
What’s Your Tech Headache?
Are you struggling with your blog? Tell me your problem and I’ll help solve it on Tech For Bloggers!