5 WAYS TO MAKE YOUR BLOG CONTENT BETTER

. 5 SIMPLE WAYS TO MAKE YOUR BLOG CONTENT EVEN BETTER .

Blogging is a funny old thing, what once started out as a super simple online diary with bloggers sharing average snaps of their daily looks or favourite beauty products, has turned into the most incredible content publishing industry, which has created millionaires & pushed blogging as a ‘thing’ to a whole new level. It’s a commercial industry as well as our favourite hobby, and it’s amazing how many brands, businesses & advertisers want to get involved. And the reason … genuine, quality content, reaching an engaged & interested audience (and in some instances, when we say audience, we’re talking millions of ‘impressions’ each day, far more than any magazine can now offer), written by a passionate and authentic writer.  It’s no wonder blogging has become so big and so important.

But with this growth, and with these developments, has naturally come more pressure to ensure your blog content is quality, not just their in quantity. Gone are the days of blurry point and shoot images & personal musings, now it’s editorial style photography & top end journalistic writing.

I for one absolutely love what it’s become & can’t believe the passion for photography it’s ignited in me & when I look at my blog and what i’ve created over the last 4 years it’s definitely something to be proud of.

As we’d all expect though, the strive and quest for quality content isn’t easy, but today I thought i’d share my top tips for creating quality content, from things I do, to things that make content engaging for me to read. I hope you find these tips helpful, and i’d love to hear your thoughts too?

. WRITE TOPICS YOUR PASSIONATE ABOUT .

For me, content is always brilliant when the person writing it is clearly passionate about the topic they’re writing about. There’s nothing worse than writing or reading a blog post which has no ‘love’ or passion in it, I personally really struggle to write if I develop a piece of content i’m not interested in or that i’m not fully engaged with, and i’ve got no doubt that readers also won’t be engaged with it too.

I recently (in the last year) really started to grow my blog content beyond personal style because I really started to enjoy writing and reading tips and advice posts, and in fact, it was a brilliant decision. Because I am so passionate about what i’m writing (as the juggle of career and blogging, and the quest for perfect content and photography is something i’m interested in) it seems that you guys are far more passionate about it too … i’ve received so much more comments, likes, shares & features about my content on this series. And I truly think it’s because my passion and interest in developing the content has made it better, and more engaging to read.

. QUALITY OVER QUANTITY .

This isn’t necessarily an area of content production that i’m actually very good at … i blog daily and have done for almost 4 years now, and as a result I have some kind of OCD / Obsession with daily posting. But this can mean that some days my content is a little rushed or less ‘planned’ and in this day n’ age actually this probably isn’t the best way to proceed … a blog is like a portfolio, you should show off your best and have work you’re totally proud of.

So despite the pressure to deliver on quantity, my top tip for making your content better, is to focus on quality. Let go of the ‘frequency’ pressure, and start planning and working on A* content that might take that little bit longer to develop. Not only will it allow you to focus your efforts on each individual post, it’ll also keep your readers excited for what’s to come & hopefully gather more interest because the quality and ‘depth’ is so much more.

. PERFECT YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY .

As I mentioned, today the standard of photography we see and feature on our blogs is editorial standard, and whilst this isn’t a necessity, I personally really engage and love to read blogs with high quality, creative and personal photography. For me perfecting your photography is such an important thing & something that can be easily done if you just put a little effort into learning how to use your kit & learning how to create the shots you’re interested in. You don’t have to have super expensive kit, it’s just learning to use what you have, to the best of it’s ability.

I personally am really against using other peoples photos, or photos from pinterest, there’s nothing personal about it and if anything I see it as a bit of a cheat, given how much time and effort i put into my own photography. Clearly if it’s an inspiration post I get it, but other than that, for me perfecting your own photography and really ensuring the shots you feature are the best possible, is one sure fire way to ensure your content is the best it can be.

If you’re interested in learning more about photography then I have a whole host of photography tutorial posts which might help. Have a read of – Mastering your DSLR, My Top 5 Photography Tips, Photo editing tips, How to take great pictures, How to take great blog photos.

The quality over quantity tip applies to photography too … i’m awful at using too many photos in my blog posts, especially my outfits, but really being selective and picking the best of the best will help your blog posts be the best quality they can be.

. THINK ABOUT OVERALL STYLE & DESIGN .

This tip is a little all encompassing, but I also think it covers some important things which genuinely can make your blog content better, a little more effective & also more interesting and useful for your readers.

#1 HEADER – make your title relevant, interesting & most importantly eye catching. Your title and first image are what make people click, so be sure to make them the best the can be.

#2 LINKS – I always think it’s really helpful when bloggers share links to other content, products or stores they’re talking about. There’s nothing worse than really loving a look someone wheres and then not knowing where you too can buy the look or check out the store. I always try and link to other relevant sites to make the content as interesting as possible

#3 DESIGN – As much as your blog design is important, so is the look, style and design of your individual blog features. Think about the images you want, the style of photography, the layout & general visual style of your posts.

#4 SHAREABLE – If you’ve developed a great piece of content, or equally read a great piece of content, then being able to share it is great, whether that’s pinning images on pinterest or simply sharing the feature on twitter or Facebook. Ensure your content is shareable so you don’t miss out on extra reach or readers.

They’re only small things, but ensuring everything works together will really help to make your content better overall!

. BE YOURSELF. BE UNIQUE .

I know I say this in all my tips posts, but it really does matter. If you’re enjoying yourself, having fun blogging & simply doing it for you and not letting external pressures affect you, then your blog and your content will shine. People read blogs & come back each day because they love what YOU produce, what YOU say, YOUR style, YOUR photography, YOUR passions. A blog is so so personal, that it’s really important we remember this and feel confident to keep writing about those things we love, staying true to our own plans, passions and style.

It really bothers me how many bloggers tend to copy what other people do, what other people write about, and i get why, it’s the pressure to be successful and to make your blog the best it can be. But in my personal opinion … the number one way to ensure your blog is the best it can be, to make your content better and to gain interest & readers is to simply BE YOURSELF.

. . .

So there you have it, my 5 top tips to making your blog content even better. They are of course by no means ‘right’ they’re just things I personally feel make content interesting to read and make my blog a little better.

I’d love to hear what tips you have on making your blog content better & making your blog the best it can be?