Blogging Tips for Beginners: 6 Foolproof Ways to Establish your New Blog
Blogging… it’s pretty much the dream job if you love writing and working from home. You get to do whatever you want, whenever you want, and, likely even make money from it.
No wonder you’d like to make blogging as a business work for you and your family!
When it’s a new blog, however, it can be pretty darn overwhelming. So, how do you successfully inform and educate your readers while actually earning an income?
If your blog is relatively new (or even if it isn’t), make sure you’re using these 6 essential blogging tips for beginners.
Tip #1: Use timeless content
Great content is at the heart of blogging. However, in addition to helpful content, you’ll want to be able to give it to your readers no matter the time of the year or the date it was written. This timeless, or “evergreen”, content is one of the most important tips for beginner bloggers.
Since you’re just starting out blogging, it’ll take a while to build up the desired amount of content that you can repeatedly market and share. Therefore, every article should be relevant no matter what the season, month or year.
One example of evergreen content is a “How To” article. It can either be how to cook, how to fix, or how to create projects. On the other hand, seasonal articles might include “The Best Valentine’s Day Project” or “Cooking Summer Meals.”
Tip #2: Perfect your writing style.
What is the best way to write? With style, of course! Decide what your tone will be throughout your articles and stick to it. This will not only personalize your blog, but your readers will come to expect it and love it. Whether you’re humorous, serious or have an attitude, you want readers to come back for more.
Yes, your blogging style should be enticing.
Even more importantly though, it should be easy to read. Make use of shorter sentences. Get straight to the point. Only write as many words as necessary and always avoid filling your article with useless “fluff”. Tell your readers only what they need to know to make a difference.
If you’re a beginner blogger, you might tend to write short articles in order to publish as many as you can. However, if your content doesn’t provide every reader with at least some new knowledge, then this strategy will backfire.
According to Jeff Goins, best-selling author of five books and professional blogger, writing 300 to 1000 words is a good idea.
Tip #3: Think in advance! Learn how to monetize your blog.
The usual path when it comes to blogging is to create content, build traffic, and monetize, right? But one blogger believes that following this path will lead you to eventual failure when it comes to making money from your blog. As you know, creating content is time-consuming. Do you really want to spend hours and hours successfully completing an article, only to realize you don’t know what to do with it now that you’re done?
Research ways to earn an income before you create all of your wonderful content. Learn how your competitors do it… and how they don’t do it!
There are several ways of earning money through blogs, ones even big companies haven’t thought of.
But pick just one or two to focus on. A great place to start is by offering something wonderful in your niche for free. It could be a service or a product. Incorporate these ideas on your site while building traffic and creating content.
- You can make money blogging!
Tip #4: Socialize
The power of social media is immense. Through social media marketing, you can get the attention of your target audience, increasing your readership. You may even get a better understanding of your readers, allowing you to create better content.
Use Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest or whichever media you can find your target readers participating in. Comment on topics that you care about and that relate to your blog. And don’t forget to reply to your audience. This is a great way to build trust. And, sooner or later, you’ll have interested and engaged followers.
Social media is even a great way to “test” blog topics you’d like to write about. For example, on Twitter, tweet a simple quote or two about an issue or topic relevant to your blog. Then, gauge the reaction of your followers and see whether it sparks opinions and engaging responses.
Many, many bloggers use Pinterest as a way of driving traffic to their blog. Start by opening a Pinterest account and making a brief Pinterest business plan. Then check out the advice for beginners in blogging tip #5.
Tip #5: Make your blog and content pretty.
Here’s the thing… your article may be wonderfully written and informative. However, if your reader sees only endless lines of text, you can bet she isn’t sticking around long to read it. Creating stunning and eye-catching graphics can make sure your blog is not only visually interesting but easy and enjoyable to read. So, you have a couple of options:
- Hire someone else (which can get pricey and take a while to get the blog graphics you need)
- Invest in high-end graphic design software, like Photoshop (although it has a huge learning curve and might take months to learn).
- Or you can start with free design software such as Laughingbird Software’s The Graphics Creator for access to easy design templates you can use any time.
You can use photos, graphics, or both in your blog designs. Regardless, it’s best to start with templates that you can easily modify, even if you don’t have any design experience.
Finally, use images that are relevant to your blog and that help tell the story you’re writing about.
This is truly an important blogging tip for beginners, as many new bloggers forget, or simply don’t use images.
- Get easy-to-use graphic design templates from LaughingbirdSoftware.com
Tip #6: Use an editorial calendar for posting.
Blogging consistently means a greater chance of getting more traffic. That’s pretty important if you want to establish your blog and earn money. But it’s not enough to post five times a week and then only publish one article a month later.
Being a true blogger means that you’re consistently publishing new posts regularly.
Having a hard time keeping up with ongoing posts? Use an editorial calendar. Plan your posts ahead of time. Then use a content calendar to help regularly publish articles.
Need great visual content for your blog? Create your own in minutes!
Creating your blog is no easy task. But, by following these easy blogging tips for beginners, you’ll be able to create a successful blog that grows traffic and makes you money.
- Pin created with Laughingbird Software’s Web Graphics Creator
