I get a few people every week emailing me for advise about starting a blog, tips and tricks and where to get content ideas etc. It was one of the main reasons I started Tecky Tuesday and this has been a post I wanted to create for a while. I wish I had read something like this prior to starting out as I think I might have found my blogging feet a lot faster. So here we go, these are in no way definitive or in any real order.
Blogger Help – 7 Tips for Running a successful Blog
1 – You need to find your niche.
I think it is important that you create a blog about something that you feel passionate about. There is no point giving the same perspective as everyone else on a subject that you don’t really care about. Most people wont bother to read the content that you create if you make it for the sake of making it. If you have been posting for a while and its not working out, change it up with a few test posts see if you gain extra readers & comments.
2 – What makes you stand out?
It is important to find the one thing that makes you stand out and work with that to help you get your posts seen. Are you great at photography? Use this skill on your posts. Do you have a wicked sense of humour? Use your personality in to your posts and keep in all the little elements that make it you, don’t remove this little things when you read it over and edit it. Embrace who you are and what sets you apart.
3 – Think about who reads your blog.
When I create a post now it’s much easier for me to know my audience thanks to the comments that people leave and Google Analytics being setup to show age ranges and locations. I now have a pretty good idea of who is coming to my site, and I can now build my content with them in mind. But when I started out I had no idea who might read what I write, so it is very important to ask people to comment. You can find out roughly how old people that read your blog are and where they are located so that you can tailor your posts to your audience. There is no point running a makeup blog and linking to UK prices if most of your audience is in the US, or is priced out of the average range of someone their age.
4 – Making constant quality blogposts is hard.
When I started out I had loads of ideas about stuff I wanted to post about, but as I post daily these initial ideas disappeared quickly. Since then I spend a good hour or so a day just thinking about what my readers might like to read and see on the blog. I’m always jotting down post ideas for my readers and my latest push has been YouTube as I feel mixing both a blog and video can be really helpful. As well increasing a viewership is always nice. I was lucky in that I did both blogging and video creation when I was at university, but this relates back to point 2.
5 – Get ideas from your readers.
Don’t be worried about asking for ideas from your readers. Ask on at the end of blog posts or on twitter for suggestion., I always ask for ideas when I’m struggling on my twitter feed. The readers are the people that can shape your blog. I love to read the comments that you guys leave me, it really makes running my blog worthwhile when a reader request posts. This also has the added bonus as knowing the post will be read by at least 1 person. As I always worry you guys will hate what I post.
6 – Don’t get panicked about learning new things.
If you want to get the most out of your blog you are probably going to have to learn a little bit about HTML, Javascript & CSS as most of us don’t the money to have a web developer help us on our blogs. These are the things that give your blog functionality that it might be lacking or add user-friendliness that will helps you stand out. I have done a set of posts attempting to get you guys started on my initial learning curve such as my Twitter cards post but I will be doing more over time. Don’t get scared about messing stuff up, it’s the only way to learn. If something annoys you on your blog, look in to how to change it. If it is annoying you, it will probably annoy someone else.
7 – Get ready to give-up some time.
Writing blogs posts on a regular basic will use up a good amount of your spare time. Some of your other hobbies & interests will take a hit. If you want to give blogging a fairly serious go, get ready to put some other stuff on hold. I know I have but I have also found blogging to be very addictive at the same time. When I see a post I have just put up get 20 comments it is very rewarding.
I hope that these blogger help tips will be of some use to new and old bloggers alike, please write in the comments below if you have anything else that you would like to add. Don’t forget to share on this post on twitter if you have found it useful!
Some good tips, I have just started my blog :-)
http://www.pinkpolkadotandpopcorn.com
ืีGreat post thx you ;] u just stared my blog week ago . this could be very helpful
What a great post… I can definitely say I learnt a thing or two.
wink-beauty.blogspot.com
Great tips, thanks! x
ditsysprinkles.blogspot.co.uk
Very helpful,thank you x
Blogging is definitely a commitment and it’s great to get new ideas and inspiration like this :o) Xx
Makeup by Candlelight
I recently started blogging and I can definitely say that patience is key!
songsberry.blogspot.com
Thanks for the tips! :) and thanks for taking the time to help us new bloggers out! :) x
http://alexxkate.blogspot.co.uk/
I’m a fairly new blogger and I found these tips extremely helpful! Your blog always manages to inspire me!! <3 xx
nessiehere.blogspot.co.uk
Such a helpful post, I’m pretty new to blogging myself so found this very helpful :)
beautyfullsparx.blogspot.co.uk
Really helpful, thank you! xx
I am new to blogging and this is very helpful, thank you!
http://emsie-lou.blogspot.co.uk
Ahhh thank you so very much, I found this very reassuring as I just started my own blog and this exactly what I was looking for!
If you don’t mind I’ll just leave the name of my blog here it’s bakeyousweet , thank you once more!♡
Thanks a lot for sharing your tips! This was really helpful and motivating! I just started my blog about 2 months ago and I’m constantly looking for great advice!
It’s http://www.doradiamond.blogspot.com
Have a great day! :)
Thanks for these great tips, I will defiantly use a lot of this advice. I’m new to blogging, so I need all the help I can get!
My blog is http://mytwoopennies.blogspot.com if you would like to check it out :)
Thanks ,
Alyssa
Thank you for these great tips! Helpful and motivating.
http://flower-alchemy.blogspot.com/
I love love love this post! It’s very encouraging and helpful at the same time. I’m new to the blogosphere, but any tips I can get are so helpful in pushing me further. All the advice keeps me from feeling overwhelmed.
Seriously, thanks for posting! >.<
kawaiipinkuu.blogspot.com
Thank you for these helpful tips. I just started my blog about 6 months ago and its a reminder of things I need to stay focused on.
These are really great – thanks! It’s very encouraging as I am also new to the blogosphere..
but I’m struggling with the name of mine, and getting readers to actually visit my blog….any suggestions would be very useful!!
I definitely need to read these, and HTML oh my god that’s tricky, although im sure over time it’ll get easier.. Thankyou for the notes on how to :)
I was focused on posting about second hand fashion but I find myself posting about a list of other things too! It’s hard to find your niche!
http://thenearlynew.blogspot.co.uk/
I’m also a new blogger, and these tips helped me sit for a minute and think! What a great help! Thanks for the great tips :)
Great tips, definitely a little bit there for everyone to use. I am always prepared to give up some time for something that I enjoy doing so much, and I’m glad I discovered the blogger world. So much to learn and see and hopefully make it myself!
http://olivia-savannah.blogspot.nl/2014/04/dress-ootd-2014-blogger-challenge.html
Thanks for the tips, but how do you get past 3 family followers?
Great tips! As a blogger and youtuber, I can relate to hitting a creative wall. Sometimes the ideas roll in non-stop and I just have to pick one and run with it. But many times I have to sit and brainstorm until I find something worth writing or blogging about. It’s so important to be passionate and love what you post about. The reader can ALWAYS tell if your heart isn’t in it. I think it is very important for bloggers to respond to comments and readers. So many times I have left sincere comments on blogs I like but the blogger (who doesn’t have many comments to read) simply ignores their readers. I say, always take time to thank your readers who you can tell took the time to read and comment on your post. Without them you might as well be talking to a wall.
xx
darcy
darcymae.com
GREAT POST! I started blogging last month and I find your posts very helpful and inspiring. Thank you so much! <3
Thanks for the great advice, you defiantly gave me something to think about. I’m also a new blogger and I think i’m finally finding my writers voice or niche.
http://summerledmonds.blogspot.com
Thanks for following my blog! :) I really enjoyed reading your post and found it very helpful and encouraging! Thanks for the motivating and inspiring words!
Xo Vicki
http://www.bowsessed.com
thanks for the tips. I’ve written blogs (xanga) years ago but my followers were either my friends from high school or just random people that were my age. But now that I have started picking up blogging, im more focused on what I am interested in. I just started and hopefully one day my blog will be just like yours.
http://darkjade0807.blogspot.com
love these tips! I think above all blogging has to come from the heart and everything else follows.
http://www.thoughtsofglam.com
Thansks for the tips! just recently started blogging a bit more seriously.
http://msavonelljrose.blogspot.com
Great tips :]
http://www.esttrill.co.uk
Thanks for the tips, lovely! ♥
Tequila Mockingbird
Thanks for the info! Could you possibly explain how to put google analytics into a wordpress site? Where exactly does it go? Lol thanks again!
Author
Can go one better I have done a video on it : ) – http://letsstrikeapose.co.uk/setting-up-google-analytics/
Great going, thanks for the tips!!
thanks for the tip, i always try to brainstorm as many ideas as i can for my blog posts and videos, and you’re right. at first you have so many ideas and then eventually you kind of get burnt out! i hope i can find ways to get inspired, and i hope it doesn’t get too difficult along the way!
http://www.melissatee.com
Great tips!
Great tips!!
L x
http://workingmumy.blogspot.com
This post is so useful, I have recently started a blog, currently trying to find my niche and what people enjoy. Great post and love the rest of your blog!
i like tip #5 , I have not tried it before,Thanks for the post its great
Very good tips! Thanks for the post, very helpful! I feel I knew those things but really needed to read them :)
hey thanks for the tips, already using some in my blog and now going to use the other ones ;)
thank you for share this post. I start my blog just for fun, but lately I wanna be a profesional blogger. I try to write reguraly even it’s hard. And read other blog is very helpful to find inspirations to write a post.
This was super helpful loved reading your hints and tips for getting noticed and being yourself! Emma x http://blondebeautyfix.blogspot.co.uk
thank you, this was super awesome!
Amazing tips! Thanks for sharing!
NATALIA // my-name-is-natalia.blogspot.com
Great tips!
XO
Jeanne
http://fashionmusingsdiary.blogspot.fr
I’ve just finished reading through everything in your “blogger help” section and I’ve come away with a very clear idea of what needs to be fixed on my blog! So thank you tonnes for that! xxx
Emily ⎜Daisy Locks