It is not uncommon for bloggers to hit a block and not know what to do next. Some get into the world of writing only to realize the amount of actual work that’s required to be successful. Others are already receiving traffic, but they are still looking for an extra boost here and there.
This is why I’ve written eleven blogging tips tailored to beginners like you. These are some of the same tips I’ve applied to my blog, and so far, they have been working pretty well.
Proofread Your Work
This is included as my first suggestion because I believe it to be the most important. I have seen a bunch of starting bloggers who create posts riddled with writing errors. These errors include improper punctuation, spelling errors, a lack of proper paragraphs, bad formatting, and no spaces.
There’s nothing worse than coming to a blog and not being able to read it. This can set you up for failure right from the start, especially if you lose a bunch of future traffic due to the lack of professionalism.
Fixing these mistakes is not difficult. My top recommendation would be to read and re-read your content before publishing. It is best to do your proofreading after your post is finished, preferably half an hour or so. This will make errors easier to spot since the content will not be fresh in your mind. Don’t be afraid to research and ask questions relating to grammar either. This will significantly contribute to your knowledge of writing.
There are also several tools that can aid in your proofreading process. I recommend Grammarly and ProWritingAid. They are not 100% perfect, but they can help spot a handful of errors you never thought you had.
Do not worry if your grammar is not perfect from the get go. We were all beginners at some point. Continue practicing, and you will improve over time.
Write Naturally
As a blogger, you do not have to write like you would for a college essay, business report, or complex legal document. Nobody reads that stuff for fun, especially when the internet is already full of competing forms of entertainment.
Here’s a simple question that can change your writing from bland to interesting. What’s one of the top things people enjoy doing online? Having conversations with other people!
This is why you should write as if you are having a one-on-one conversation with your reader. People enjoy conversational speak when it is intent on helping providing them with valuable information. You should not treat your users like robots or “just another person;” treat them like you would a close friend or family member.
Choose Something that Interests You
When you are starting out as a blogger, I recommend writing about something you know and enjoy. This will prevent you from having to learn a topic from scratch. That way, you can focus on your blog and figure out how to find traffic and produce sales (if that is your goal).
Want to write about your cat? Go for it! Interested in math? Post some math equations! Looking to promote a product you love and make money on the side? Drop a few links to your favorite product!
Blogs are meant to be written from our passions and be unique. You do not have to choose a subject that sounds bland for the sake of being like that one famous blogger you know.
Don’t Worry about Traffic Early on
Almost all new blogs go unseen for an extended period of time. Some may not receive traffic for weeks or months. You may feel that you are writing for nobody and wasting your time, but do not let that discourage you.
It takes time for search engines to find and rank your content. Young domains are viewed with caution by Google, so you need to give it time to start trusting your content. Not only that, growing a social media presence and finding an audience will take time as well.
Be patient. Nothing substantial in life is built in a day, unless you happen to win the lottery. Even the most successful bloggers were talking to themselves at one point before the traffic started rolling in.
Be Consistent and Stick with Your Topic
What’s one thing all great bloggers have in common? Consistency. Sticking to your central theme is one of the best ways to grow your audience.
For example, let’s say you write about baseball gear as an affiliate marketer. What is going to happen to your audience if you suddenly start blogging about hockey or martial arts? They’ll probably leave because you would be no longer discussing the main topic they were expecting from your blog.
Don’t be quick to start writing about something different. You need to give your original users what they want. Writing about too many different things will result in you losing track of your blog’s subject and resulting in it becoming a mess with no focus.
Get on a Schedule
Getting on a schedule for an internet blog may sound silly, but it’ll tremendously boost your productivity. Having a successful blog takes serious effort and time.
It is sort of like growing a plant. What happens if you do not water that plant on schedule? It’ll wither out. The same goes for your blog.
When setting your schedule, I would recommend having a set period in your day (could be twice a day, daily, or even weekly) for writing. During this time, shut off all distractions. A writer’s biggest enemy is that smartphone notification or that TV show that is about to premiere.
You can block chosen internet pages with various programs if needed. I recommend SelfControl for Mac and Cold Turkey for Windows.
Blogging is hard, but having a schedule will make things a lot easier. You will find that your writing starts to come more naturally and effortlessly once habits begin to build.
Blog with a Purpose
To prevent putting your readers to sleep, blog with a purpose! This should be the ultimate goal of your website.
If you blog in the make money online niche like me, then your purpose would be to help people avoid scams and make money online. If you are blogging in an educational niche, then your purpose would be to help people with their school work or something similar.
Writing with a purpose will help entertain your readers a lot better than randomly writing whatever comes to mind.
Make the Use of Brainstorming
Struggling to find ideas for your writing? Try brainstorming! This is single handedly one of my favorite productivity tips.
What you’ll need to do is set a timer, usually a few minutes up to half an hour, and write down as many topics pertaining to your blog as possible. Write down whatever comes to mind, even if it sounds a little silly at the time. You’ll find that this will help get the creative juices flowing and will result in a bunch of new content ideas.
You can also apply this same tactic to knock out a blog post or two. You’ll do the same thing with the timer, only this time, you’ll see how many words you can write down within the allotted time. Your greatest competition is yourself, so trying to quickly type out sentences and tracking your word count can be a great motivational boost.
I managed to write 800 words in 30 minutes doing this exercise. I was quite surprised how challenging myself gave such great results. Can you do better?
Put Yourself in Your Readers Shoes
You need to empathize with your readers if attempting to solve a problem.
Relating to your user is an excellent way to win their trust. Think of someone who has severe acne and is looking for a way to improve his or her skin. You can put yourself in this reader’s shoes by explaining a story related to your acne problems (if the same happened to you) and help your reader find that very cure you have found.
The same can be applied to any problem you are trying to solve. This helps give a sense that you are a human reaching out to them to help and not just another car salesman attempting to make a quick buck.
Keep a List of Future Ideas
This tip has personally helped me a lot. Maintaining a list of future blog posts and ideas is imperative to your content creation strategy.
What I do is store all my thoughts in my native notes app on my Mac. Sometimes a random idea will pop into my head, at a random time of day, and I’ll jot it down for future use.
This has helped me tremendously when figuring out what to write and saves time that would have been spent trying to remember that idea.
If you do not own a Mac or don’t prefer the default program, then you can utilize Evernote, Google Docs, or one of the many programs available for download.
You also need an app on your phone or tablet that will sync with your computer. This will help you jot down ideas when you are not near your computer. Bonus points if you use a classical pen and notepad.
Prevent Yourself from Becoming Overwhelmed
I highly recommend against having more than one blog when starting out. Writing about too many things can quickly become overwhelming and result in a lack of productivity. There are a bunch of bloggers who come to the scene, get excited to begin, and start several blogs related to many different niches.
While they start out with a bang, they quickly begin to fail once they realize how much work must be spent to keep all their blogs online. This usually results in them quitting because posting on all these blogs takes way too much work.
To fix this, it is best to concentrate on one blog at a time and master it before moving onto the next. This will save time and enable you to “laser focus” on your current blog.
