The popularity of blogging has erupted in recent years, making the activity something that is attractive to many with a penchant for writing.
A blog is, by definition, a website on which an individual posts a personal journal of sorts, providing reflections on life and details concerning a topic about which he or she knows a great deal.
If you feel you have something to share and you want others to hear your profound musings, blogging may be for you. If you’ve decided to pick up this hobby, keep these tips in mind to enable yourself become a master blogger.
Think Before you Blog
Before you can sit down and put fingers to keys, you must know what you’re going to blog about.
While your blog doesn’t have to be limited to one topic, it’s best to have a specific focus, at least to a point, to ensure that each post speaks to the same audience.
Select a topic you feel passionate about as well as one about which you are knowledgeable. If you recently picked up an online degree in marketing, for example, focus on this topic and include useful information you’ve learned in the course of your education.
Whether you’re a renowned public speaker, a world traveler or a five-star chef, writing about your particular area of expertise will bring an element of authenticity to your blog.
By selecting a topic that reflects your life experiences, you can ensure that what you have to say is valuable.
Read Others’ Blogs
While seeking your blogging voice, explore the works of others, searching for blogs on topics similar to the one about which you plan to write.
Explore these blogs and use them to help you determine what you do — and do not — want to include in your own blog.
Carefully Select Your Blog Format
The way your page looks can make or break your blog. Spend time perusing the design options on the theme you’ve selected and pick the one that best reflects your personal style and also serves the business purpose.
Also consider whether the format you select fits with the theme of the blog. A flowery background may not be as appropriate for a blog about urban construction as a grey concrete-patterned one would be, for example.
Be Yourself
People don’t read blogs looking for a robotic rendition of something they already know. They read blogs because they like the blogger’s voice and writing style.
Don’t stifle your character when blogging, sticking only to the hard facts without ever veering off course.
Instead, write the way you speak, allowing your personal sense of humor and your individual worldview to waft through the blogosphere.
Insert Images
Give your avid readers something to look at other than lines of text on a screen. Add pictures of the subjects about which you write to make your blog more naturally engaging and visually appealing.
With the addition of these images, you can allow your readers to have a deeper sensory experience while exploring your blog, likely increasing the degree to which they enjoy their time spent on your site.
If you don’t tell people about your blog, no one will read it. After putting up a few blog posts, share them with others. Use social media networks and comment boards as ways to spread the word about your blog.
As visitors find their way to your page, they’ll read your content and, if they like it, they’ll come back. Though you may capture some random readers through search results, you can’t count on search engines to launch your blog.
It’s up to you to get the word out on your own.
Update your Blog Regularly
Your goal should be to capture and retain readers. If your blog is only updated every once in a while, you likely won’t succeed in retaining your readership.
When it comes to updating your blog, the more frequently you do so the better.
To reduce the likelihood that you let weeks slip by without a blog update, set a schedule for updating your blog, committing yourself to doing so every Tuesday and Thursday, for instance.
Blogging can be a fun way to share your thoughts and feelings concerning something you know a great deal about. As you take your first steps into the blogging world, keep these simple tips in mind.
By following them, you can likely improve your chances of blogging success.
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{ 35 comments… read them below or add one }
I think the images and your writing has to be the top priority.
With the images, you have nicely pointed them out. Update your blog with nice fresh content, and see the number crawling in!
Thanks for the article, Lindsey!
Samuel recently posted..How To Write A Good Article!
Thanks Sam! I appreciate you taking the time to read my article!!
I think blog’s format is an important factor to grabbing readers interest.
Thanks for the article
Hi lindsey….I like one of your point very much\”Be Yourself\”- Thia is the single quality that make you special from others. if you start copy others style then you will loose everything because people will prefer to read original writer than you.You wrote correctly that most of the time reader already know what your article is all about but they read your article because of your writing and presentation style.This is same a we have in all movies….we know that in the end bad character will be beaten by good character but we watch the movie to know its style and how bad character will be dead in the end.Thanks for sharing such a nice article
sandeep kumar recently posted..Link Juice-What is Link Juice how it works with Google Search Engine
I appreciate that Sandeep! I try to make sure my personality comes out in my writing because it is important to getting followers in my opinion!! I hope you continue to follow my guest posts.
Selecting a proper image can affect the CTR of an post to a very good extent.Apart from that,writing a blog post in first person also helps out to connect with readers.
yash sehgal recently posted..Still Struggling to make Money with Niche Sites
It’s important to not to expect ‘more’ from blogging in the beginning itself viz. more comments, more traffic, more money.
It’s also essential to find the exact readers’ for the blog. The basic skills that any newbie blogger should acquire is, having a voice and writing with ease.
You’ve made down to earth tips here, I appreciate your work Lindsey
Rahul kuntala recently posted..How to Find Free Images for Your Blog
Yes Rahul agree with you,
many newbies make this mistake by expecting at very beginning stages.
Khaja moin recently posted..How to Optimize(SEO) Single Domain to Target Different Countries
Nice Post Lindsey. I am agree with Samuel. Images and Quality should be awesome to grab the attention of readers.
Thanks for sharing this points.
Amit Shaw recently posted..Vital SEO Tips after Penguin Algorithm Update
Rahul-
I believe that patience is key when you first start blogging. It makes the beginning bumps much easier.
Yeah you are right all of us should update our blogs regularly…thanks for the tips and advice…
Sinbad Konick recently posted..The Linux 3.4 kernel now available
Hi Lindsey, I like what you said about finding your own voice that is so completely important.
It really is the one thing that we can each offer that is totally unique.
Without that, we really would be living in a world of robots!
david recently posted..Quality Blog Comments With Examples
Blogger’s own voice and unique writing style make a blogger stand out from the crowd. Otherwise who will remember an ordinary blogger among these thousands of bloggers. Thanks for good share, Lindsey.
Veer Modi recently posted..WordPress.Com Or WordPress.Org
I think these are great tips and strategies for blogging Jane. You really pinpointed some key factors that will make a difference. Such as staying focused. Too many new online marketers, business owners and entrepreneurs want to provide everything for their readers, clients and customers.
Although that may seem to be a helpful gesture, it can actually cause confusion and keep your audience at bay, or worse, never return. So if you have a market niche, focus just on one aspect. Later after you build your business, you can slowly add in other products or services. Plus it is a great way to keep your list interested in you and your business.
Lynn Brown recently posted..Online Business Success - Starts With Building Your List
Yes, Lynn! To me, I am my brand.
Thanks for the tips lidsey. I will always keep those in mind.
matt recently posted..SSS Contribution Table 2012, Monthly Payment deadlines
Matt-
Of course! It was my pleasure. Thanks for reading!!
I have considered starting a blog but i tend to get writers block unless i am doing technical or practical tutorials. I also generally to these by way of videos with a small amount of supporting text below. I doubt my style would convert very well to a blog if was was aiming for serps results.
Matt Kerr recently posted..Episode 4 – Garden Of Bones
Thanks, LindseyHarper These tips are amazing to capture readers attention.
rahul recently posted..12 Tips: Stop Procrastinating and Improve your Blog
Thanks so much Rahul! I really do appreciate you reading!!
Take care.
Hi Lindsey,
You have not left any stone unturned in this article, to be a successful blogger.
I also like the point - Be yourself
Thanks.
Nandita B recently posted..4 Blunders Every WordPress Blogger Loves to Do
Nandita-
This is very true! I think it is important to have your own voice.
Lindsey i just started my new blog few days ago and i choose blogger platform. I will surly try to apply all your above mention points.
Waqas Ahmed recently posted..Earn Easy Money via Online Surveys
Good luck with your blog Waqas! What is the link? I’d like to take a look!
For blogging it is very essential to do your own research and write your own contents. Read a lot and do a lot of brain storming before writing killer contents. People will visit your blog to read new contents.
Becca!
Fabulous and so true! I try and research a bit every single day because if you don’t you might miss some interesting news that most would love to read about!!
“Think before you blog!” So true, too often people think that they can wake up in the morning and fire off a post for their readers.
While this might work occasionally, the quality of your posts won’t be where they might if you planned and researched your topic ahead of time.
I think an editorial calendar can be a great benefit to both new, and old bloggers alike!
Warren recently posted..Why Video is Integral to Internal Communication
I actually use an editorial calendar myself and would be lost without it! So smart!!
I think there is room for all types of posts - some researched and fact-based, others written passionately on the spur of the moment. Keep your readers on their toes. Don’t forget to throw in images also.
alanc230 recently posted..How to Get a Free CNA Program
I agree with being yourself. Everyone has an interesting life, and every story is unique. In additional I agree that one should update their blog regularly. This allows for more of a following. It gets the reader hooked because he/she will want to come back for the next story. Thanks for the tips!
No other blog post will beat something that you have written with heart. And I don’t mean using your feelings as a medium to conceive good words. What I mean is that you have to write about what you want to write. Write about a topic that you are personally interested in as writing about what you love is why you became a blogger/writer after all!
No hard feelings! I appreciate your honesty John!!
Thank you for great insights Lindsey!
This is my first time I’ve read your work and I would love to see some more. I have to agree that one should focus on an area where you feel comfortable being in, something you enjoy talking about and overall to just be yourself and have your own personality and touch reflect over to what you are sharing.
People get accustomed to a certain writing style and that is the determining factor whether this will be the first and last time they will want to read anything you have to share or whether they will even subscribe to your RSS feed so they’ll know when you are putting out something new.
I have to disagree a little bit about the frequency of updating your blog though. In the beginning one tends to hear from everyone that you must post as much as you can as often as you can but then after gaining some experience and after finding and following other highly successful bloggers on their journeys you learn that posting that often is not always such a good idea, one thing I’ve heard from dear Jane herself
I think it’s a matter of personal preference and your time you feel comfortable spending on your blog, but more importantly, one has to take your visitors into account as well. Many of us have a few blogs we try to follow, some have more than others, especially when you’re just starting out. Imagine if each of those blogs would have posted new and in-depth technical content on a bi-weekly basis, some on different days? In the end you’ll spend more time reading and digesting other blogs than working on your own and developing your own content.
I’d rather spend more time researching my next post and putting a killer article out there, give my readers enough time to digest but more importantly implement what I’ve shared than to have them wondering what to do and what to leave for another day, which of course they never get to anyway.
Again, great work and keep it up!
After I read this point, I have to agree. A killer article is much better than two articles that I only read half of. I will take this into consideration from now on!!
Thanks for the tip!
You’re most welcome!
That’s why we do what we do after all, right? There is no better feeling inside as when someone lets you know that what you have shared has meant something to them, that you could add some value.
I believe as long as we stick to achieving that, adding value, you’ll have great success “Capturing Readers’ Interest” sooner or later.