Useful Tips and Resources to Make Your Blog a Success
January is my blog-versary month. Two years ago I hit publish on my first post – The Emotional Rollercoaster called Motherhood – and never looked back. I fell in love with blogging and it consumed me. Today, my blog has grown leaps and bounds from that first post (though is still not even half-way where I want it to be but I’m on a constant learning curve). I learnt the technicalities of blogging on the job – googling stuff, asking fellow bloggers and learning through trial-and-error. I made mistakes, had mini heart-attacks and survived. I still don’t know so much, but terms like HTML, SEO, DA and Page Views don’t scare me as much now.
I took an entire year to go self-hosted (more on that in this post – rookie mistake number 1) and more than that to start monetizing my blog. But the point is I’m there NOW, and that’s what matters. We all live and learn. So as a reflection on my blogging journey so far and as the first post of 2018, I’m sharing the dos and don’ts, useful tips and must-have resources that I have learnt so far. Take in what you must, share the knowledge and ask questions/ comment/ put in your inputs in the comments below.
TIPS FOR NEWBIE BLOGGERS
Content is King, but promotion is Key
Write from the heart. Write in your personal style. Let your readers get to know you – the person behind the blog – through your writing and that will make them want to come back for more. The connection lies in your content.
BUT
If you don’t promote your posts and shout out from the rooftops about your blog, no-one will know you or your blog exists. I learned this the hard way – self-promotion is an art and you will feel awkward at first, but it is essential. Share your posts on your social platforms, add them to linkies and relevant Facebook threads; basically throw your posts into the blogosphere. Let your little corner of the internet get noticed.
Don’t disregard the significance of SEO (Search Engine Optimization, for the newbies). Good SEO and using the correct keywords will translate to your blog ranking high in Google for that topic, which will lead to more hits on your site. Read this London Seo Expert’s Success Story You’ll Never Believe to know the importance of SEO for your blog.
And then there’s the biggie – email marketing! If done correctly, this can do wonders for your blog as it will, over time, get the word out there. If you want to kickstart your email marketing campaign with a bang, sign up to email marketing solutions like My Emma that help you overcome the unique challenges facing your business/ blog.
Join in with linkies
Yes they are time-consuming but linkies are a great way to get your blog read and noticed, to get comments on posts, to interact with other bloggers and your readers and to increase your DA. Follow the rules of the linky and share the blog love – don’t link and run, other bloggers will notice. Take the time to read other blogs and comment on other posts – that’s how I made some of my blogging besties.
Join new linkies once in a while to get a new audience and find new blogs too.
Go self-hosted from the start
When I jumped into the world of blogging, I did so with apprehension. Will I enjoy it? What if I don’t get time to blog? Will I have enough material? And so I committed my Rookie Mistake #1 – I didn’t go self-hosted for almost a year!!! If you are planning to earn from your blog – either monetarily or with products in exchange for reviews – go self-hosted from the beginning. It isn’t as frightful and will do wonders for your DA. Brands will also take you more seriously.
Of course if you’re just blogging for a hobby or to keep an online diary, it’s a different matter. Otherwise, just take the plunge and dive in!
Don’t get overwhelmed – plan and schedule
I shouldn’t be writing this as I do tend to get a bit overwhelmed with blogmin (blog admin in blog lingo) and blog stuff myself, but I’m getting more organised this year! Blogging isn’t about just writing a post – that’s only the first step! There is SEO-ing it, editing and adding images, promoting it on social media, keeping up-to-date with blogmin tasks like checking broken links etc. But planning content and scheduling posts and social media helps you stay ahead of the stress.
WHAT I LEARNED IN TWO YEARS OF BLOGGING…
Blogging is a full-time job
If you want your blog to be noticed and want to earn from it or make it a part-time/ full-time career, then you need to be on the job 24/7. The real hard work starts after writing the post and hitting publish.
You ain’t a blogger if you ain’t on Social Media
Well, technically you still are, but taking off from my first point, you won’t be a well-known blogger unless you are active on social media too. The more channels you are on, the better, but don’t dive in to everything and then feel overwhelmed and get lost in the maze. Instead, choose three or four that work best for you and focus on growing them. Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook and StumbleUpon are the best ones for increasing your traffic and reach.
That said, work on building your email list because that is yours and yours alone – so tomorrow if Facebook and Twitter shut down suddenly, you won’t lose all your followers.
Have fun with your blog else what’s the point, really?
I guess this goes for any job you do, but more so with blogging. Firstly, because you started your blog because YOU wanted to, nobody forced you to and secondly because it is extremely time-consuming, so if you’re not enjoying it, you’re just wasting your time!
Yes it can get a bit much sometimes and can seem overwhelming, but keep in mind the reason you started blogging and let that spur you on. If sponsored posts and reviews are getting a bit too much for you, decline a few and write about things you love for a while. Write from the heart. Don’t fall out of love with your blog, instead, take a break and then jump back in – refreshed! Your blog will still be waiting for you…
USEFUL RESOURCES
A logo that stands out
Think of Nike or Starbucks or Apple or any big brand and what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Their logo. That image becomes them. So when people click on your blog, the first thing they come across is your logo. So let it stand out. I designed my blog’s logo using online logo-maker Logojoy that uses Artificial Intelligence to create the exact logo that you visualise – in the comfort of your own home! In a word – it’s brilliant. (Check out my review of the site here).
A mobile-friendly, user-friendly and attractive website
Most of us bloggers are writers at heart – or by profession – but not many of us are techies. Building a website that is attractive, fast, user-friendly and (very important) mobile-friendly can sometimes be a bit of a challenge. Invest in your blog and it will bring in investments for you. Take the help of a web design agency to design the blog of your dreams – so you can concentrate on content and promotion.
A visual delight – make your images stand out!
A blog is not a newspaper. It is a digital medium, and that means you need to catch your reader or potential reader’s attention in the first few seconds; else they will scroll onto something else. Great images (besides headlines and quality writing) do that. So invest in a good online photo editor to make your blog (and social media) photos stand out.
A blog planner/ scheduler
Up until recently, my blog planner was a mix of ideas in my head, story ideas in drafts and other to-do lists on post-it notes across my kitchen counter. Not smooth, I admit. My blogging new year resolution was to get more organised – both with my planning and my time – and believe me, it’s made a world of difference! Here are a few basic things I’m doing:
- I plan my posts for the month (of course this can be flexible depending on paid opportunities that come up in the middle), and sometimes plan months ahead for a post on say Mother’s Day or Breastfeeding Week.
- I’m scheduling my FB posts and tweets rather than just posting as and when I wish. This helps form a continuous flow of my posts on social media, so my blog reaches more people.
- I’ve made a list (an excel sheet works just as well) of all the FB threads and groups, Twitter groups and linkies I want to promote my posts on with the day each goes live – if it’s in front of me, I can’t miss it!
Of course you can work with online schedulers and good ol’ Excel, but I’m more of a pen and paper girl and I love my stationery, so here’s what keeps me organised!
So go ahead and make 2018 your best blogging year yet! Good luck!!!
For tips on creating great blog content, read this post.
Disclosure: This is a collaborative post and contains an affiliate link. This means that I earn a small commission should you choose to purchase the product by clicking on my link but will be at no extra cost to you.
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I’ve linked this post with these fab linkies
Cath Whittaker
Some brilliant tips thank you! I’m still getting going and don’t commit nearly enough time but will be better in 2018!
Nicole
Yeah there never seems to be enough time! But prioritising things makes a huge difference. All the best and thank you for your comment.
Helen Little
Love it! Really helpful tips. My blog turned 1 today, so I’ve been reflecting too. Never tried a linky but may do now. Thanks for the tips!
Nicole
Congratulations Helen. Linkys are time-consuming but can do wonders for your stats and reach.
The Tale of Mummyhood
This is a fab post! I a good read of blogging tips, they’re great to get some inspiration and motivation! Thanks so much for sharing with #Blogstravaganza xx
Nicole
Thanks Zoe!
Jo - Cup of Toast
This is a great post! I’m hoping to get back to being more organised with my scheduling this year too. Thanks for sharing your ideas with #Blogstravaganza 🙂
Nicole
Yes organisation is key. I’m working on that as well:)
Laura | Dot Makes 4
This is a great post and fab tips! Like you, I’m making sure that this year I’m really focusing on planning and being organised!
#Blogstravaganza
Nicole
Thanks Laura and good luck with the planning and organisation!
ruth cartwright
Im all over this year with my planner organisation is the key #blogstravaganza
Nicole
True. Good luck!
Sarah | Digital Motherhood
Great post, if only we had all known these things when we started blogging! #Blogstravaganza
Nicole
Ah, yes! That would have been fab:) I’m still learning!!!
Laura -The Mamma Fairy
Your logo looks brilliant. 2018 will be the year I take my own kid seriously so found this really useful thanks
Nicole
Thanks Laura. Logojoy is really quite cool! Good luck with your blog.
Maggie
Thank you for the tips! I’m still new, so I love to learn whatever I can. There’s a steep learning curve for me with this whole blogging thing. I love the idea of Logojoy. #blogstravaganza
Nicole
Thanks Maggie. And good luck!
Mrs Jibril
Great tips, I’m sure any newbie blogger will find it helpful. I couldn’t agree more on promoting your post every chance you get on social media.#Blogstravaganza
Nicole
Thank you for your comment.
Yes, I need to up my promotion game myself – one of the blogging goals I’ve set for myself this year!
Jo - Pickle & Poppet
Some really great tips in here! I’m now going into my second year and still learning so much! How time consuming it can be has to be the biggest shock to me. I love it though! #TriumphantTales
Nicole
You couldn’t have said it better Jo. It is SO TIME-CONSUMING, there is just always SO MUCH TO DO!!! But as you said, I love it too:)
Sylvia
What a lovely post, enjoyed every bit of it. Am some few months gone (about 3 months now) and I love what am doing. Didn’t really get what you said about linkies tho. Can you elaborate please.
Nicole
Thanks!
Some bloggers host linkies on a specific day of the week – where other bloggers can link up their posts (usually around a theme) and then comment on one another’s posts. Great way to get introduced to new blogs and get comments on your own blog.
Sarah | Boo Roo and Tigger Too
Some great tips for anyone looking to start a blog. Promotion is something that really takes time to get your head around.
Nicole
Thanks Sarah. Yes, it took me months to realise that I needed to shout out from the rooftops about my blog. It pays off – slowly but surely.
Mess and Merlot
Great tips Nicole, I’m a hobby blogger really but maybe that will change in time. As you say it’s a full time job and the promotion sucks the joy out of it for me! I have to remind myself that it’s supposed to be enjoyable and focus on that when I get a bit stressy about linkys, social media etc. I did go self-hosted last year so slowly getting there! 😉 #coolmumclub
Nicole
Yes, I know what you mean. When deadlines and linkies stress me out, I remind myself that I’m doing this because I want to and not because I have to, it’s by choice, so take a step back and enjoy it!
Thanks for reading x
Morgan Prince
Some great tips here, thanks for sharing. x
#coolmumclub
Nicole
Glad you found them useful Morgan x
Jaki
We really have NO idea when we start out, do we? Looking back it’s laughable! You are right, there is SO much more to it than writing, in fact, I would say that’s only 20% of it. But we love it, so that’s the important bit. #coolmumclub
Nicole
Exactly – if there is passion, those late nights become worth it:)
And yes, we have absolutely NO idea when we start out!!!
MMT
Some great pieces of advice here that are always worth revisiting, even many years in. I tends to go in waves of enthusiasm and definitely need to step off the rollercoaster from time to time – finding balance in blogging is key for me!
Thanks so much for joining in with #coolmumclub – a must join linky, obvs 😉
Nicole
Well said Sarah – we must find balance in blogging or else it becomes a bit much.
Helena
Great advice here. Thanks for revealing how you blog. #coolmumclub
Nicole
Glad you found the post helpful:)
Helena
Returning via #Globalblogging
Nicole
Thank you!
Kate Holmes
Love posts like this – always very good to learn new stuff and be reminded of things you already know that you might neglect from time to time. #BlogItVlogIt
Nicole
Thank you Kate x
Katelynn|hampersandhiccups.com
Organizing is SO important to me! A blogging friend couldn’t believe I have my editorial plan done for the entire year. It takes hardly any time at all and is more than worth it!
#thursdayteam
Katelynn, hampersandhiccups.com
Nicole
Wow, that’s amazing! You’re super organized! But you’re so right, things are much easier when you have a plan/ schedule to work around.
Emma
I love this post and you’ve shared some great tips. I’ve been blogging on and off for a number of years but only started to take it seriously with CubKit. Plus social media, SEO etc is forever evolving so I always feel like I’m on a learning curve. Organisation is key, in fact I’m going to be sacrificing my Saturday night to get it in order for the few months ahead. Thanks for the inspiration x #thursdayteam
Nicole
You’re so right Emma, social media and the Internet is forever evolving so it is like we’re always on a learning curve!
And yes, it takes a while to get your schedule/ organiser in place, but once it’s done, it makes blogging life so much easier. Good luck and thanks for reading x
Sarah
Loved this! I remember when I started out it was a huge learning curve, so a guide like this would have been just what I needed! I totally agree with it being a full time job and needing to be organised, it makes things so much easier! Thanks for linking this to #thursdayteam
Nicole
Thank you Sarah, yes in retrospect, there were so many things I’d wish I’d known when I started out. In fact, I’m still learning…
David - Tales of Two Children
Great post. Full of useful advice. Love it!
Nicole
Thank you David.
Heather Keet
I couldn’t live without my planner! It is vital to my blog and I love it! #GlobalBlogging
Nicole
I started “planning” properly too now, and you’re right, it’s made a world of difference!
This Scribbler Mum
Thanks for the tips! Newbie blogger here so trying to learn the ropes as much as I can. 🙂 #fortheloveofblog
Nicole
Glad you found the post helpful… all the best:)
Tubbs
Some great tips here. I’m still not entirely convinced about being self hosted. There are pros – completely owning your own content; more features etc. But there are cons – the cost, being responsible for everything etc! But you can build DA, monetise etc on a hosted platform if you’ve got your own domain name from the get go.
Nicole
Very true. It depends what you want from your blog really; if it’s just an online diary or a place to put down your thoughts/ words, then it’s not so essential to be self-hosted. However if it is your job or you are looking to monetise it, then I’d say definitely go self-hosted. And yes, the sooner the better!
The Mummy Bubble
Fab tips here lovely. Congrats on two years of blogging too! I totally agree about going self hosted straight away, im so glad I didn’t wait too long to take mine self hosted. I got addicted to blogging pretty quickly! Thanks for sharing with #fortheloveofBLOG
Nicole
Thanks so much. Yes, it is so addictive – I’m always subconsciously thinking of content ideas, possible photos and oh, can this go on social media?!!!