Having built several blogs ourselves, the team at StartABlog.tv ruly believe starting a blog can be one of the most rewarding things you can ever do.
It can literally change your career and your life.
Really. It can.
But we also know it can be tough getting started. Whether you’re still working on your first post, or have a few under your belt, here are 10 blogging tips for beginners.
We’re confident that if you follow these tips you’ll be well on your way to building a successful blog.
Table of Contents
Get STARTED
When it comes to blogging, the most important thing is you get started. Sounds obvious right?
Yet you’d be surprised at how many people get motivated to start blogging, think about it a few minutes, but never end up publishing a single post.
Don’t let this happen to you!
If you really are serious about blogging you have to actually start blogging! That means putting in the time and effort to make this happen. With so many resources, and people out there willing to help — there is literally no excuse.
If you haven’t already, make sure you have bought your domain and hosting so you can get ready to publish your first blog post.
Be Consistent
In a perfect world, everyone would have their blog skyrocket to success after just one post.
Unfortunately, that’s not how things work.
To be successful at blogging, you must be consistent in everything you do. If you tell your audience you’re going to post once a week.. then you better post once a week.
Having been blogging for over a decade, I can’t tell you how many blogs I saw literally “disappear” over night. What’s sad, is that many of those blogs were actually good!
The good thing about being consistent with your blogging habits, is you’ll slowly get better at writing and creating content.
This is huge!
When you consistently put content out, you’re forced to up your game and always improve the way you communicate.
Being consistent is one of the best ways to ensure you’re putting your best content out.
Commit to being consistent. It will make all the difference.
Experiment With Different Kinds of Content
It takes a while to get things right. Don’t expect your blog to be amazing right off the bat. Of course, you should always do your best, but know that it will take some time.
Over the course of your blogs life, you’re going to want to experiment with different types of content.
Depending on your audience, some content will do “better” than other kinds. This is perfectly okay.
Your audience might like short posts, where as someone else’s blog might prefer longer form. The only way you’ll know is by testing out different types of content.
Maybe one week you post a video. Another week you post super long and in depth article.
Before you publish anything you write, ask what kind of value it brings to your audience. What is your goal?
Having a focus, will allow you to experiment with different types of content and produce the best quality work for your audience.
Don’t Be Afraid To Promote
Writing great content is a must. But you also need to make sure you’re doing everything you can to promote it!
Not promoting your content is one of the biggest mistakes new bloggers make.
We get it. It’s awkward to push your work out into the world at times. Especially, if you’ve never done it before.
But you need to take your work seriously, and the best way to do that is to promote it unapologetically.
Now by promote, we don’t mean spam every single article you write to your family and friends. That’s not promoting. That’s just stupid.
What we do suggest, is that you create content and share it with your friends and family who might find it valuable. Join a few different Facebook groups. Connect with people on Twitter.
The more you do this, the better chances you’ll build a strong and thriving community. It takes time to learn to promote, but it’s a most for any successful blog.
Many of our readers have seen great success by being active on various social media platforms such as Twitter or Facebook as well as building a strong relationships with other influencers online.
Take Editing Seriously But Don’t Over Think It
When writing blog content, you should always do your best to make sure there are no major typos.
Our rule of thumb, read the article out loud once. Maybe get a friend or family member to give it it a read.
After that.. Just hit publish!
Even the most seasoned bloggers, are known to have a typo here and there. The important thing to remember, is blogging is about COMMUNICATING. If you’re able to get your point across than you’ve done your job.
Of course, your post can’t be riddled with a typo every other sentence, but don’t let the desire to be perfect, prevent you from shipping.
Fortunately, as you grow your audience, many of your readers will lend a helping hand. But don’t over think the editing phase. The most important part is that you’ve put your best foot forward.
Your editing will continue to improve over time, so don’t be afraid to write, proofread, and then hit publish. 🙂
Have A Strong Call To Action
This is perhaps one of the biggest weaknesses for new bloggers. Each blog post should have a purpose. What are you trying to get the reader to accomplish? Do you want them to buy a course? Take action?
You need to be crystal clear about what you expect your reader to do.
Regardless of what you’re writing about, the goal is to bring value to your audience. Make them take action.
At the end of each article, you should have them take an action. Maybe you ask them to share the post with someone they think might find it valuable. Or maybe you want them to leave a comment.
Get into the habit of of giving your readers a SPECIFIC action to take in each post. What do you think the call to action of this guide is?
The more you get your audience to take action, the better chance the post will impact them in some tangible way. This is very important.
Formatting Matters
Just like giving your blog post a proper edit is important, so is how you format your article. Many new bloggers will write HUGE paragraphs, for their audience and wonder why their engagement is so low.
People’s attention spans are short. So do your best to keep your writing short and concise. This doesn’t mean you can’t write long articles, but it does mean you have to make sure your content is consumable. Remember, many of your readers will be checking out your site on mobile or tablet. So keep this in mind.
You should also do your best to add images to make your content more scannable. Images aren’t essential, but they do a good job or making your blog posts more polished.
In addition, you should also experimenting with bolding and italicizing certain words or sentences that you think are important. Remember, people are scanning, so they will notice things that are bold.
You shouldn’t spend ALL your time formatting your post, but at the very least, try and make your reader experience the best it can be.
Take Action
Publishing your first blog post is taking action. So is, writing on a consistent basis. If you want to build a successful blog you have to start getting out of your head and putting your thoughts and ideas into the world.
If you notice, most of the successful blogs out there are the result of people taking action IN REAL LIFE.
“Imposter Syndrome” is something many new bloggers face. I wrestled with it as well when I was first started out. The best way to overcome this is to do EPIC things in real life.
For example, if your blog is about helping people land their dream jobs, show how you’ve done so yourself in the past.
At the very least, you should always document your true experience with whatever topic you’re writing about. Don’t pretend you’re someone your not. Documenting your process is just as valuable as “having all the answers.”
One blog that does an amazing job of this is Smart Passive Income. Pat has been documenting his online journey for over a decade.
If you’re ever stuck on what to write for your blog, this is a good sign that you haven’t been taking as much action as you could in real life.
Take action, and write about your learnings. It’s the sure fire way to never run out of blog content.
Read A Lot
Another way to make your blog truly remarkable is to make sure you’re reading and improving yourself on a daily basis. The best way to do that is to make sure reading is a habit.
I can’t tell you how many of my blog posts first started from me reading a book or another article online.
The more you read, the more knowledge you have. The more knowledge you have the more you can share with your audience.
Of course, you should never mistake reading for “blogging.” You do have to ship your content. And you can certainly “over consume.” But reading is an incredibly valuable way to not only improve yourself but also give you more ideas for content.
I try and make sure I’m reading high quality material for at least 30 minutes each day. You have to water the garden to reap the reward of fruitful garden.
Build Relationships
Good content matters. Being consistent matters. But the relationships you build through your blog also play a HUGE role in the success of your site.
If done right, you can build and leverage your online relationships to create a truly remarkable community.
It goes without saying, building relationships isn’t about being selfish. You should always aim to bring as much value as you can to your audience and influencers in your niche.
It doesn’t matter if you’re just beginning or are a seasoned blogger, the more effort you put into your relationships, the more successful your blog will be.
Look for ways to add value to your audience and those who you look up to. Don’t be spammy or pushy, but continue to add value to your network over time.
If you write an amazing article you think might help someone, don’t be afraid to share it!
If you really enjoyed a book, be sure to leave an authentic Amazon review.
Building relationships take time, but if you do it consistently you’ll soon build an incredible and supportive network that will help you take your business and life to the next level.
Bonus: Make Sure You Have Fun
Perhaps the most important key to running a successful blog is… having fun.
Look, maybe you want to build your career or make some money online. These are admirable goals!
But if you’re not having fun and passionate about what you do.. you’ll eventually burn out.
Your blog is your blog. You can do whatever you want with it. Have fun with it! Try different things. Share your ideas for feedback. Ask for help. Use it as a tool to grow personally and professionally.
Think long term with what you want to accomplish! What are you trying to do with your blog? Change people’s lives?
While you should take your blog seriously — make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons. Make sure you’re enjoying every step of the way.
Some of my best moments, have come from putting a blog post out for the world to see. I’ve received incredible feedback and different perspectives from my readers over the years and it’s made me a much better person.
Don’t be afraid to fail. Don’t be afraid to push yourself to grow.
Make sure you’re having fun!
Conclusion
There. We did it. We just covered some of the best ways to ensure your blog is destined for success.
Your blogging journey won’t always be easy. Some days you’ll feel like giving up. It may take months or even years before you start seeing “results.” This is to be expected.
But if you keep putting out good content consistently it’s only a matter of time before you start leaving your mark.
We hope this guide is a good start for you to build the blog you’ve always dreamed of building, and we are so excited to see what you do.
Be sure to check out our resource page at Start A Blog TV.
We wish you all the best.
