Tag: Blogging Tips
Blogging is an art. And much like with art, you have the choice to paint with your fingers or use all of the paintbrushes in front of you. So here’s my list of 35 resources that will make you a better blogger (but will probably not help with the painting). Let me know in the comments if you already use some of these!
Continue reading “35 Resources That Will Make You a Better Blogger”
Hosting a blog on Blogger or WordPress is an extremely easy and convenient way to get into blogging; not only is it free, but it’s also hassle-free. Ideal, right? But if you stick to blogging and develop a loyal readership, you will sooner or later realise that the blog address provided by WordPress or Blogger will no longer cut it – it’s not professional enough and you really really want your own domain! And until you get it, the hosted address will sit there mocking you until you get rid of the .blogspot.com or .wordpress.com extension of the address.
This is where domain sellers come in. Don’t ask me how they can sell something that technically doesn’t exist, or what gave them the right to do so – I haven’t got a clue, so you’ll just have to go with it! To begin you will have to choose a domain seller from a nearly-endless list of possibilities. Here’s just a few of the most popular ones:
1. Social media is the biggest and baddest wolf in town, so it wouldn’t hurt to spend some time getting to know the most popular sites and set them up to work in your favour! Twitter and Pinterest are some of the highest traffic source sites for bloggers and should therefore be at the top of your interest list. Craft witty tweets and attractive photos to pin, but be sure to keep in mind the peak sharing times of each platform for best results (check out this post for the best sharing times of each platform).
2. Interact with the blogging community and develop real connections and friendships with fellow bloggers. Read and comment on their blog posts regularly and try to appear on their blog as a guest poster. Not only will they appreciate some new and different content, but you should also be able to snag a couple of new readers. It’s a win-win for all.
» You can also retweet or pin their new blog posts for better exposure which is sure to win you some brownie points or a favour in return. Promoting your own blog is good, but it’s even more valuable coming from someone else.
3. Join Bloglovin’. WordPress and Blogger are probably the two biggest blogging platforms that we use, but they’re so different that simply following a blog from a different platform can be a difficult ordeal. And if it’s difficult, the reader won’t bother. Making your blog available on bloglovin’ assures that readers can follow your blog instantly without having to look around for a follow button that may or may not be available on your blog AND it keeps their feed updated with your latest posts. Exposure to the full.
» Readers can also “save” your blog post, thus sharing it with their own followers.
4. Make links between your posts and in doing so you will achieve two things: first, you will undoubtedly increase your post exposure as a reader will be interested to read more about a certain point that is linked within the current blog post. Secondly, by making links to your previous posts you will increase your blog’s chances of appearing higher in the Google search (thus bringing more readers) as Google will recognise that your links are well established within the web and appear more often than those of bloggers who do not link back to related posts.
» Linking the related post within a different post informs the reader of the existence of this information AND makes it quick and easy to access via 1 click, rather than searching through your archives.
1. CAPTIVATING TITLE
Your post title is the first thing to appear in any link or search, and it is therefore your first and possibly only chance to make an impression and convince the reader to give your post a chance. If you fail to capture the reader’s interest with the title, any effort you put into the rest of the post will have probably been wasted. So instead of calling your post “My blogging routine” why not describe it as “5 ways to improve your blog”? Not only will the use of numerals and lists indicate a helpful and easy to read post, but shifting the focus away from ‘your’ blogging routine and offering tips to help your readers will attract much more attention.
2. HOOK SENTENCE
Getting readers to click your link is half the battle; the other half is getting them to stay. In order for you to achieve this, you must have your reader hooked within the first few sentences of your post – that’s where the hook sentence(s) comes in. This can be an interesting statement, statistic or fact that relates to the rest of your post; it can also be a relatable statement or question that will capture your reader’s attention and promise to solve their problem. It may also be a good idea to include your keywords within these first few sentences to improve your SEO!
3. ENTICING IMAGE
Fellow bloggers and other readers alike are very visual creatures and a bad image may often be a deal-breaker that will make you lose out on loyal readership. Ensure to use medium/high quality pictures that span across the width of your post or follow a Pinterest format. If you’re reviewing an item, make sure to take well-lit photos from different angles, showing off all product features or functions. Otherwise, you may choose to use free stock photos from such websites as Pexels or Unsplash.
4. GOOD STRUCTURE
There is probably nothing worse than a badly structured post with no punctuation or paragraphs. Nobody, and I do mean nobody, wants to read a 1,000 word post that appears to be a single paragraph with no structure, subheadings, or bullet points. It’s tiring. Instead, make sure to form proper sentences and group similar ideas under the same paragraph or subheading. Use lists whenever possible as they attract the reader’s attention, convey your point easily, and save time for yourself and your reader.
5. VALUE
The majority of us don’t write a blog post for the sake of writing – we want our content to have value. So we write to share, help, or inspire. Every blog post you create should hold some sort of value to yourself, your readers, or preferably both. Just remember that ‘value’ can refer to more than “how to” posts – your post will have value as long as it is interesting, entertaining, or educational to the reader.
BROWSE
The best and easiest quick-fix for finding inspiration is to browse through different types of online and offline media. News articles, magazines, and my personal favourite – Pinterest. The internet is full of crazy, wonderful, and downright weird things that are just waiting to be written about! Maybe you’ll find an article you don’t agree with; find an interesting fact; or maybe you’ll come across an image or a quote that instantly inspires and motivates you. It’s all just sitting there, waiting for you.
ASK FOR HELP
Nobody is inspired 24/7 and we all understand the stress and pressure of the fast approaching deadline. So let us help. Log on to Twitter and ask your lovely followers (or bloggers using an appropriate hashtag like #BloggersWanted or #AskABlogger) for ideas, inspiration, or tips.
JOIN THE COMMUNITY
Join in with the frequent Twitter chats to find bloggers of a similar mindset or writing style, as well as to engage with the community and discuss the current blogosphere topics. The hour-long Twitter chats pass in an instant, but they leave you feeling refreshed and more in-touch with your inner blogger.
READ OTHER BLOGS
There is probably nothing more inspiring than reading a blog post that is overflowing with genuine happiness and excitement, and these are the bloggers you should be following and checking up on in your time of need. Every post that they pour their heart into will rub off on you, bringing happiness, motivation and inspiration into your day. Then you can write your own post and inspire someone else.
MAKE NOTES
My phone is overflowing with random notes, quotes, or conversation exerts that I consider to be of some sort of value. Whenever I’m down, bored or uninspired, I look through them for inspiration. Worst case scenario: no blog post ideas come to mind, but I surely make myself feel better!
CREATE AN INSPIRING PLAYLIST
I’ve previously written about the importance of a Blogging Playlist and would recommend everyone to create one for motivation, inspiration, or for getting into a blogging mode. Theoretically speaking, classical or instrumental music should create an inspiring atmosphere. But fear not if that isn’t exactly your cup of tea – songs with meaningful lyrics will also do the trick!
ENJOY LIFE
As I mentioned in my How To Blog series post, blogging is best done in addition to living your life – not instead of it. In order to be genuinely inspired and creative, you have to be exposed to life’s adventures; see and talk to interesting people; or witness something that is just a bit out of the ordinary. Inspiration does not come from staring at the same four walls every day.
As I mentioned in my How To Blog: Part 2 – Content post, there are some days when you’re simply not able to create new content; one of the reasons for that may be lack of ideas. For those of you finding yourself with no idea what to write about, here are 21 ideas for a blog post.
2. Host a Q&A. Readers only know as much as you give them and many are dying to know specific things about you or your blog, so why not use that for a blog post? Take to twitter and ask for your readers’ questions before answering them on your blog.
3. Share your favourite blogs. Readers are always on the lookout for great blogs so why not share your favourites? Talk about what makes each of these blogs so great or unique and why your readers ought to give them a chance. You never know, your favourite bloggers may repay the favour and give a little shout-out to your blog in return!
4. Share your top blogging tips. Us bloggers are nosy and we love nothing more than a little tip or trick on how to blog! So share your success story; tell us what worked and what didn’t for your blog; give us ideas.
5. Update an old post. We live and learn and our opinions change, so maybe there’s an old post that no longer reflects the way you feel?
6. Share a recipe. If it fits in with your style of blog, why not share a recipe? It can be as creative or as common as you’d like, but even common ‘day-to-day’ recipes can have that 1 ingredient that sets it apart from all other recipes.
7. Create a list of goals for your blog. Planning and setting goals for your blog doesn’t have to be a private affair hidden in your notebook; sharing it with your blog readers will in fact help you stick to your goals, as you’ve publicly declared them.
8. Share your resource list. Much like being on the constant lookout for tips to improve our blogs, us bloggers are always on the hunt for more resources that will help us do our job quicker or more efficiently.
9. Review your favourite items. Bloggers have a great deal of influence over what we buy, so use it to tell your readers what’s worth the money and what isn’t.
10. Review your favourite apps. Whether they’re apps you use for blogging or day-to-day activities, we want to know about the apps we’re missing out on.
11. Tell us about the main attractions of your town/country. Ideally, don’t discuss the biggies that everyone already knows about. Ignore the Eiffel Tower and tell us about a cute little café we must visit, or that underground tunnel tourists don’t know about.
12. Write a “How To” about something you know. Educational blog posts offer some of the most valuable content online, so teach us something you know.
13. What blogging problems have you encountered and how did you overcome them? Similar to tips or success stories, readers want to know how you overcame problems that they may be having themselves. Relatable content is a winner!
14. Share your views on a current issue. Political, technological, or whatever it may be.
15. Talk about dealing with negative comments. All bloggers may at one point or another be subjected to negative comments or feedback, and many will take it hard. But we all know that negative comments online are practically inevitable, so help them deal with this problem effectively.
16. Tell your readers how to deal with people you know finding your blog. This is a very common fear amongst new (and some older) bloggers, so it’s an important issue to address. If you have any experience on the matter, use it.
17. Discuss why social media matters for bloggers. If we’re writing blog posts, we want them to be seen. Social media presence can help to attract new readers, but many don’t know how to use it effectively.
18. Tell us how to increase our social media following/interactivity. Similarly to the previous idea, we all want to have a larger following that interacts with us and our content.
19. Write about what readers look for in a blog. What kind of content is the most popular? What makes people interact with your content?
20. Write about what PR/advertising companies look for in a blog. While we all know that money or free products shouldn’t be the motivation behind writing a blog, many hope to earn these things. So why not share your knowledge to help them get there?
21. Share your tips for taking great blog photos. Great photos are an important part of blogging, so you can be certain that we want to know how to take the best photos possible.
If all else fails and you have no content on your posting day, just post some cat pictures – your readers will be more than understanding!
Picking out a great domain name, layout and theme are all fine and well, but they won’t turn passers by into loyal readers. What will guarantee a steady readership is great content. But where do you begin?
Would I follow a blog that talks about a 100 different topics, if I’m only interested in 3 of them?
If you answered ‘yes’ to any or all of those questions, this may just be the thing you’re looking for. Many bloggers feel the same way about their blogs, which is why I’m on a mission to find the key to building and maintaining a successful blog. ‘How To Blog‘ will be a series of posts sharing my newly acquired knowledge or resources that will help your blog grow and flourish amongst the others.
In my last post I spoke about motivating yourself to blog with the right music. Motivation is a very important part of maintaining a blog and it may very well become a topic of its own in a future ‘How To Blog‘ post. However, today I want to focus on a completely different audio inspiration that is podcasts. Since writing the previous blog post, I have come to find, understand, and appreciate podcasts for being an extremely effortless and effective way of learning about virtually any topic; so I thought – blogging? And there they were – an abundance of blogging podcasts that discuss any and all issues related to blogging – website layout and design, generating new ideas, ways to improve your blog – you name it, it’s there.
My current favourite podcast is David Risley’s Coffee Break Blogging which discusses everything from how to pick the right domain name, to creating your first blog post, to successfully monetising your website. Most of his podcasts are under 15 minutes, allowing for sufficient detail and explanation of each point while keeping you focused and interested. It’s free to download from iTunes onto your computer or other devices, and very convenient to listen to while going about your day completing household chores or commuting.
likecubedblog.wordpress.com 
