Prerequisites

I want to make this course as accessible as possible and because of that, there are very few prerequisites to doing this course. This course assumes NO PRIOR KNOWLEDGE of blogging or blogging jargon. Nor does it expect you to be 'techy' or good at design.

However, there are few things you WILL NEED:

• A computer
• Internet access
• Time
• Some money to invest in necessities

A computer and internet access

I hope it goes without saying that you will need a computer and internet access to start a blog. I have heard of people starting blogs on their phones, but I'm not quite sure how - they must have the patience of a saint!

You do not, however, need a fancy expensive computer. A regular desktop or laptop computer will be fine. If your computer is VERY old, I would recommend you get a newer model - as much for your sanity as anything else. But really so long as you have a computer that works and has internet access, that's all you really need to start blogging!

Time

As I mentioned in the previous unit, you do need to set aside some regular time for blogging - ideally a couple of hours per day, 5 days a week - to get the most out of this course and to get the point where your blog is making good money as fast as possible.

However it is possible to do this course and start a blog with less time available - just be aware that it will take you longer to make money. See the previous unit for more advice on this.

Money

I wish that I could tell you that blogging is cost free. But sadly, like all businesses, there are some set up costs. In this course I will tell you exactly what you really need to spend money on and what is a waste of money. (I've learnt the hard way over the years, so you don't have to!)

But to give you an indication, you will at the very least have to buy a domain name (roughly $15 per year) and pay for hosting (roughly $5 per month). If you decide to blog about something very visual (fashion, food, home improvement, crafts etc.), I would also strongly advise you to buy a proper DSLR camera. But if money is super tight, you can get away with using your smartphone to start with.

This may seem like a lot, but when you compare it with the costs of starting almost ANY OTHER type of business, where you'd have to buy stock, pay rent, business rates, designers and so on, it's actually very cheap to start a blog and the potential rewards are often bigger than traditional businesses too!