5 TIPS FOR NEW BLOGGERS

. 5 TIPS FOR NEW BLOGGERS .

Another Saturday and another little how to feature for you all. Since starting this series I’ve had the most wonderful feedback and comments on the advice I’m giving, mostly from new bloggers who are looking to start or have recently started up their own space on the net. So today I thought i’d share some tips specifically for new bloggers, the top things I wish I knew or that I think are worth considering when setting up.

If you like these types of posts or want more blogging tips, then you can find all my editorials and tips posts here.

BLOGGING TIPS

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. SET UP FOR THE LONG TERM .

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When you set up your blog, don’t just think about the now, have a little think about the future too, where do you want your blog to be in 1 year, 2 years, 3 years. What do you want to write about and what style do you want your blog to have? Once you have a clear idea of where you want your blog to go and what you want it to be, then spend some time thinking about what platform would work best for you (blogger / wordpress / private website), what blog name best represents you and works best for your blog, and finally what design do you want your blog to have (and which platform allows you to do that).

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. BLOG WHAT YOU LOVE .

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There’s probably an urge when starting a new blog nowadays to repreat the success formula others have, to write about a common or popular topic or to do things the ‘usual way’. Don’t do that. Blogs are a personal and unique thing and your blog should be exactly what you want it to be, cover topics you love and have a formula that suits you and your plans. Don’t feel pressure to create something you think is ‘right’, you’ll find you have far more ‘real readers’ by staying true to yourself.

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. REMEMBER IT TAKES TIME .

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This point has two meanings, firstly it takes time to write, run, create and manage a blog. Far more time than I think anyone realises (I certainly had no idea), or anyone could ever anticipate when they set up a blog. So a little reality check up front, be prepared to dedicate time to your blog, to develop content ideas, to write features, to shoot pictures and to engage with the community. Make sure you make a blog plan that works for you, is daily posting feasible, or is weekly posting a better idea?

The second point is that of course a blog takes time to grow.  Oh how we probably all long for a million readers the moment we start our blog. Its not going to happen. I think my blog probably took well over a year to get any real readers, and even to this day, three years later, my blog is still growing slowly and no where near where i’d love it to be! It’s sometimes easy to be hard on yourself for not having tons of followers, tons of daily readers or tons of comments, but try not to be, things take time and the nature of the beast is that growth is organic, all you can do is stay committed, keep sharing regular content, keep your quality & integrity and engage in the community. Growth will come in time. You can read I post about keeping blog morale high here if you find yourself being hard on your blog success. I know I do sometimes.

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. MAKE A SCHEDULE .

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When I first started my blog I’d just rush a blog post out each morning and was more focussed on quantity than quality, I had no plan, no organisation and no real ‘routine’. Now it’s this routine & planning which allows me to keep blogging everyday whilst also having a full time career. The trick to being able to manage a blog is being organised, being productive & having a plan and blog schedule (if you click on any of those you’ll find bespoke posts i’ve already written on each topic). I also write a post with tips for managing a blog and a full time job which you may find helpful.

My little routine is to jot down ideas as and when they come in my head, on a weekly basis i’ll make a list of outfits and posts I want to work up for the week ahead, i’ll spend the weekend shooting & finally try my hardest to write features ahead of time & get them scheduled on my blog so they’re sorted and ready for live without me having to think about them.

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. JOIN THE COMMUNITY .

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The blog community is one of the best things about this little industry, a whole group of like minded people, all looking to chat and engage with similar things, support each others success and enjoy each others content. The twitter community is huge and really one of the main things which kept me going in the early days, having the support from others and hearing other peoples blogging problems or highs. The regular blog chats are a great way of getting to know the community, discovering new blogs and getting yourself and your blog out there.

Now the community and blogging aren’t just blog & twitter based, the industry haas become a super social place. Bloglovin, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest … the platforms available to share your content, engage with other bloggers or follow your favourite blogs are ever growing but I think these are the core social platforms which you should think about being on when you start your blog. You might find you have readers which don’t use the likes of Bloglovin, but do use Facebook regularly, so juggling your content across all of these is a great idea (in most cases you can schedule your blog posts to automatically load onto these platforms without you having to do anything).

One for luck, have fun! A blog is meant to be fun, so make sure you have fun with it. Keep positive, keep enjoying what you do and most importantly make it fun! If you want more blogging tips, head over here where you’ll find all my tutorials on blogging, blogging for business, juggling a career and a blog & more.

WANT MORE ON THE TOPIC? I RECOMMEND THESE …

 The Rise Of The Micro Blogger & What It Means For You, What To Include In A Blog Business Pitch, How Successful Bloggers Get Business & Opportunities, What Brands Look For When Working With Bloggers, How To Make A Killer Media Pack, How To Increase Engagement With Your Blog Content, Why Your Blog Is More Important Than Ever

Do you have any other tips you think would be useful for new bloggers? Make sure you share your thoughts and advice in the comments.