Before, the title was going to be "How to Start a Food Blog," but then I realized, don't you need to know how to start a regular blog first? And yes, you do! You need to learn how to walk before you run, right? I've been blogging since the ripe age of twelve years old when the internet was just really blooming and social media apps were just taking off. My first blog was bloggingfromthehobbithole.tumblr.com and it was a platform where I could be a little nerd during a time where being a nerd wasn't really cool.

Even after eight years of being on the internet and blogging about various topics, I'm still learning on how exactly I can become a blogger. After researching other blogs and what other people learned before starting their own blog, I compiled a 5 step list on how to start a blog.

1. Choose Topic & Name

Now, this may just be the hardest step out of all five. While choosing your topic may be easy, creating an original and unique name will be difficult. It will seem as if all of the greatest names have been taken. You wanna know how I got bloggingfromthehobbithole? I was constantly made fun of my height, and instead of feeling bad about myself, I joked around and called myself a "Hobbit."

The topics are endless. But to help you out, here's a list of easy and popular topics:

- Fandom (Doctor Who, Sherlock, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings)

- Food

- Health & Lifestyle

- Fashion

- Personal

2. Choose Your Site

There are plenty of ways to start your blog. You can take the easy way and just use a pre-made site with pre-made theme, but if you are going for a more professional look, most people pay a site or someone they know to create their personalized blog. To give you a clear view of your options, here's a list of the most popular sites to help you start your blog.

- Blogger

- Tumblr

- Weebly

- Wix

- Wordpress

3. Set It Up!

The best way to gain followers is to make your blog look inviting. Don't pick crazy colors. Stick with black, white, or pastel colors. These colors make the text easier to read and it's not an eye-sore.

Choose an easy layout that won't put the viewers through so much just to get to one thing.

4. Follow Popular Blogs

Look at the popular blogs in your category and follow them. A great way to gain followers is to follow the people who follow those popular blogs.

5. Posting

When you are posting on any blogging site, whether it is Tumblr, Blogger etc, you need to worry about your sourcing. If what you are posting is not yours, you need to source it, otherwise, it's stealing. Whether you mean to or not, not giving credit could result in copyright disputes and internet fights that are completely unnecessary.

With that being said, original posts will help you gain followers. When I started myStudy Blog, I had just re-posted other people's posts and photos. Once I understood what I wanted to do with my blog, I started to post my own original work like How to Budget For Back to School andHow to Avoid/Deal With Illness in College.

Now that you have the right tips, you are now on the track to becoming a pro blogger. Remember to have fun, stay safe and smart online, and happy blogging!