Beginner Blogger? 15 tips to help you along the way

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First off I’m no where near an expert, heck I can’t even keep up. But there are a few things I’ve learned along the way and believe me I learn something new every day. I’ve been blogging since 2010, but no where near a full time blogger and I don’t believe that title is in the future anytime soon. I blog for a hobby, it’s something I enjoy. So, whether your new to blogging or maybe you’re just looking for some tips.

1. Blog for yourself. This can’t be said enough. Don’t go into blogging thinking your going to start making moo-la right away or receive free stuff, heck that takes a while and a whole lot of time and dedication. But maybe you do have the time in your life to blog full-time. Just never forget; blog for yourself. If you ever start to fill the pressure, take a step back and remember why you started a blog in the first place.

2. Name. This is an important one so if your just starting out sit back and really think about this one, what do you want the title of your blog to be. You want it to be one that stands out, that’s not too common. / Subject. What do you want to write about? Do you want your blog to focus on fashion, food, traveling or simply lifestyle, you don’t want to focus on just one topic!

3. Nobodies perfect. Write about the ugly’s in your day, not just the picture perfect. Readers don’t just want to read/see your perfect life, they want to see the real you.

4. Have an About page. And even a picture of you on the side bar, it’s a nice visual for your reader to see who’s behind the words.

5. Make social media accounts for your blog, good ones to start with are Facebook and Twitter. Pinterest is another awesome one, so pin pin pin. Sparkle & Mine has a great post on all the social media networks and the importance of online community, go check out her post here.

6. Know your limits, and what your worth. When you do start getting emails about reviewing products, don’t get too in over your head. And remember you can say no to companies, a simple “not at this time” would work. And keep in mind, is that $5 said product worth a whole post? I won’t work with a company if the product is less than $15-20, I figure it usually takes me about an hour to write a review post, my typical post length is over 500 words, not to mention blast on my social media. Your time+Social Reach=??

7. Don’t copy and paste photos from your facebook!! It won’t save you time in the long run(am I the only one that has done this?!!) To save time & space on my computer I would just upload my photos straight from my camera to my facebook and then just copy and paste them into my blog post. DON’T do this!! dumb me, now when I look back at some of my old post the photos don’t show up. Take the time and upload them!

8. Canva! I just found this not too long ago, where have I been?!! The photo on this post was made on Canva and it’s free!

9. Watch out, don’t use copyrighted images you can get in trouble if you don’t have permission.

10. Alt-text to your images. This is something I learned just recently. This blogger from Design Your Own Blog has some great image mistakes bloggers typically make and how to avoid them, go check out the post here and learn how to change the alt-text on your images.

11. SEO (Search Engine Optimizer) learn how to use it. Wonder Forest covers 10 basic steps for bloggers. Hope it helps!

12. I love the Turquoise Home’s tips on being an efficient blogger. I’ve got a space and a blog planner(which is very helpful), I keep telling myself I need to set specific office hours but our lives are so busy and our routine changes so frequently.

13. I’ll give it to her Creating and Co, I don’t know how she manages to work full time and blog!! Check out her great tips here.

14. I got to say I love All Things E’s blogging resources, she has a ton of advice/tips for bloggers; beginner and experienced.

15. The Blog Planner covers 9 Things Your Blog Site Should Contain check it out here.

 

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