Blogging is an ever growing business and what we are to do yesterday, might not be able to work today. Well, like it or not, that’s the reality of life! I often ask myself what are important blogging tips as I managed to grow my blogs at Blogspot (some call it Blogger) with hundreds and thousands of viewers a day.
Lucky for you, the answers are right below. So, let’s dive in now and I hope you enjoy this post! Feel free to contact me if you have any question though.
Hold on! This article has more than 1,800 words! Feeling lazy? Don’t worry mate! I even prepared for you a slideshare PowerPoint just for you!
Important blogging tips: Blogging is all about content
Let’s face it guys. You could probably not go far without content. You may spend thousands of dollars (and time) on marketing and social blasting but without content, you are basically nothing.
Good bloggers maintain their blogs. Great bloggers on the other hand, make blogs even better.
Let’s take a moment and see how famous people do with their blogs:
Darren Rowse from ProBlogger.net. He created great blogs because he had great ideas. He did his own book, and even had writers trying to get into his blogging business. He didn’t started big but he did created a path for himself. Good for you Darren!
Now you see, he didn’t get famous simply by blogging nor he was some great blogging tips like this. He became famous by providing good content and articles to his readers. He started from scratch just like all of us.
Lisa Irby from 2createawebsite.com. I followed her recently and I totally love the way she blogged. She started blogging just with an intention to help out others. She did not ‘˜just blog’ but she did quality blogging. All her blogs are filled with important information on blogging and creating websites.
The above two are pretty clear examples in my books. For those who think that SEO has taken over content in blogs, think twice. You are wrong!
Good content attracts people and that’s what you need to target!
I even wrote how you can boost your blog or website content optimization just by using this SEO tool: Simply The Best Content Optimization Tool for Bloggers.
Don’t just blog blindly
I don’t know you but I used to blog blindly. I am not sure if this is a very common term but for me, it means creating an article but has very less content. Consider this as quantity over quality.
Yup, you got it right there. Most readers don’t read articles because they want to but the fact is that they need to. Huh?! Let me explain below.
Where comes readers? Websites or articles are usually visited by others because readers (like you and me) need to find for information. If the blog has very less information, you are going to lose potential traffic within the first 10 seconds!
Keep your article or blog as simple as possible but packed with information. Avoid blind blogging anytime of the day if you want to be a successful blogger.
Importance of Search Engine Optimization a.k.a. SEO
SEO basically means the ability to be ‘˜visible’ in the eyes of the public. Good SEO skills will bring the website to fame. Seriously.
You can’t learn or master SEO, not today and not in the future. So, how can you probably be an SEO expert?!
If you want to be good in SEO, then make sure you understand how SEO works. Most bloggers (and even myself few years back) made the same ol’ mistake. Focusing too much in SEO!
At that time, I thought I could understand SEO and make my website great. Well, I was wrong big time. I came to realized it when I came across an article written by one of the local guys in my country, Malaysia.
That article really struck me like a train hitting me face first. I thought to myself, ‘I made the wrong approach and it took me years to realize it!’. Yes, I wasted probably a few years but I learned from it.
Understanding the SEO concept will actually help you in the blogging career. SEO is needed to create good blogs but it takes more than just that to at the top of search engine result pages.
My tip here is if you are just starting off writing, then focus in your blog contents first. As time passes by, slowly go with SEO approach way.
You can check this article out for more information, Boost Your Website Ranking Using SEO Keywords.
Understand what and how blogging works
One of the best blogging tips I ever learned is blogging is not a one day business. Well, I wish! I am going to admit it, at times, I wish I could start up a blog and make it to the first page of Google. Well, probably in my dreams.
One of the best blogging tips I ever learn is blogging takes time. It is like growing a fruit tree from scratch. Nurturing and taking care of the tree for a few years and then, you might see the tree bearing fruits.
For me, the biggest mistake done by most bloggers is that they assume that blogging is a quick way to make money. Well, you could but chances are pretty slim buddy! Of course, this eBook written by Darren from ProBlogger on how you can earn a six-figure income just from blogging.
I am a very ‘˜karma-person’ and thus, I believe that one can actually make money blogging if they are devoted to help others. From the example way above, both Darren and Lisa are great writers who love to share their ideas.
And, what do they get in return? A pretty smooth sailing blogging career and making money through blogging!
I consider blogging as a full time work where you would need to devote your time and passion into the business. If you want to grow your blog, then ask yourself (first) why you blog. Then work from there with your reason.
Blogging is not about yourself…literally
This is a little tricky and I will try my best to explain. Blogging is not (everything) about yourself or making money online. You need to help others as well, so to say.
I bet you have came across more than one famous blogging website. Do you notice anything in common? Okay, here’s the hint; guest post.
I am going to repeat myself. Blogging is not everything about yourself. If you want to start a blogging business, you should focus a great deal of time in your website and at the same time, other websites!
Websites are nowhere without some help. Let’s face it guys. If you want to have a website with good traffic, then you need to publish your name to the world.
Instead of publishing 10 great articles on your blog, how about publishing 9 great ones on your site and another one in other blogs? You see, sharing one great article might sounds a lot to you (even to me). But, do you know how much traffic you are going to convert?
Yup, you hear me now and I really hope you do. When I contributed my first guest post, I really thought if that is really a good idea. At times, I thought that was a wrong idea. Thankfully, I was able to stick to my ground long enough to see the traffic growth on my own site.
Important blogging tip here is that when it comes to blogging, it is all about giving back to the community. Sharing is caring and in this case, you are opening your doors to even more possibilities just by sharing ideas with others.
Who knows, you might even have followers dying to write for you instead in return!
Build your blogging career correctly
This is probably the best blogging tip I have for you in this blog. If you want to be somebody in this blogging industry, then you need to make sure that you start the right way. And when I mean starting correctly, it doesn’t mean that you should start a blog on a free website.
I know you might be looking for this. So, here are a few places you can start blogging for free:
*p/s If you want to go pro or serious in blogging, you should get a website instead of those free blogging sites.
To start a new website, you need to buy domain name and hosting services. Here are list of recommended companies:
- NameCheap (domain names)
- GoDaddy (domain names)
- HostGator (hosting company)
- WP Engine (hosting company)
Oh yes, this is the biggest mistake young and experience bloggers make. You may start blogging on a free blog and that doesn’t kill you. However, it is going to affect you in the long run. I know how easy it is to rank well and faster using Blogspot than a website. Now, imagine that you continue your blog for the next 3 years and you grow your audience. Your blog could probably be PR 3 or maybe higher.
I am sure back there somewhere in your brain, you are tempted to have your own brand. Now, moving everything to a new website is easy but building your traffic back? Okay, that is a whole different story.
Don’t get me wrong. You can still make it through without any issue but you are going to waste precious time. It takes months and years to build a brand and it doesn’t come cheap. What I am saying is that if you have plans to develop a blog and probably become a serious blogger, then I would suggest you to get a self hosted domain even from scratch.
Don’t be like me as I wasted a few years with free blogs provided by Blogger and WordPress. I developed my blogs so much that it is a hassle to transfer them over to a self hosted domain. I wasn’t willing to lose the traffic anytime soon and I wish I had started everything with my own website and not with a free blog.
I have to add these useful blogging tips even if there is a gun pointed at my head right now as I type. When you have your own website, you can design it anyway you like. You can publish anything and you are not tied down to any terms and conditions. You are basically the king and the people as well. You can design your website to look anyway you like without having to worry about what others would think (literally).
Final words
I hope you enjoyed this blog post as much as I had writing it. Pardon me for such a lengthy post though and I truly hope that these blogging tips will serve you well in the future.
Feel free to tell me what you think about this post and if there is anything I could improve for the next article simply by replying using the comment form below or using this contact form.
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