Exactly two months ago I started my Blogging Basics Series with the aim of sharing blogging tips from “newbie to newbie” – all the tips and tricks and blogging basics I learnt in the first weeks and months. All the things I found most helpful and wished I would have known from the start.
Now, there are so many things to keep in mind about blogging that I could go on forever. I won’t. Of course, there’s so much more to say and think of but the most basics things (and this was my objective) I’ve already covered.
I could go further and further into detail and some of you might find this rather helpful. But I also don’t want this series to slowly fizzle toward the end and let my newbie blogger friends feel that they’ve been left hanging somewhere along the way.
This is way I’ve decided to bring this series to an end. To do this well, I’ll summarize and prioritize the main points for you – before it’s your turn to add your own points, share what you think I might have missed or show us how your blog has changed over the course of this series.
What is most important and urgent?
In case you have wondered whether my blogging tips were published in a certain order or not: they weren’t. But I’ll put them in an order now.
The question of with what you start depends on what you already have.
Someone who is just starting from scratch should first of all define their niche and style. Before focussing on the essentials, you should have a clear idea in mind of what your blog will be about and who your reader is. If you’re not sure, do some research and study as many blogs as possible. This will help you decide where you want to go with your blog. When you have a clearer idea of what you want to write about, what niche and reader is addressed, pick a name for your blog.
When you already have a name and a website and started writing already, you have skipped some of the most basics steps already. But nevertheless, your basic priorities should still be the same as for someone who has yet to do all these things:
#1 Content
Putting content (and reader) first, is most essential. Unique content is the heart of your blog. When you don’t care about your content as much as you should do, you’ll never grow your blog to it’s full potential.
Always keep your niche and reader in mind when thinking about what to write about. When you don’t have a focus and just blog about whatever comes to mind, you risk dissappointing your readers with content they’re not interested in. When your readers repeatedly do not feel you’re addressing them, they will eventually wander off regardless of how much effort you put into growing your blog and becoming a SEO expert. Content first. Period.
#2 Layout and structure
When you’ve critically examined and improved your content and feel you have a clear focus, only then get down to tackling your layout. Designing and implementing the layout is time-comsuming and you don’t want to start all over again after noticing it doesn’t match whatever your blog is about.
A basic ready-made template is enough in the beginning. Focus on your content first, then start creating a layout and a structure that supports it well.
#3 Make your blog legal
It doesn’t take that long and it’s important for you to be on the safe side. So make sure you copyright your blog, create a Terms of Service and Privacy Policy page and see what else you might need. It only takes a few minutes and there are free generators online that will help you include the all the essential information.
#4 Grow your traffic
When you’re done with the first three steps, it’s time to grow your readership. It doesn’t grow overnight, but if your content is unique and innovative, your readership will sooner or later grow by itself. There are some things you can do to accelerate the process and they’re especially helpful in the beginning. Once your blog has grown to a certain size, you won’t have to put that much effort into it anymore.
#5 Search engine optimisation
It sounds scary and it’s a bit complicated. Don’t panic, because it’s not the most important thing about blogging. It’s helpful in growing your readership and it’s certainly relevant when you want to monetize your blog. When you just started blogging – this is the last thing you want and have to think of.
Some pep-talk in the end:
Be patient – your blog won’t grow over night.
Be consistent and persistent, but never afraid of change. Sometimes change means loss and it’s hard to let go of thing you’re used to. To grow, you have to embrace change.
Make your “big” today your “small” tomorrow. Aim at getting better, but don’t think of your blog as “big” and “finished” already, otherwise you will stop progressing.
Always progressing is essential for having a successful blog. Never stop growing. Once you stop growing, your blog will stop, too.
Your turn? Yes!
It’s time to add your own points! I’d love to know what you think I might have missed that would be useful for all newbies out there and what you wish you would’ve known from the start.
I’d also love to see what you learned from this series and whether this effected your blog in any way. Did you change anything? Did you get rid of something? Did you rework your layout?
Whatever it is, I’d love to hear from you! I’m planning to do some sort of a feature post.So if you want to let others know how your blog improved in the past weeks or what went totally wrong in the beginning – this is your chance!
Send me your ideas, stories, before and after’s to hello@thisblogisnotforyou.com.
Read Part 1 {Get People to Look at you}
Read Part 2 {Layout}
Read Part 3 {Content #1}
Read Part 4 {Content #2}
Read Part 5 {Invest your time wisely}
Read Part 6 {Grow your traffic}
Read Part 7 {Make your blog legal}
Liked it? Have feedback? Please do tell me! I love your comments and read and appreciate every single one of them!
After quite a stressful term at uni and before heading home for the Easter weekend I treated myself with three new sewing magazines I’ve never read before. I don’t buy a lot of magazines. They can be quite expensive and end up in the dustbin anyway. The only ones I keep are the Burdastyle magazines since you can reuse the patterns for as many times as you want and combine the different pattern parts of different issues to create new looks.
