MAKE THIS THE WEEK YOU...

START A BLOG

Tricia cusden, 68, is founder of beauty blog Look Fabulous Forever. Here is her advice. CONSIDER CONTENT YOU can blog about absolutely anything that interests you — fashion, beauty, food, travel, technology, a house renovation project, anything at all. But do think about whether your topic is sustainable and whether you have enough interest in the topic to keep it up long term.

Before you start, put some thought into what you want your blog to look like — will it be mostly pictures, words or videos? It could even just be lists of handy hints and tips. PICK YOUR PLATFORM THERE are a number of websites to help you set up a blog and wordpress.com is one of the easiest.

You just need an email address to get a free account. The site provides a template for the look, so all you have to do is choose a blog name, which will also be the website address.

Then you can start blogging — a support section on the site guides you through it one step at a time. POST REGULARLY A SUCCESSFUL blog is one that’s regularly updated. That might mean daily or weekly, but try to set up a schedule you can stick to. You want your readers to be able to rely on you and know if they pop by at, for example, 10am on a Friday, they’re going to be able to read something new. SPREAD THE WORD USE websites like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to build up a following for your blog. Create a network by following other bloggers. ENGAGE WITH READERS AS YOUR audience grows, you will find readers comment on your posts — you should always take the time to reply to build your following.