How to blog when you're blind

Just for fun, and because I've been asked a few hundred times over the last month, these are my to ten tips for how to blog when your blind.

1. Choose a blogging platform
Find a blogging platform with an interface or app you can see with the vision you have, or hear through the software you use.  I use blogger because I've been using it for a decade and know exactly how it works which makes it easy for me.  I know most people say WordPress is easier to use if you're sight impaired so my advice would be to look at both and use which you prefer.

2. Choose your subject
Decide what you're going to blog about.  The world's your oyster, you can blog about anything.  But perhaps what you eat for breakfast won't keep you, or your readers, interested for long.  I recommend you keep it vague unless you know exactly what you'll be writing about.

3. Name your blog
Think of a title which hasn't been used before.  Make sure that title is easy to type (yes, that really matters when you're blind) and doesn't easily convert to something else through predictive text - another bane of the blind person's life.

4. Introduce yourself
If people are going to read your blog then they're wanting to know about you.  The best way to start therefore is to introduce yourself and what your aims are for blogging.

5. Take photos
Or find images, but let's face it, it's not easy to look for images when looking is an issue. Mind you it's not that easy to take photos but I point in the general direction and keep clicking until it KSS vaguely right.  I know my photos are nothing like the quality they used to be, but they look OK to me :). It might be tempting to not use photos with your posts but in my experience it boosts the interest in the post, brightens up the blog and is useful on social media.

6. Write to your hearts content
I have tried over the years to have focused blogs but my life and mind aren't made that way.  I am always flitting between interests and find that letting my blog reflect my personality works best for me.  I know I could have more readers if I was narrowed down, but I don't read to increase numbers, it's cathartic for me.  Now the one major challenge I've found as a blind blogger is that my typing isn't perfect, by any stretch of the imagination, and I can no longer check it.  I was worried about that to begin with, but now I just embrace the mess.  After all, everyone knows I'm trying my best.

7. Promote your blog
I bet you never thought you'd have to become a promoter when you decided to become a writer but I'm afraid it's all part of the game.  You can of course just write and post, but no one will know to read it, not even your friends.  I would advise you to post on Twitter and to set up a Facebook page and link there as well.  You can always choose to Instagram, Pinterest, Google plus and more at a later date when you've got used to the first two.

8. Respond to comments
Hopefully people will comment, although my experience is that these days most people comment on Facebook or Twitter rather than on the blog.  Keep up with these comments and questions and get involved in the chat, it's a lot of fun and you'll probably meet some lovely people.

9. Just do it
If your worried, don't be; you're clearly interested in blogging because you're reading this, so just set your mind and fingers to the task and have a go.  What have you got to loose?  I for one would love to read from other blind bloggers.

10. Have fun
If it's not fun then don't do it or do it differently.  This is meant to be something we do for fun.  Enough of life is hard without sight, don't keep blogging if it's not fun.

Now to take a photo.
What shall I chose today?