What comes to your mind the second you hear the word blogging? Writing, just passing random comments or having your own opinions on a particular topic, or sometimes on no topic at all. I hope you find my article helpful 17 Blogging tips for a New Blogger
But what if we told you that blogging is much more than that? It’s an art. It’s something that requires a lot of effort, patience, and hard work so that it can reach the point of being monetized. It is a fact that many people start blogging out of a hobby. It is common, you can find many people just blogging because they want to create a digital footprint. But there are genuine people out there who blog because they want to monetize it. Well, for those of you who didn’t know, here’s the trivia- Blogs are the best and easiest to be monetized. They’re also the ones that gain the easiest, and the most amount of engagement from companies and small digital startups. Blogging the right way using ads can even help you earn in different currencies.
In case this is something new, and you are still a person who is looking at the prospect of blogging or is going to start blogging in the near future, or you are a newbie, an amateur who has started blogging, let us give you a few tips that will not just make you a pro at it, but also make sure that you do not create any blunders in your path.
For starters, let us understand what are the common mistakes people make while they are writing a blog?
Lack of setting an audience
The first mistake is that they do not look at the target audience. A blog that is just all over the place is not something any audience would want to follow. Imagine one day a person starts writing about crime and the second day they go to Write about health the third day about lifestyle. This means that there is no regularity in thoughts. The audience would not want to stay with such a blog.
Timing your Blog
Many people do not time their blogs. Yes, the time at which you post your blogs is all equally important. So if you did not know the blogs that are posted at night, or at a specific time before noon, get the most engagement. Try it yourself to find out more.
Irregular posting
Now another mistake that is commonly seen in the blog arena is that people do not know how regularly they have to post. Some of them just do it when they wish to. But having a set pattern like Weekly once, once a fortnight, thrice a month, all these rules and regulations that you set creates a discipline that actually even helps with the technical part of it.
Search Engine Optimization
Now, many people do not know how to do Search Engine Optimization correctly. Because of that many times a lot of blogs are not even listed, or the use of very common sites, which are not enhancing your blogs. Now if someone goes and uses sites like blogger.com, or any source like WordPress it’s a very common place for blogs to dwell, it’s going to be very difficult. But instead having a blog somewhere where it is actually going to be seen makes a difference. Try newer platforms and take the risk. So knowing where to post your blogs is equally important.
Lack Of Promotions
The next mistake people make is that they do not know that blogs can be promoted. Promoting your blogs using social media, like Instagram, Facebook ads, and even better sources like Pinterest, all can help you gain engagement on your blogs, making sure that you have a regular audience for your blog, provided you have a particular topic on which you write. It can be something of your interest, but if it is written in such a way that is so bland, and does not enhance your user’s experience it is indeed going to go to waste. Having said all the common mistakes out there or why blogs today are not being monetized, let us quickly get into all the tips that are available for us to understand what new bloggers need to keep in mind when they’re starting out their journey. So here are the 17 tips to keep in mind if you are a new blogger.
Have a Niche
By having a niche, it is very essential to have a topic or theme or any common ground on which your blogs are based. Now, why is this essential? If you do not have a niche or a particular topic on which you are constantly following up or writing your blogs, they become irregular. Irregular blogs cannot attract organic traffic because when people have blogs, they generally want to follow them. Sometimes there are blogs even with the subscription plans, so that cannot be possible if you do not have anything specific to write about or to give to your audience.
Look At What is Trending
What is trending is very important, because what shows, it sells. Hence, you should be able to follow trends. Now you might think that your blog can be about something like history, but what trending can be included in that. That is where your creativity comes into the picture. Go wild, be creative and try to include the latest trends. Maybe talk about all the historical creatures that are now being used on social media extensively. So having such idea collaborations is actually going to make your blog unique and most sought after. Latest trends also get searched for in greater numbers, and a well-timed blog with good SEO will just attract great organic traffic.
Write in First Person
Writing in the first person is extremely important while writing blogs. You have to write it in the first person because it should look like you are talking and engaging with your reader directly. It should feel like it is your own experience and your own opinion. In that case- It builds an unspoken trust between you and your reader as they think that you are similar to them and even in cases they do not agree with you, they would at least respect the fact that you have put out your opinion in such a curative and extensive manner. In such cases, people would appreciate the artist if not the art. This also creates a way by which people want to read more blogs because if anyone wants to have a piece of information they can get it from any website or article. Why would they want to read a blog in the first place? So your blog needs to give them a reason to keep reading it again and again.
Reflect in Personal
Should blogs reflect who you are? Can they even succeed? It is important for a blog to reflect who you are. You are not what you write, but how you write it. You should not write in a way that explains yourself. Instead, the way you write, the methods you adopt, and the style you have all should reflect how you are as a person. I might be a sarcastic person and the way I write my blogs, and the structure I give them starting with a sarcastic comment or a joke might be my way of showing how my personality is. This also bridges the gap between the reel and the real world. It also gives people an opportunity to be true virtually and not set themselves as per the world’s norms. Be you and the world shall follow, should be your go-to quote.
Stick to your Point
Always stick to your point and that is extremely essential. It is because if you start with one opinion, midway you change it and by the end of it, you are having a completely different point of view altogether, it is going to make your reader upset and furious because they have tagged along to read your blog till the end and they find out that this blog does not have consistency. In that case, they would not be interested to engage with your blog further. So hence sticking to the main objective is extremely important.
Be open to revising old posts
It is an extremely important point to be kept in mind. When you initially start blogging, your work and quality might not be up to the mark. It might still get you the engagement required for growth but with time you just become better. That’s what developing skills does to you, and you should have the capability to go back and modify your old posts and make sure they’re also as good as your current ones. So they would not just show that you have grown over a period of time, it also shows that you have the ability to make sure that your previous post also starts delivering quality work. By using this simple trick, your older posts might boost up providing greater engagement on the current ones.
Use a Set Template
Can blogs have templates? Yes, they can. The way you write the title, the fonts you use, the size of the writing, the methods adopted, the keywords used along with the color combinations are a set template and if this is common, or has a commonality, it tends to resonate with the reader because once they come across that same color combination or set of words, they would automatically remember you and being in someone’s mind means that they are your set and loyal readers. It also shows professionalism and is a reminder of how passionate you are about the blog. Setting a unique mark and standing out in such cases, can be a task, but once achieved-it acts as your trademark.
Have a Familiar style
Now, why having a familiar style is important. Maybe starting with a good quote, a question, a joke, a sarcastic comment, or data- these are some great introductions to put forth. But what follows in your upcoming blogs is equally important. Having a familiar style that makes your reader feel at home is the key to success. They need to feel that nostalgia of reading your work. You need to make them feel that it is written by you in your words and that feeling to be brought in is difficult. But once you establish your familiar style, you will be known for it and you will have a unique mark set in the blogging world in that particular niche that you write. It would also be a way to define your personality and people will know you by it.
Give a Line of Thought
Always give your readers a line of thought, something that forces them to think back when they’re sitting lazily on their couch on a tired evening. It should always have an open end, never give a definitive ending to your reader, and make sure you pique their interest. Ensure it’s a new beginning from that for them. If it is a Psychology blog, then make sure that whatever you write- the kinds of cases you discuss, the disorders that are being spoken about, you try to invoke the sense of mental health awareness in them, and once you’re able to achieve that you can rest assured that this particular reader will be coming back to your blog again and again. As a matter of fact, they will use your blog as a medium to create awareness among other people as well. So having an aim and a line of thought is extremely important.
Always have Evidence
Having evidence is essential as it helps add credibility to your blog. Also, never do half research because half information is more dangerous than having no information at all. Now, this is problematic because many people don’t have evidence to support what they are saying. They just say it’s their opinion. But if your blog is not well researched and catering to the niche, it’s not been looked up. You do not look at others’ opinions about what they believe about the topic or about expert opinions from the field, it would thus show that you have not done a good amount of research and that would show that your blog is not worthy to be read off.
Be open to collaborations
Be open to collaborations. A very important factor is that if you want to monetize your blog in the long run, go contact small businesses, get in touch with people and experts who are resonating with your niche and collaborate with them. This would create a lot of quality work for your readers and it would give them something to want and come back to read your blogs. It would create a sense of excitement. Now if it’s an entertainment blog, and you’re able to get a celebrity or an interview with them- This would create a way by which you are not just blogging, you’re also adopting a bit of blogging and journalism together and this would be a very interesting combination to pursue.
Write Slow, Edit Slow
Write slow, edit slower, a very thoughtful message that when you are writing, always be slow. Have your research set with a calm mind, and write but when you look back at your work don’t be biased and edit in the third person so that you have a quality piece at the end of it. Make sure your work has been reworked at least two to three times before it actually goes up on the post. Also, remember to post regularly and not just keep it in your drafts for a very long period of time as you might just get into these moments of self-judgment and you might never publish it at all. Having ideas and elaborating on them well in advance helps you keep track of your weekly post calendar as well.
Aim at organic traffic
Aim at organic traffic. Make sure that you always rely on organic traffic. You might just get followers by having promotions using Instagram and paying money. But having an authentic audience who wants to read your blogs is difficult. But if you are regular at posting and you avoid the mistakes mentioned above, you would be great at attracting organic traffic for your particular post. Try using platforms like LinkedIn, and even Pinterest for getting organic traffic. Also, use the above tips very cleverly to show the audience what they want to see, and there you would find loyal readers. Starting some paid premium blogs or having an attached niche-based newsletter, might make your idea outstanding and thus much wanted.
Have a combination of affiliate marketing
If you are a tech blog or any fashion blog, try to get in touch with E-commerce brands like Amazon and Flipkart or even Myntra for having a combination of affiliate marketing. Attach market product links at the end of your blog and maybe base your blogs on that like- ‘What is the Summer Fashion 2022’ and talk about it, give your opinions and point of view, and then at the end of it you can give a Myntra link to shop for your customers. This would also give brands a chance to collaborate with you and establish long-term relations and it would make your blog much faster on the path to getting monetized.
Have a Future Goal
Never operate without having a future goal for your blog. It is extremely important because if you do not have a future or do not see where your blog is going in the next year, you might give up midway thinking that it was absurd, and you might never pursue it ever again. So if you set a future goal, you might as well work towards it. You might even learn skills like search engine optimization to optimize your blog in such a way that it attracts traffic. Learn to give credit to ideas as not necessarily every idea has to be your own, but having the ability and guts to make sure you credit the people or the sources from which you have got this particular idea or even when you quote someone make sure you credit them for it is extremely important. Providing citations is the best way to show how authentic and honest you are with your work and honesty pays off in the long run.
Engage in Blog Promotions
This clearly means engaging in digital marketing as much as possible. Try using search engine optimization and platforms like Facebook ads, Instagram ads, and posts even things like reels, YouTube shots, etc. And try getting in touch with YouTubers and small-time influencers from various niches that are related to yours in order to make sure that your blog works in the long run and is easier to get the traffic first, then authentic traffic, and eventually get your blog monetized.
Some added tips like usage of simple vocabulary, jargon related to your theme, or having short-term milestones to achieve, all can help you enhance your blog and eventually get you the viewership that it deserves.
Find newer mediums to share content:
The Digital world is always buzzing with something new, so make sure you use newer platforms that come into being, like the appropriate hashtags, and Facebook Marketplace, such tricks can help you get engagement. Even using platforms like Reddit and Twitter, with a set post styling will all gain your organic engagement.
With these tips, we can rest assured that your blog might start performing well in the long run. But one thing that you need to remember is to avoid the above mistakes and adopt these 17 tips in order to succeed. Also, know that you should always be open to new ideas and experimentation in order to be there in the blogging market. Because if you do not realize that this market is dynamic and is changing every day, people and their attention is getting lower and you need to have a way to capture it. It might take some time but be rest assured and be hopeful that you will find a way out of this. So with these steps you are going to definitely succeed in the field of blogging.
