If you’re new to blogging, you’ve probably found yourself wondering how to go about crafting a successful blog. When it comes to achieving blogging success, I’m a big proponent of trying everything until you find what works best for you. In today’s post, I want to share with you my top 10 tips for new bloggers.
1 Network with other bloggers
Whether you’re a new or seasoned blogger, networking with fellow bloggers is important. If you’re an introvert like me, I know this can be a little scary at first. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and connect with others. Some of the nicest, most helpful people you’ll ever meet will be found within the blogging community. Connecting with other bloggers is a great way to learn new things, create opportunities for your blog, and increase your blog traffic. Here are a few ways you can go about connecting with other bloggers:
2 Leave genuine comments on other blogs
Don’t leave shallow comments like “nice post!” Give genuine, and thoughtful feedback after reading a post. If you can’t think of anything worthwhile to say, don’t say anything at all. When you consistently comment on other blogs, the blog owners will get familiar with seeing your face, and there’s a good change they’ll begin commenting on your blog as well.
3 Share other bloggers content
Always remember that you can’t get something for nothing. You can’t really expect people to share your content, if you’re not doing any sharing. Sharing is caring, and if you share content from other bloggers, they will typically return the favor and share yours.
4 Join Facebook groups
Can I tell you how much I love Facebook groups? I absolutely love Facebook Groups. Facebook groups are all about connecting, sharing, and interacting. They are an excellent way to connect with like-minded bloggers and I highly recommend that you join a few.
5 Get on social media
I know social media isn’t for everyone, but the fact is that if you want your blog to be seen, you have to get yourself on social media. Now, this doesn’t mean you have to be on every single social media network out there. Decide which social media networks work best for you, and get active! Social media networks are a great place to connect with other bloggers, and share content.
6 Use visuals
Let’s face it, we are a visual society. I mean, look at top social media networks like Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. One thing they all have in common is that they are driven by visual content. People (including myself) like to look at pictures. Because social media is one of the top ways for bloggers to get their content shared, I recommend that every blog post you create has at least one shareable image. Because Pinterest is my main source of traffic, I make sure all of my blog post images are Pinterest friendly.
7 Post consistently
You’ve probably heard that the more you post, the more traffic you’ll get. I don’t recommend writing posts for the sake of increasing traffic if the quality of the posts aren’t up to par. My recommendation is to create a blogging schedule that’s realistic for you, and sticking with it. Whether you’re posing one post or five posts a week, the important thing is that you are providing quality content (remember, quality over quantity), and staying consistent.
8 Don’t compare yourself to others
Haven’t we all done this at some point? Comparing yourself to other bloggers is a big no-no. Honestly, I think it’s only natural to look at someone you see as being more successful and feeling like they must be better than you, or that you’ll never reach their level of success. If I ever find myself comparing, I like to say to myself “stay in your lane.” Its just a quick reminder to stop worrying about what everyone else is doing. If you find yourself playing the comparison game, instead of feeling down on yourself, try taking those negative feelings and using them as fuel to make your blog even better!
9 Learn as you go
I know that a lot of times when you’re getting into something new, you want to learn as much as you possibly can about it. Don’t worry yourself with trying to figure everything out all at once. Most of what you learn about blogging will be learned in time, and with experience. In fact, I believe that through experience is the best way to learn.
10 Be patient
My final piece of advice is to be patient. I know being patient isn’t easy, but really, you have to be. Blogging success is not an overnight thing. Blogging success is much like the snowball effect. Stay consistent, create the best possible content, support other bloggers, and always be yourself. If you keep doing these things, you will notice your blog growing at a faster rate as time goes on.