If you’re new to blogging, you probably have a few common questions.
What should I blog about? How do I make my blog popular? And so on. Here are a few tips that every beginner blogger should know:
Tip 1: Choose a topic and stay focused on it
First things first—decide what is your ultimate goal while creating this blog. It should be a topic that you are passionate about and can chew anyone’s ear off about endlessly with useful information. If you have a goal for your blog, make sure it’s very clear to the reader. So if your goal is to promote yourself as a yoga instructor, the focus of your blog could be about commentary on the latest yoga trends and sharing yogi wisdom.
Tip 2: Choose your target audience
Knowing who your readers are is helps you figure out what your content should and should not include. It also will help you with your writing style. Talk over their heads, and you lost them. Talk too seriously, and you lost them too. In other words, you wouldn’t write the same way if your target audiences are scientific intellects who want to read about the latest biological discovery, versus teenagers in America who want to know what are the latest fashion trends.
Tip 3: Be original
There are thousands of blogs that are writing about the same topic as you, so what makes yours so special? Give them new information, or deliver the same information differently. Maybe you include funny graphics, or clever video clips that relate to the topic. Most importantly, be you. YOU are unique, so when you express yourself, your blog can automatically become remarkable, entertaining, and something worth sharing.
Tip 4: Be consistent
You don’t have to post a blog everyday, but be sure to schedule posts frequently. When a blog’s last post seems old, readers will think that the blog is dead and will be less likely to come again.
Tip 5: Make the blog look cool, modern, and easy to read
Nobody wants to read a blog that looks like it was designed in 1982, or one that is overwhelmingly cluttered with text and widgets. Keep in mind that people are browsing the net with different sized screens and devices, so your site MUST be responsive so that you don’t lose traffic because your site was difficult to read and use. While having a designed theme match your blog’s topic, keep it simple. If you need help designing a cool theme, no worries! WordPress and multiple third party sites, like ThemeForest, that have really nice themes for you to choose from. If you’re not happy with that option, you can also hire a WordPress Designer, and/or get inspired by how other blogs look and feel. Also, save the cutesy curly font for your logo, but when you write your blog, choose a font and font size that are easy to read. Finally, liven up your posts with original, high quality photos, and/or videos.
Tip 6: Invite your readers to communicate with you
Ask them questions at the end of your posts. Then be sure to respond to their comments right away, because this is how you gain loyal readers. Be prepared to ignore rude, or negative comments. They happen to the best of us. Save your energy for better things and feel free to delete or filter out who ever you want. Add Discus is one of the best real-time commenting systems that helps encourage high quality engagement. Use Akis
Tip 7: Subscribers
Collect your visitor’s emails to keep them posted and coming back for more. These people are the most likely to convert to whatever it is you have to pitch them, so don’t lose this valuable data!!
Tip 8: Get noticed and share quality content on social media
Ok, time to get your elbow grease on. Social media platforms are one of the best ways to get traffic to your site. When you choose your unique blog name, be sure to open an account with the exact same name in Google+, Facebook, and Twitter. Other good options include Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, Quora, and LinkedIn, just to name a few. Not all social media platforms are going to be right for your audience, so be sure to use them wisely. For example, LinkedIn will be best for business related topics, and not for blogs that are about the top five exercise moves to get rock hard abs.
Include all of the social media icons on your blog, where your readers can follow your social media posts. Each blog post should also be accompanied with social media icons to make it easier for your readers to do the dirty work for you and share it to a wider audience.
Tip 9: Get familiar with the powers of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
SEO are strategies and techniques used to get your website ranked higher in a search engine, like Google. There is a lot to learn on this topic, so don’t get overwhelmed. Start with baby steps, like the dos and don’ts of writing a good blog title, writing quality content, building authorship, how to measure your blog’s success, and so on.
Tip 10: Stay positive and have fun
Blogs take time and effort to grow and develop. So take your time and enjoy the ride!
Good luck!