Happy Birthday to me...I'm 38 today and in an oh-so-humble fashion, I'm honoring my age by re-publishing a post I wrote 2 years ago about what I've learned about blogging...except I added 2 more points for 2 more years. Some of my original points seems kinda like, "Duh..." to me now that I've been doing this whole blogging thing longer; but, if you're just getting started, it could be helpful stuff. For me, the learning curve has been quite steep. I still need all the help I can get and welcome advice for how to grow my blog, so I'm hoping this doesn't come off like I'm an expert. I'm soooo not. Anyhoo...here's what I've learned.
The first 36 points were originally published on July 24, 2012.
36 38 Blogging Tips
Only blog about your passion. What a drag it would be to have to think up blog post ideas for something you were only lukewarm about.
Don't be afraid to show your failures. I personally prefer blogs that take on a bit of a self-deprecating tone. Those that are too perfect are too indimidating and just make me feel bad about my own skills.
Do be personal. But not too personal, please. It's fun to hear about how people's lives intertwine with their blog content, but going off on frequent tangents will cause people to lose interest.
Be clear about what your blog is about. I've subscribed to blogs in the past because I was drawn in by a post, only to find out that the blog is 99% about the author's cat, and 1% about DIYing. Admittedly, I should've looked around a bit more, but it would help if everyone's blog title was a bit self-explanatory.
Work on establishing your brand. This goes hand in hand with the above tip. Come up with a logo you use consistently, develop a tag line that defines your blog, and use these items everywhere: email signatures, Twitter and Facebook handles, thumbnails, picture watermarks...it just helps make your blog more recognizeable.
Read other blogs. Duh. But it must be said. Cultivate your own list of favorites and become a loyal reader.
Do research. Reading others' blogs is important, but so is scouring other sources for information on your topic. Again, make sure your topic is something you're crazy about, or doing research on it will be a very onerous task indeed. For me, this means reading tons of magazines like Country Living, Better Homes & Gardens, Real Simple, Dwell, Family Circle, and Woman's Day. It may sound like a lot, but for me it's pure joy. There's nothing like a stack of unread magazines!
Create pages. Create an About Me page, a page for the link parties you visit, and a page for favorite blogs. This not only is more professional-looking, it gives credit to those bloggers you admire. Maybe they'll then link back to you!
Get connected through social media. Is this another no-brainer? Probably, but a list of 36 things wouldn't be complete without it. Hook your blog up to Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest at the very least. You can set it up so that information is dessiminated to all three simultaneously so that when you post, it goes on your Facebook timeline and it Tweets, too.
Include Follow You buttons. Make sure readers can easily find you on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest with buttons that take them right there.
Offer RSS and email subscriptions. This is a must! Then, each time you publish something new, your subsribers see it right away.
Provide a contact form. I didn't do this for a long time, and lo and behold, once I did, offers for product giveaways began to arrive. If you think this isn't the route you want to go, that's fine. Just consider that sometimes people might want to contact you more privately than in a comment to a post. And for legitimate reasons.
Consider business cards. It may be handy for you to have some of these at the next flea market or your first blogging conference (which I have yet to attend) or hey, even the grocery store. You just never know.
Get mobile! When I first started blogging, I only had a laptop and a phone that didn't even have text capability. Now I have an iPad, a Blackberry, and a better camera at least. I still need to get better about technology, but it's helped me stay connected, which is essential to success I'm thinkin'.
Create a calendar. This is so key. I roughly map out what I'm going to blog about each month, which helps me plan projects and stay on-task. Without this blueprint, I'd be racking my brain for material each day. Impossible! On the calendar, I also keep a running list of future blog post ideas.
Create balance. It'd be easy to let blogging take over your life, especially if you're constantly connected through your iPad or Smartphone. Carve out time every day for blogging, but try not to let it infiltrate important time with your family. I check my blog for comments and try to post in the morning, and participate in link parties after the kids go to bed. If there's time during naps, I'll jump on and catch up on what other bloggers have posted.
Participate in link parties. This is one of those things I was slow to learn. But now I can say that link parties are the primary reason my blog is having a better year. Yes, they are a time investment, but if you keep a list of link parties organized by day of the week, and check off the blog posts you've posted on each one, you'll be able to keep them all straight and it won't take as much time.
Find out who accepts features pertaining to your blog content. Being featured on Better After was one of the best things that has happened to my blog to date. On that calendar I already told you about, I also keep a list of blogs that accept features and scan it once in awhile to see if I've written anything I'm particularly proud of that someone might want to feature. I'd love to be asked to guest post one day so I'll keep plugging away at that.
Make blogging buddies. Honestly, this is something I still need to work on. Where and how do you "meet" like-minded souls? I'm pretty sure it's important to cultivate a support system of online friends, but I'm not sure how best to do it yet. So consider this my all-call for friends. Does that sound desperate? Oh, well.
Leave sincere comments. Isn't it nice when someone takes the time to leave a kind comment on your blog? Welllll...do the same for others, silly! Yes, it's easier when you find a cool post to just pin the image and move on, but sincere comments will direct the author to your blog in most cases, and maybe you'll become friends. We all need more friends.
Leave your name and number at the beep. When you do comment on someone's blog, give them your name as well as your blog's name. Like, Val @ Home Made Modern. I actually need to make this a habit as well.
Respond to others' comments. I remember the first time I heard back from a popular blogger...Kate from Centsational Girl. I felt star-struck! It made me feel so special that she'd take the time to respond to one of my comments. It'd be easier, I suppose, to read all the nice comments you get, feel all warm and fuzzy, and then shut down your laptop. Don't! Take the time to respond and you might cultivate a relationship.
Post original content at least twice a week. It's fine to spotlight others' work, but if you want your blog to stand out you'll have to post your own projects and ideas frequently, too. I've been aiming to write 3 or 4 times per week, with 75% original content. I'm not sure if this is the right formula yet, but it's a start.
Try to create buzz. In the crafting/DIY world, this could mean following trends and creating great knock offs. But in general, just try to think of a problem that others might have, and solve it for them. Like, do you store your plastic containers or spices in a genius way? How do you keep your kids' toys organized? What food is great for a picnic? Where can you find chevron fabric for cheap?
Use spellcheck, people. Why? Besides the fact that you don't want to appear less-than-educated, a well-written, grammatically correct post shows you've put time and attention into your post, making your tutorials and advice (if you're giving any) more trustworthy. That said, people do make mistakes.
Make your blog sticky. I didn't know what this meant at first, but then I discovered that it just means "make people stick around" on your blog by linking to other parts of your blog within your posts. Make it fun and easy for readers to "get lost" on your blog. LinkWithin helps with this.
Skip the puns. Unless you already have a ton of traffic, skip the cutesy blog post titles and just describe what it is the post is about instead. Not as fun, I know, but it has to do with SEO (search engine optimization). This just basically means that you want folks searching Google for say, "painted TV trays" to find your post on just that. If you title it something clever like "Tray Chic," your post not be found as often. Scatter common keywords that you think people might search for throughout your post. Sorry, the librarian in me just had to bring all this up. Just be happy I didn't start talking about Boolean searching.
Consistency counts. If you regularly offer tutorials, do it the same way each time, using consistent terminology and formatting. If you want to make something a regular feature, like a recipe of the week for instance, post it on the same day each week. This will help your readers know what to expect and look forward to.
Take better pictures! I know, I know, easier said than done. Who has the time for a photography class, or the money for an expensive camera? I'll say four things on this: a) Natural light is huge b) The iPad takes great pictures c) Apps like Instagram and Hipstamatic make everything look more artsy and d) a little "staging" goes a long way. I found this tutorial on how to make a light box, and plan on trying it to help me even more.
Name your images. See #15 for why. Basically, it's just about helping people find your photos via image-searching tools like Google Images.
Watermark your images. I don't do this (yet). But now that my photos are improving, I'm going to start. I don't think there was any danger of my earlier pics getting stolen (yikes!) but now...who knows. Watermarking would just add another opportunity to get my blog's name out there, at the very least.
Cut down on clutter. Try to make your blog as readable as possible by using a white or light-colored background and a font that's big enough and not too fancy. It wouldn't hurt to do some house-cleaning in your sidebar from time to time, too. I probably need to take my own advice on that one.
And now for a few don'ts: Don't get discouraged. I'm guilty of this myself, but I just try to keep my goals in mind and keep plugging away. I'm convinced that for every overnight success out there, there are thousands more who had to put in countless hours before their blog got noticed.
Don't be snarky. If you're in the DIY/Home/Crafting/Motherhood blogging world, it's just best to be kind. We're all in this together! Don't disparage someone else's ideas: be supportive!
Don't forget why you started blogging in the first place. It's all too easy to get sidetracked in this line of "work." Stay focused by reading earlier blog posts and your About Me page. Chances are, these were written with your earliest, truest intentions in mind.
Don't forget to back up! Oh, can you imagine the horror at waking up one day to find all your content gone? I can't. So back up your blog by using Mozy or Carbonite or something like that. In Blogger, you can also export your blog so that it downloads to your hard drive. Essential.
Schedule your social media Using services like HootSuite and Ahalogy will save you the trouble of scheduling all of your Facebook posts, tweets, pins, etc. on each individual platform. Plus, these types of services will publish your posts at the most optimal time of day, ensuring that your followers will see it. After all, why publish something at 10:00 pm if none of your followers are on at that time?
Consider WordPress Ok, this is one that scares the life out of me, but I think I'm going to have to face it someday. Any words of wisdom?
Love ya'll! I'll be back to your regularly scheduled programming (DIY/Crafty Goodness) next week. Mwah!