Starting a dance blog can be a very satisfying thing. If you love dance, researching and writing about the subject may be something you would enjoy. Getting a blog up and running is pretty simple, and it doesn’t have to cost you anything either. If you want to just try it out and see how it goes, here are some tips for getting started:
Think up a name for your blog
Set up a free account at WordPress.com
Brainstorm some topics you’d like to write about
Choose from the list for your category headings
Go behind the scenes and play around a bit
Write an “about” page that tells readers a bit about who you are
Write and publish your first post
It may sound simple—and it really is if you just want an outlet to express your thoughts and ideas on dance. Getting a more formal blog up and running can be more challenging, but starting out this way lets you play around with ideas and get your legs under you. If you find that you would like to do something a bit more serious, you can always upgrade your account with WordPress and get more features.
I started 4dancers on a whim—following the steps I just described above. I had no special knowledge of blogging, and I didn’t have a grand plan for what I was going to do with the site. I just jumped in.
If you are going to try your hand at a dance blog, I recommend looking at some other sites to see what they are doing that you like—and what they are doing that you don’t care for. It can help you pick some subjects and find a general direction. Here are some that you can peek at for ideas–or check out my blogroll:
If you do decide to blog, be sure and drop me a note—or leave a comment here so I can check out your site!
Hi,
I am a professional dancer/choreographer and teacher from the UK and I started writing my own blog a year ago. It really is that simple yo set up and maintain. In the beginning I wasn’t sure wether it would last but I thought I give it a go and see if I could maybe get inspired by it and my readers. I now have a sturdy following and my blog has helped me to reach out to people in the dance world. Writing about my interests my findings and my questions has helped me understand more what I want to gain from my profession and the things that I am really truly interested in. It all sounds a bit philosophical but a simple media like this helped me understand my own thinking a bit better.
So all I can add to this post is GIVE IT A GO!
Thanks,
Sarah Linstra
Hi Sarah–thanks for the comment and for encouraging other dancers to write a blog! I visited your site and it is great. : ) Many dancers I have interviewed say what you did–that writing about their experiences with dance bring a deeper understanding of themselves and their art. Well put. All the best to you!
Nice roundup. I recently started writing about dance and my first ballet lessons in my general personal blog, but it’s so much fun that I’m thinking about starting a separate dance blog. We shall see!
Your start and my start are pretty identical. No plan (though I think I’d been writing posts in my head long before I knew what a blog was). No idea what I was doing OR what I was getting myself into.
There are days I wish I’d had a plan. And days I wish I’d known but then I may have talked myself out of it! No regrets here though. It’s been exciting to watch the online dance community grow and thrive. It’s been a daily learning experience for me, personally. Truly meaningful connections have been made outwardly and inwardly.
So yeah! Go for it!
Thanks for the shoutout, Catherine!
Hi, Catherine. Congratulations! I have awarded you The Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award. Visit this site on my blog to pick up the badge and pay it forward: http://tinyurl.com/5sk8pvp 🙂
By the way, great post about starting a blog. I also started mine without knowing much, but thanks to some great initial encouragement from folks like you and Nichelle at DanceAdvantage, I am now having a great time. It is a lot of work, but very rewarding!
Be sure to check out my dance blog! Tell me what you think of it?
Cute blog Abby–lot’s of variety! I really liked the “make your own leg warmers” post … never thought about making them out of a sweater–I love it!
I started a blog very recently with the help of this post. Thank you very much! I hope you can check out my blog too!
Thanks for letting me know – I checked it out and it looks interesting! 🙂 Keep up the good work!