Level 2, Lesson 9 Update

So...I've reached the lesson where we're supposed to write our first WA blog post. I'll just give you a quick update of some things I've done and learned, with a slant toward things you might be wondering if you're just starting.

I picked a niche, books and instructional materials for children. Because of my background as a (former) special education teacher, I have a passion for this topic, and I thought I could find an infinite number of things to write about it. I knew I'd never run out of things to say. Not only were there lots of products I could review, but also opportunities to share instructional activities parents and teachers might enjoy using with their children. That would be my first bit of advice--pick a niche you're passionate about, one about which you have plenty to say.

I went Premium. If you're reading this, you probably did too, but if you haven't, I recommend it if you can. The additional training is priceless. Well, it's $49 a month, but the payoff could be much greater. Not to mention, the convenience of being able to get multiple websites with your own domain name hosted right here. Not that I have multiples yet, but still, it's a huge convenience.

I set up a website. I was already familiar with Wordpress, at least in a rudimentary way, but I learned a ton. I'm still stumbling my way through the tech side of all this, but there are plenty of resources, and for what I can't find here, there's always Google. I set up my pages and made my first post, and even got a comment. If you're not tech-savvy and are worried about being able to manage your site, take it from me: you got this.

There are lots of lessons along that way--keywords, Google plus, creating an email for your site, and so much more--and I won't bore you by listing them all. But I did want to touch on one thing. The pages where you give feedback on other member sites and make comments on their blog posts are so rewarding. It feels good to give help and encouragement to other people on the path. Even as a newbie who is often lost in the digital woods, I can sometimes find something helpful to say.

So here's my offer. If you're a few steps behind me on the path and have a question I can help you with, just let me know. Meanwhile, enjoy the journey!