Blogging Advice for Newbie Bloggers

Blogging Advice for Newbie Bloggers

Anyone can start a blog (and it sort of seems like everyone has!). So what is going to set you, the newbie blogger, apart from the rest?

Maybe you already have a perfectly catchy and totally awesome blog name, but before you start researching domain availability, blog designs, hosting and all of the technical parts of starting a blog, you really need to think about these 5 things first:

1. WHAT IS YOUR INTENTION?

Is this a hobby or a business?

Is it for fun or do you want to make money/get free product?

Are you writing to inform/teach or is this a public journal?

How many posts can you commit to each week?

If your intention is to generate income and/or free product to review, then growth and numbers matter because sponsors want to make sure they’re spending their marketing dollars wisely. You need great content that’s original and provides value, great photos, engagement, well written posts, consistency, and the list goes on.

If your intention is to journal publicly then the numbers and growth may not matter as much as WHO you reach, which leads me to my next piece of advice.

2. WHO IS YOUR AUDIENCE?

Envision your reader and create that person in your mind. Every time you write a blog post, write it like you are talking directly to that person.

Are they male or female?

How old are they?

What is their name?

What color hair do they have?

What color eyes do they have?

What is their occupation?

What are they wearing?

Where are they and what are they doing when they’re reading your post?

Get as detailed as you want in creating your ideal reader, because although it’s just one person in your mind – there are millions of similar readers out there dying to find your blog. They just don't know it yet!

3. WHAT IS YOUR THEME?

Are you blogging about Lifestyle, Travel, Food, DIY, Fitness, Fashion, Design, Parenting, Cars, etc.? 

Your theme will determine your content, and even your design and layout when the time comes.

 

4. WHERE ARE YOU GETTING YOUR PHOTOS?

Are you taking them?

Are you hiring someone to take them?

Are you using stock photos? 

This depends on your blog theme but my guess is that either you or someone you know is taking them, or you are hiring out. 

If you need to brush up on your photography skills then consider taking a photography and photo editing class or search for tutorials on YouTube. 

My post sharing 11 Steps to Quick Photo Editing in Lightroom is another resource you might want to check out! ;)

 

5. HOW MUCH TIME DO YOU WANT TO COMMIT?

If anyone has told you that blogging is easy or doesn’t take a lot of time then it’s time to check the B.S. meter.

Creating a post may come easy because you’re full of ideas that you can’t wait to take from brain to fingertip, but blogging as a whole requires time, effort, and more tech savvy knowledge than one might think. From the title of your post to the closing and everything in between, you want Google to like you and favor you. It’s not easy to get on Google’s good side if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Yes, your blog title truly matters.

Yes, keywords matter.

Yes, naming your photos matter.

Yes, metatags matter.

Yes, driving traffic to YOUR site matters. 

 

{CUE S.E.O. + TANA OF YOUR MARKETING BFF}

Before I met Tana, I went to a bloggers conference in 2017 and I learned a lot, but it was also a lot of gibberish crammed down my throat in three days that left me feeling overwhelmed when I got home. I’m a creative. I like to style things and make them pretty, but talk technical jargon to me and you’ll watch my eyes glaze over.

I’d heard of Tana through Instagram because she was working with a lot of the home décor bloggers I knew, but I thought she designed their blogs and that was that. I was SO wrong. 

Tana turned out to be THE single most helpful and knowledgeable resource I’ve gained since starting my blog.

Her knowledge about blogging and SEO and all that crap that makes my eyes glaze over, but make a blog successful, is fascinating to me because she knows it so well. What’s even more fascinating is the way she explains it because it just makes sense (and she walks the talk so I know her advice is solid).  

 

MY SUCCESS STORY

I own a business, I have hobbies, and I blog. I’m not willing to commit more than 2 days per week to blogging right now (and that’s a stretch), so my goal at the beginning of the year was to get to 5,000 pageviews per month by summertime. That’s really not a lot of pageviews at all, but at the time it was five times what I had. With just a few simple tips Tana gave me, I reached my goal by Spring!

She has become an invaluable resource to me and TONS of other bloggers so I’m THRILLED that she’s decided to start a monthly membership within Your Marketing BFF to offer ongoing support to a closed community of bloggers.

Members will have access to Live Q&A’s on Facebook where bloggers of all levels are welcomed, will have the opportunity to get questions answered, learn exactly what to do to grow their blog and earn money, get clarity on what makes a blog successful, learn from other successful bloggers, get personal interaction with her and her team, and so much more! 

Enrollment is open for one more week. The last day to signup is August 30th and then it will be closed until January 2019! So if you’ve been struggling to grow your blog or feel like you’re spinning your wheels then I highly recommend seeing what Tana is all about.
 

>>>CLICK HERE TO JOIN<<<

 

Christina

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Blogging Advice for Newbie Bloggers

Comments

I love how you write - I can picture you looking someone in the eye and saying EXACTLY what you wrote!

Thank you for sharing my new membership!!! I've enjoyed being a part of your blogging journey and getting to know you on a personal level. You will continue to grow and do great things with your blog/business... you listen and take action, plus you have the 'chops'.
You will continue to be successful for many years to come. Keep inspiring others!!! xo

Thank you, Tana! For being an awesome mentor and even better friend! You rock!! xox

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