Tips For Successful Blogging!

This is the most requested post on my blog. Today, I’ve decided to finally post it!

In this post, I’ll be giving all my blogger friends a few tips for successful blogging, not because I think of myself as the most successful blogger but because I would be glad to have you guys benefit from my experiences. I’ve spent a lot of time on writing this post and bringing forward to you the best set of advices I can give. So I hope these tips help and if they do then please do let me know in the comments section!

Also, you guys know that my blog is not limited to a particular field. I post my poems, articles and blog about books, too! This post talks about tips for all bloggers. However, if you would like me to do a tips post specifically for book bloggers or creative writing bloggers then, make sure to let me know by commenting below!

Let’s get into it!

TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL BLOGGING:

• Identify why you want to blog.

Is it because you want to pour out everything that’s going inside your head or is it just for the sake of blogging and presenting it in front of an audience? Of course, I will recommend you to write not because you would like to please anybody but, because writing means something to you. Write because you want to.

• Write truly. Be authentic.

You need to be honest while bringing forward a point to your readers. You need to be authentic and you must not try to copy anybody else’s ideas/posts. As I said it in one of my earlier posts, ideas aren’t popcorns. They won’t just keep popping in your head. So take your time to come up with some great ideas and work on them in your own unique manner. Write what you truly mean.

• Do not ignore the importance of being grammatically correct.

Many people think that they can ignore the importance of being grammatically correct while blogging, especially if it’s not a hardcore poetry/creative writing blog. However, it does not help in coming up with a beautiful piece. You must realize the lesser the grammatical errors are, the cleaner your post is. Post quality content with right usage of the language.

• Make a place for yourself!

To do this, you need to connect with other bloggers. You need to let them know that your blog exists. Do not log out of WordPress just after hitting that ‘publish’ button. Make sure to visit other blogs, too and let the bloggers know if you like their posts. I visit WordPress each day just to be updated with posts from the bloggers I follow. The Community Pool and First Friday (for beginners) are great ways to get to know some awesome bloggers. Make sure you leave your links there. (If you’d like to what exactly what Community Pool and First Friday are then, drop me a comment below and I’ll be happy to help.). Reach out to your favourite bloggers. Let your presence be felt!

*Please do not follow others in the hopes of having them follow you. It will just defeat the purpose of healthy blogging if you do it.

• Identify the right and wrong time to post.

When you’ll visit the stats page on your site and go to ‘insights’, you’ll find a ‘most popular day and hour’ section. You can experiment with the given day and time and see if the traffic on your site seems to be the most at this time. It keeps changing so you can either set a specific day to post on or you can post according to the day and time given.

• Be consistent.

However cliche this may be, it is true. In fact, consistency is a necessity to talk about while giving tips for successful blogging. Let’s look at it practically. You might be posting some really great stuff and those successful posts of yours might have got you a few followers, too. But, if you stop posting that great content or you post it at the wrong time, the followers you got might feel as if you aren’t active anymore. People might stop visiting your blog and followers might become unfollowers. So definitely post regularly. This way, your followers will know when to expect a post by you. It doesn’t mean that you cannot take breaks. You definitely can. But, do remember to let your followers know about it. Be back as soon as you can!

• Keep the posts ready in advance.

You don’t want to go blank on the day of sharing your posts with your readers. Because you need to be consistent, you need to be ready with your content. I personally, don’t always keep my posts ready in advance. But, I do keep my ideas ready. I always have an idea of what I have to post next so I don’t usually go blank when it comes to posting the blog post. Keep the idea ready and if you have time, then do keep your posts ready, too.

• Use tags and categories and make your posts interactive.

I’ve found using tags and categories to be one of the best ways to let others know about your blog. I myself follow many tags and keep reading the specific posts under them. This way, I get to know many other bloggers and I might even start following them. According to this post, “reader will filter out posts using more than 15 tags and categories (combined) as an anti-spam measure.” What this means is that if you use more than 15 tags and categories (combined) then there are high chances of the post not being visible in the feed. It might not show up when one visits the tag followed. So make sure you don’t cross the number. Also, make your posts interactive. Ask your readers questions and always reply back to their comments

• Don’t hesitate to experiment.

Honestly, I’ve learnt that blogging is all about experimenting which makes it more fun! You need to keep trying new stuff. You might want to experiment with how your site looks, you can change the theme, or you can even change your style of writing/kind of posts you publish/forte but, make sure to let your followers know about it.

• Welcome suggestions, advices, and criticisms.

There are many bloggers out there with greater experiences than you and I have. Thus, taking their suggestions in a positive light can do a lot of good to you. Remember, this journey is going to be all about learning the art. You keep learning until forever. And so, do not take it in a negative stride when somebody criticizes you. I would like you to note here that when you are criticizing anybody, please do not be rude. Just let them know about it in a very polite manner. We’re here to make connections, not to break them before they’re built.

• Patience. Patience. Patience. Learn the art.

This is one of the MOST important tips I can give. Be patient. Do not expect to wake up and see a hundred followers added to the count. It might take days, weeks, or even months and it’s okay. Start being okay with the pace, even if it seems slow. Just keep doing what you’re doing without being distracted by your numbers or maybe, others’ numbers. It takes time and it will.

• Never compare your skill and exposure in writing/blogging with those of the others.

Others are not you and you aren’t them. So just do your thing. This is applicable to everything you do and not just blogging. You can definitely get inspired by somebody but, don’t compare your style and art with theirs. Just stick to it no matter how dire it may seem and trust me, you’ll be happy with it, soon. Learn the art of being patient.

• Don’t worry about the numbers but, do celebrate them.

You don’t need to fret over the number of likes or views you get, or the number of followers you have. Rationally thinking, if you keep posting good content regularly, people will find your blog somehow or the other. If you give up feeling it’s ‘no use’ then remember, that there won’t be any effort made by anybody to give your blog more exposure. But, if you stick to it and keep posting even if your count is low, you’ll soon find that there are people who are interested in what you post. Also, when you reach to the ‘desired short-term goal’, you should celebrate it. Be grateful whenever you bag any milestone and let your readers know that you appreciate their cooperation. After all, they spend time reading your posts and you must appreciate that!

So these are all the tips I have and I so hope that they help you, even if it’s a bit! I’ve spent a lot of time on this post and I’ve tried to make it as informative and helpful as I can. Please do let me know if you find these tips helpful, in the comments section below!

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With love,

Meher