Did you just start a blog? Congratulations if that is you!! I’ve got some blogging tips for you, so stick around.
I remember when I first started my blog. I thought it would be all that and a bag of chips. After all, I was EXPERIENCED.
WRITING
I had experience writing. Sure most of that writing started with “Dear Diary” or “To calculate the standard deviation of your process…” but I was not deterred. I mean, how hard could it be? Millions of people have a blog.
CONTENT
And all of my friends LOVED my house, AND I worked in a furniture store, but I did not have an interior design degree. I just jumped in and thought I would just figure it out as I went along.
WEBSITE DESIGN
I had my own photography website and I had designed one for the store where I worked, but I had no experience designing logos or designing headers or buttons, or blogs.
SOCIAL MEDIA
I had a facebook account. Sure I only posted gross photos of what my dog dragged to the house, but hey, I knew how to upload photos!
PHOTOGRAPHY
And my ace in the hole… I had owned my own portrait photography business for years. How hard could it be? I no longer had to worry about kids blinking, or worst yet crying because their parents just yelled at them. (That happened with a disturbing frequency. Had they left me to handle the kids I could have still gotten some good photos, but try getting a sullen teenager to smile… it’s not easy.)
I didn’t realize that I would simply be trading those problems for new ones, like how to get good photos of a dark room? With outdoor portraits, we would simply move to a different location, or I would turn the subjects a slightly different direction. Try hauling a bed to a place with better lighting. Not happening at my house.
What did I have going for myself? Two things really.
1. I had lots of confidence (albeit misguided) and
2. I loved my subject matter and blogging.
So the reality was ‘I didn’t know nuthin ’bout blogging.’ But here’s what I did know. You can teach yourself ANYTHING… IF you can figure out two things. (This is almost the secret to life.)
1. Know when you are doing ‘it’ wrong.
2. Know how to fix ‘it’ when you are doing ‘it’ wrong.
This is how I taught myself photography, sewing and well, blogging. I took lots of photos when I was learning photography. I would analyze the photos after I took them. It was very easy for me to see which ones looked great and which ones were terrible. I set the great ones (a small pile) aside.
I didn’t have as much to learn from this pile as I did from the huge “terrible” mound in front of me. I looked at each one to determine what I didn’t like about it. I then worked to improve my backgrounds, lighting, poses, etc. I also read a few books on portrait photography, and soon I had my own business.
So how do you know when you are “doing blogging wrong?”
That’s easy. Your followers, subscribers, and/or pageviews will go down or remain stagnant.
(This only applies to bloggers who want to grow their blogs. For bloggers who only blog for fun, I am not sure there is a ‘wrong’ way to blog.)
So the first thing to do is to make sure you are monitoring the numbers on your blog. If you don’t have Google analytics installed yet, you’ll want to do that. Click here for directions.
Next when the numbers go up or down try to figure out why.
Which type of posts are popular and why?
Which times of the day are the best for you blog?
Where do you get the most referral traffic?
Which Google searches send readers to your blog?
Which types of social media are the best for sending traffic to your blog?
Rather than bore you with lots of statistics I can tell you what works best for my blog.
Readers want to
- learn something
- get inspired.
- hear an interesting story.
- know you aren’t perfect
- see beautiful photography of your topic
- Professional blog design and layout
- Interesting content
- Gorgeous photography
- Info about the author (including a photo)
- Well written posts
These are great tips! Especially how important it is to step back and take a critical eye to your work- – I’m a relatively newer blogger and it’s been trial and error but tons of fun- your photos are really spectacular- knowing your a professional photographer makes me feel better about my sometimes less than perfect pics – LOL!
Great post worth sharing, especially with new bloggers. I admit I have a lot to learn and if you can believe it just now signed up for Google analytics, I am way behind…and forget the whole social media thing, I find it so overwhelming!
But I do think at the end of the day if you are doing what you really love and have an authentic voice…the rest will happen. Thanks Anita!
A very helpful post, Anita. I think I told you that I have an idea for a new blog next year, that would be more of a business-based project. So I am enjoying your tips. Thank you for sharing.
i love your tip about looking at what’s “wrong” rather than focusing on what’s “right.” I learn just as much (if not more) from studying the things that aren’t working. take that pile of “not so great” and determine what isn’t right – you will find a lot of info in there!
Thanks for sharing with us, I am on the new side and I try to take in all I can to make my blog a better place. I know what I enjoy on other blogs and I just try to learn from that and add my own twist on things.
Thanks again, have a blessed day! 🙂
I tell you what’s making me leave blogs. Those horrible ads that are at eye level that follow you on the page. You x them out and they come right back. Too annoying so I leave the blog and delete it from my bookmarks. I understand ads, but they need to be on the sidebars and helpful. When the blog becomes one big ad, it’s time to go. I also don’t are for blogs that don’t have content. They just have giveaways for sponsors. Boring. Your blog is so informative, beautiful to look at and has variety. Loved following your house build.
Great tips! Thanks for sharing!
Amen, amen and another amen!
Brenda
I’ve been blogging for several years, but I always listen to your advice, Anita. Thanks!
Love this post… so helpful and informative!
I have learned so much with nuch more to learn. Great tips for the newer blogger.
Anita these are great helpful tips. I really appreciate them and will use what your are teaching. Thanks so much!!!
Cynthia
Thanks for the great ideas and tips.
I am your newest follower.
Judy
I think I could write an entire book about all the mistakes I have made on my blog 🙂 But there’s no better time to start getting it right than the present! Thanks for the encouragement.
xo, Andrea
I started out really well in 2011 and since have only about 20 people who now look at my blog. I think I’m creative. I write from my heart. I try not to make it too complicated.
I’m just so computer illiterate. When I followed your link to the know how, it was way over my head. Linking is way over my head. I really want to grow my blog, but I guess for now I’ll just have to stick to doing it for fun unless you can give me step by step instructions.
Love your blog, BTW,
Bonnie
Thank you so much for all the helpful tips. Since I am an infant blogger, I needed to hear all of these! 🙂
Great tips. I blog for the fun and experience of it and since I took a 6 month hiatus and didn’t blog regularly, I still have a lot to learn. I don’t worry about traffic since I do it for fun. It’s a creative outlet and a way to connect with others.
Great post, Anita. This blogging thing challenges me daily! I still have a long way to go, but hopefully I’ll get “there” one day! 🙂 Thanks for sharing your insights. It’s always interesting to hear what other bloggers have to say about their experience.
While I’m not a baby blogger anymore, I still enjoyed this post very much. I’ll be sharing!! Thanks, Anita!
Thanks for the post. I’m a newbie to this whole blog thing. but trying to soak it in like a sponge . Thanks for sharing, I found your post helpful. http://houseehappyblog.blogspot.com
Perfect timing to read this post – thanks so much for sharing! Celebrating one month at my new blog TODAY! Appreciate the guidance and advice.
xx, brett
being-bianca.com