When I first started blogging, I had no idea what I was doing. Even now, I am a long ways from being a 'professional' blogger, but I am also a long ways from being a newbie. When I look back at my first posts, it is amazing how much I have grown. Along the way, I have learned many tips and tricks to help grow your blog, and today I'm going to share the best tips I've learned (and begun utilizing) recently!
Content Is King
I have heard this ever since I first began blogging, and it is something that did not really sink in until I began my new blog here, simply titled Samantha Angell. I was at a point where 'hockey wife, hockey life' (my former blog name) no longer truly described myself and my blog, so it was time to make a change. Along with making a change, I wanted to 'rebrand' myself: thus, Samantha Angell, a travel & lifestyle blog was born. I have been working diligently over the last month, and have started to see the results from 'content is king' pay off. Now that I have narrowed my categories, and selected a focus for my blog, I have more ideas than ever for content I want to write.
Promote Yourself
Something I am still working on is promoting my blog in person. My husband does a great job of this, and myself, not so much. I don't usually talk with my friends or family about my blog, let alone random people I may be speaking to. But hey, if you are taking the time to write a blog, it should be something you are proud of. First and easiest step to promoting yourself? Add a link to your blog in your e-mail signature. Now, every time you e-mail, your signature will include a link to your blog, driving traffic to your blog. In addition to this, use Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram- anything and everything- to promote yourself! If you don't promote yourself, why would others promote for you?
Write Strong Titles
One of the first things visitors to your blog is the title of your blog posts. Similarly, if you use sites like Bloglovin, the title of your post may be all that readers see.
Put Your Best Foot Forward
When placing pictures and images in a blog post, put your best foot- or image- first. Similarly to the titles, the first image in a blog post will be what draws readers in, and often the only image shown when you promote your content. If you are writing a travel post, select your favorite and most intriguing image first, rather than a shot of your hotel room. If you are a writing a recipe post, rather than the dry ingredients in a bowl, place an image of the finished product first.
Interact with Others
If you want people to comment on your blog, share your posts, or engage- make the first move and engage with them. Comment insightful and genuine thoughts on their blogs, and it is likely they will return the favor. At the same time,
don't simply leave a meaningless comment with a link to your blog. When people do this to me, I know that chances are they didn't read my post and are simply trying to self promote. Most of the time, I delete these comments. Of course, if your comment is relevant and leaves a link- that is a whole new story, totally accepted, and probably loved! If you want to interact with others, begin the process yourself. Often, you can find great post ideas and inspiration from fellow bloggers- I would just recommend against stealing ideas, unless you give them credit for their idea.
Own Your Domain
This one is quite simple. Rather than being SamanthaAngell.blogspot.com, or SamanthaAngell.wordpress.com, invest in purchasing your domain. I have purchased mine through GoDaddy, and it is a simple $10/year investment. When people think about your blog, they are much more likely to remember YourBlogName.com than YourBlogName.blogspot.com.
Make Sure Your Links Are a Different Color
As I mentioned in a
previous blog tips post, it is a great idea to link back to old blog posts in current posts. When doing this, make sure your links are a different color than the text- otherwise, readers have no way of knowing it is a link to a separate post! Also, when you link to old posts, make sure they open in a new window. When I am reading a blog post, often I will click on a link- and when it takes me away from the current page, I get distracted and forget to click back to finish my reading.
Keep It Simple, Silly
Blogging is supposed to be fun- at least in my opinion. If you are having a difficult time wanting to post or creating content, take a break. If you want people to follow you on social media, make it easy for them to do so with share buttons. If you want people to know who you are, have your name and a photo of you easily available. When writing posts, use an easy-to-read font: if I can't easily read it, I'm not going to. Don't make your readers guess about what the subject of your post is, make it simple for them to figure out.Stick to the simple things first, and eventually all of the pieces will fall together.
Edit, Edit, Edit
Before you publish a post, edit it. Then do it again. If necessary, have somebody else read the post and give you a second opinion. I'll be honest, Nick reads about 80% of my blog posts before they ever go live- and often, catches a mistake I may not have seen. Perhaps it is something simple, such as spelling or grammar. Sometimes, it is a different way of phrasing things so readers will be more interested. And often, there are things I forgot to write about in the posts- especially traveling ones- or different facts I should mention. When blogging, always read your own posts first and then ask yourself: Would I be interested in reading this? Is it easy to read? What can make this post better?
Highlight Related Posts & Popular Posts
If you want to lower your bounce rate, make it easy for others to continue reading things that interest them. In addition to linking back to similar posts, use a related post widget to highlight similar posts at the end of the post someone is currently reading. Somewhere on your page, feature your most popular posts or most read posts. If somebody loves what they are reading and wants to read more, make it easy for them to do so!
Your turn- what are the best blog tips and tricks you have learned? What's the easiest blogging tip that has proved effective for you?