If you’re looking for a way to increase your online exposure, consider starting a blog. After all, over 77% of internet users read blogs, and there are over 156 million of them! It’s definitely a great idea in theory to jump on the blogging bandwagon, but setting up a blog and starting to write all those posts can seem like a daunting task – but it doesn’t have to be.
Read our blogging best practices to get a walk-through of the development of your posts and the blog itself. Then, check out these 4 tips for guiding principles to develop your blogging philosophy!
1. Understand your audience. Your blog posts should be a reflection of your personal knowledge and expertise, but they should also reflect the needs of your audience. Make sure posts are written using language your audience will easily understand (no industry jargon) and simplified for the everyday reader. Posts that are too technical or complicated will be lost on certain readers, and you could lose them forever.
2. Get ideas from your audience. Coming up with ideas for blog posts can be tough. If a reader comments on a post or reaches out to you on a social network with an idea or question, try to work it into a blog post. Your audience can be a great source for blog post ideas! Your readers will also feel like they have an influence on what you write, which is a nice personal touch that will keep them coming back. Just be sure to thank the reader by mentioning his or her note as the impetus for the post.
3. Be consistent. Make a commitment to your audience (however large or small it may be!) to blogging as often as your schedule allows. Whether that’s one blog post a day or one blog post a week, try to hit that mark each time. This shows your current readers that you are serious about providing them with valuable insight and shows any new potential readers that your blog is an up-to-date and educational resource.
4. Give it time. You will not see overnight results from your blogging efforts. It took years for the most famous and influential blogs to build an audience, so don’t expect your first post to get 50,000 hits. Blogging consistently will build up your blog’s links and make it more and more likely for someone to stumble upon your blog through search. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t immediately see results from your hard work – if you blog it, they will come!
Remember: a blog post does not always have to be a very structured format. Blog posts can be mostly text, offering tips or suggestions, or they can also be mostly images or graphics with a little context at the beginning or end. Don’t stress yourself out by thinking each blog post needs to be formal; have fun with your blog!
Also check out our Infographic “Top 10 Best Blogging Practices” for some quick blogging tips.
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