My Struggles With WordPress
Passion for sports is something that is shared by millions of people globally. No matter what differences exist between people, the sports industry is something everyone can easily relate to as well as find some kind of common ground. For me passion for sports really goes beyond just being a fan, I want my love for sports to become a bigger part of my readers’ lives. Even though many people dream of becoming a sports bloggers and journalists, only a few of them have that powerful voice which can be recognized by people from all over the world.
Not many of them have those required writing skills and required devotion. I was aware even at the beginning of my sports blogging career of all the challenges on my way towards becoming an acclaimed sports journalist, but since sports are truly my passion I was persistent in order to succeed. I was aware of the biggest problems in becoming a sports blogger today.
Challenges Faced by Sports Bloggers Today
As time progresses, the challenges faced by sports bloggers become greater. There is new technology being introduced, and at some point, you may think that journalism is becoming less significant. However, despite great challenges, the reality is quite the contrary. Sports bloggers and journalist are able of maintaining their positions in the field and sometimes they even go beyond their initial assigned duties. A sports bloggers, in fact, needs to stay on to their game all the time. That is the greatest challenge. I also embarked on additional challenges, since I didn’t know anything about creating an online space.
Facing Common WordPress Issues
Well, it was easy to create my initial blog, but there were a whole another set of challenges when it comes to maintaining an online space. My greatest struggle was how to overcome WordPress issues. WordPress may be easy to use, but there are various common WordPress errors that can make any beginner panic. At the time when I created my sports blog, I noticed many errors after I published the site. I’ve noticed issues like an internal server error, error with establishing a database connection, redirecting and refreshing issues, various kinds of image issues and many others. I started panicking since I had no idea what to do.
Afterall I was a sports guy who never had to fix these kinds of issues before. In this industry, I was only a beginner with no experience at all. However, I had other skills and most importantly passion. These initial challenges never stopped me from searching answers and making things work. Several months after I’ve created the sports blog, in no time I was able to solve every WordPress error message commonly appearing when I entered the website. Therefore, if you are just at the beginning of your journey, don’t be discouraged by these initial issues. Just remember everyone before you faced them and eventually learned how to deal with them.
Tips and Advice for Beginner Sports Bloggers
Besides handling your online space, there will be other challenges as well. However, if you are passionate about what you are doing, you can succeed. Before diving into sports blogging waters, make sure to get educated first. It should be noted that having skills required and passion are not enough. In order to move in the right direction, get educated and learn from the best. Learn from people like me who were in your shoes once.
Education will help a lot. Educating yourself doesn’t mean you have to earn an English major, but if you educate yourself on the subject and refine your writing, you will extremely hone your sports blogging skills. Then spend some time learning from the best. It is very important to follow some general structure of sports journalism. Even though there is no official guide, you should start by reading various sports articles and learn from them. It is a great idea to read some of my reviews and articles to get a better insight into the proper sports articles’ structure.
Getting Your Name Out There
After you have created your sports blog, it is the right time to start working on getting your name out there. Once you are familiar with what to write and how to properly do it, your next step is to figure how things work out there. An aspiring writer should have his own blog. If you have one, make sure it looks great and also make sure it clearly shows that you have some experience under your belt. Your personal blog will act as amazing practice for later on your sports writing journey.
At that point when you feel comfortable with placing your articles online, it is the right time to look for some sites where you are able to publish your work. There is also a possibility of getting paid if your articles are good. There are numerous sports websites which need guest writers and which pay you for submitting your work. Commonly you have to submit a sample of your writing within your application process, but when you get approved as a regular contributor, it will be much easier to get your articles accepted for publishing.
Improve Your Writing Skills
You may start as guest contributor, but if you are a devoted and skilled writer you will eventually get recognized by the sports writing community. Eventually you will find amazing opportunities to work on some bigger publications. If sports writing is really your passion, you will eventually become a full time sports journalist living your dream.
It should be noted writing is a gift and not many people have this gift. It is a mistake to feel overwhelmed. Instead, you should start working on your skills and getting your name out there. You simply never know what may happen until you explore your opportunities and give it a shot. Remember that every famous sport journalist once was in your shoes. I’ve explored many opportunities and different careers until I settled down as a sports blogger. You can do the same, just start small and think big.