So many people seem to jump on the blogging bandwagon at the start of the year. If you are one of those people, or you are a newbie blogger, there are a couple things that will help you stand out from the other beginners. These simple, easy to achieve tips and tricks will have you at the top of your blogging game. They are things I learned over the first several years of blogging, when it was all new and uncharted territory. And they are things I wish I learned earlier.
When you think of blogging most people go straight to the writing part, however, a blog is more than just a collection of words. It is a representation of your visual style, and that is why it is so important to have beautiful photos on your site.
One way to get these is to use the free image sites online, however as they are free you’ll find loads of people use them for their blogging and marketing projects. Something that can make it difficult to find original images to illustrate your posts.
While you can use stock photography, and that is a really great option a lot of the time. It’s better if you can take your own pictures. You probably have a camera phone anyway, and with just some basic advice like the info, you’ll find here you can start taking amazing pictures. Honestly, more than half the photos I take for the blog and my Instagram account, are shot with my iPhone X. The rest are taken with my DSLR camera.
Be Reachable
One thing that is really important is to be contactable as a way to interact with your readership. Remember few of the most popular blogs online are ones in which the writer has her say and then doesn’t provide an opportunity for others to be involved in the conversation. Usually, great blogs and social media accounts are one that are interactive.
Of course, most bloggers include comment boxes under their post so people can say whether they agree or not, whether they liked the article and whether they have reblogged it somewhere else. This is a great way to continue the conversation!
However, it can also be useful to invest in services like a physical address with a virtual mailbox, since this allows you to get your contact details out to fans while still maintaining your privacy. If you have been blogging or even just active on social media for any amount of time, you know privacy is crucial.
Stay Up To Date On Trends
Trends are central to many bloggers work. Whether they are less serious trends like what pant style is in and what the latest hairstyle is or more serious ones like what is currently being discussed in the news - trends help determine content. By tapping into the issues that are important at the moment you can connect with and engage a larger readership. Something that is hugely important to the success if your blogging.
To stay up to date with trends it’s a good idea to be selective in the media you consume. Otherwise, you can use up a lot of valuable blogging time reading other people’s sites and comments on social media. I’d suggest picking 10-15 key sources that you peruse on a daily and/or weekly basis. That way you are up on the latest, without becoming overloaded by information. Personally I have about 3 sites I look at daily and another 10 that I look at weekly. That keeps me informed but not overwhelmed.
Make Plans
From what I’ve seen over the years, many newbie bloggers fall into one of two categories. You are either an overplanner or your don’t plan at all. Both are tricky. The over-planner sometimes plans and plans and plans - plans so much that nothing much gets created/written. The fly by the seat of your pants blogger tends to be really enthusiastic at times, cranking out dozens of posts in a month and then life happens and they don’t create anything.
It’s better to have a plan, and to try and stick to that plan as much as possible. Maybe you are going to try to post every weekday. Maybe you are going to post every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Maybe you are going to post every weekend. Stick to the plan, as best as possible, so your readers know when to expect new content from you. (I’m a fly by the seat of my pants kind of blogger, but I’m working at being more disciplined and scheduled about my posts.)
