Blogging has grown exponentially over the last decade. A once unknown quantity, blogging is now a multi-purpose platform. Businesses use it for effective marketing, it is one of the most popular, and often lucrative, ‘side hustles’ and for some, it is simply a labor of love, a hobby, and an enjoyable pastime. Whatever your reasons for starting or seeking to grow your blog there is one thing everyone has in common, blogging success doesn’t happen overnight. It takes years of plugging away and the keys, educating yourself on SEO, and mastering graphic design, to name but a few of the skills bloggers need to acquire. If you want to grow and nurture a successful blog you have to be prepared to donate some serious time to it. It will be worth it. When it comes to blogging the possibilities and potential of your blog can be limitless. So here are some top tips to help grow your blog and allow you to join the ranks of the digital nomads, posting blog updates from the beach. Well, maybe.
Attend blogging events and conferences
Blogging events are fantastic for bloggers, whether new or established. Typically events are hosted in relation to your blogging niches, such as parenting or travel. Attending these events gives you the opportunity to mix with like-minded people, people who have the same aspirations, and interests, like you. You get to attend talks from bloggers who have gone before you and made their blog a success. You can pick up tips, hints, and advice from those who know best. Conferences will often employ professionals in SEO, social media, or website production who will give talks and workshops that you can learn from. What is more, you are likely to find potential work opportunities. Brands and public relations companies often attend these events with the purpose of looking for bloggers to work with. Conferences are a great place to socialize, network, and learn the tricks of the trade from professionals.
Some top tips for when attending a blogging event are to plan your schedule before you arrive. Take a look at the speakers, the events, and itineraries, and be sure to know what you want to attend and when it is. Also, ensure you take your media pack and blogging business card to hand out to brands or PRs. Make sure your business card and media pack stand out from the crowd. Consider investing in a distinguishable look and feel such as utilizing foil printing. Research foil printing online for some inspiration on how you can stand out from the crowd.
Have a speedy site
One of the biggest turn-offs for a potential reader is a slow website. Readers do not have the patience or inclination to wait for even three seconds for a webpage to load. Your blog could be the most interesting and informative website out there but if it takes too long to load no one will stick around to find out. What is more, a slow site may even be penalized by Google when ranking in its search engine results.
Master SEO
On the topic of SEO, understanding and utilizing search engine optimization techniques is an essential skill for a blogger. If you want your lovingly written articles to appear in search engine results then you will need to optimize all of your content for search engines. This involves using keywords throughout your articles, in headings, subheadings, in your meta description, and meta title. You also need to include internal and relevant external links from your articles. By optimizing your articles for SEO you have a much better chance of ranking in search engine results, which in turn will bring you greater traffic to your website. A top tip; attend the talk on SEO at your next blogging conference.
Content is king
It is all very well having readers find your site but they won’t stick around for long and more importantly, they won’t return if your content is sub-par. Be sure to create engaging and interesting content aimed at your reader. Something that adds value to them and gives them a reason to visit your site. If you host an educational blog write in a way that will give your audience confidence in your content. Conversely, if you own a parenting blog you may want to write informally and in a conversational tone that makes the reader feel you are talking with them. Think about your audience and aim your content for them specifically.
Have an easy to use site
Make sure your website is easy to use and clear to read. Make the readers’ job easy, make navigation simple, text clear, and always include a search box to enable readers to search through your content. Another top tip is to ensure your website is device responsive. More and more people access blogs via their smartphones so if your site is not mobile responsive you will lose a huge percentage of potential readers.
