Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have tips for starting a blog?

Starting a blog is the hardest part. You might feel like you're not “ready” enough or that your photography isn't “good” enough but don't think about it and just start. When I look back at some of my earliest posts I definitely cringe but you'll never improve if you don't even start!

 

Get Your Own Domain

Once you've made the decision, I recommend buying your own domain and self-hosting your blog, ie. shershegoes.com vs. shershegoes.blogspot.com or shershegoes.wordpress.com.

A self hosted blog conveys professionalism and allows you to customize your site to its fullest and even add advertising, should you eventually wish to.

It's much more difficult to start on a shared platform and then switch a couple months in than to start initially on the right platform.

I'm definitely technology challenged so I'm so glad I took the time to set my site up properly from the beginning!

 

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Web Hosting

I used Bluehost web hosting for the first 3 years of my site.

It's great for beginner bloggers because they offer really cheap hosting rates (right now you can get 36 months for $2.95 a month here) when you're not quite sure how long you'll blog for.

 

Another popular affordable hosting company is GoDaddy.

GoDaddy's claim to fame is that they're the world's largest domain registrar and offer “.com” domains for as low as $0.99. They also offer “.nyc” domains should you wish something local.

You can learn more about GoDaddy hosting and domains here.

Once your site starts getting significant traffic, shared servers under Bluehost and GoDaddy can't keep up with the bandwidth increase.

Currently, I use a managed host. This is much more expensive so if you're just starting out go with something inexpensive. 

 

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Additional Resources

Media Kit – You can purchase a media kit template on Etsy here. They're beautifully designed, easy to customize and really affordable.

Canva – I also recommend signing up for Canva to be able to create graphics – this is especially great for making Pinterest images, Instagram story graphics or Youtube thumbnails.

Canva is free to use on the basic version, but you can upgrade to pro in order to be able to remove backgrounds and create transparent images (a must for making nicely designed collages!).

Canva is much more user friendly compared to Adobe Photoshop or InDesign.

WordPress Themes – out of the box, wordpress looks quite blah. Purchase a ready made, but easily customizable theme, on Etsy to make your site look nice!

You can get a really nice theme for ~$50-70 and customize it to exactly how you'd like. 

Browse wordpress themes on Etsy here.

 

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What camera and equipment do you use?

You can find all my current gear here.

If you're just starting out, I recommend using your phone until you get the hang of editing photos and video clips. When you're ready to upgrade, I think Sony mirrorless cameras are a great buy.

They're lightweight, have fantastic image quality (especially in low light capabilities) and much more advanced than traditional DSLRs.

I started out with Canon gear and have gradually added Sony bodies and lenses. I still use both, but if I were starting over, I'd go with the lighter and smaller Sony lineup!

A great thing to do before splurging on expensive gear is to rent. Adorama is my go to for renting camera and lighting equipment. They're located in NYC too, so you can pick up to save on shipping.

Check out Adorama gear rentals here.