Last month, I published my post on How To Start a Blog – Tips for a Beginner. Don’t get the titles confused, they are extremely similar because I lack any creativity. My other post was mainly about how to get going with your blog, and what companies to use to use to actually create your blog (domain, hosting, WordPress, etc.). But what about after you already create your blog and want to get going? What tips should beginner bloggers know about?
I haven’t been blogging for a very long time, and this August will be two years. I’m not sure if that’s a long or short time in blog-land, but I’ll take it. I have definitely made a ton of mistakes (maybe I should make a post about all of the blog mistakes that I made) and I have learned a lot.
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Lately I have been receiving many e-mails asking for blog tips. I’m going to guess that a lot of it is because many think that they will get rich blogging, but I’ll save that for a whale post in the future. I will definitely say that I am not an expert, and that I still don’t understand everything.
Luckily, I blog for me and I’m fine with making mistakes. Today, I will attempt to share with you my tips, and hopefully no one laughs since obviously I’m not the most professional blogger. Just trying to keep it real and be honest with everyone!
This will be a multiple series post, so look out for a Part 2 sometime in the near future. Today’s post will mainly be about the basic of having a blog, and some mistakes that might bother me. In Part 2, look forward to reading about how to choose the direction of your blog and more of a post about any wisdom that I have gained in the past 1.5 years, such as with the potential conflict of making money with your blog.
Some are against it, and some are for it. All depends on your direction and will be further explained in the future.
If you are interested in starting a blog, I created an easy-to-use tutorial that will help you start a blog of your own for cheap, starting at only $3.49 per month (this low price is through my link only) for blog hosting. In addition to the low pricing, you will receive a free blog domain (a $15 value) through my Bluehost link if you purchase at least 12 months of blog hosting. FYI, you want/need to be self-hosted if your website is used for freelancing purposes or if you want to make money blogging.
Be Yourself
When starting your blog, be yourself! Don’t try to pretend you’re someone else. I love reading real blogs where I can tell who the writer is just by reading what they have written. No one wants to read bland, boring posts, inject all of your personality in them! Have fun with it and determine why you really want to blog.
Have an About page
Something that I am currently working on is improving my About page. I personally mainly enjoy reading blogs that have a fun or interesting personal view. Corporate blogs and blah blah blah don’t really interest me as much (nothing wrong with them, everyone enjoys different things). I like to read about the author and see where he or she is coming from. Having an About page lets me learn more about you, all in one easy page. You can include a picture, a bio about yourself, and possibly links to other posts that will describe you and your life even further.
Reply to Comments
Something that I always put major effort towards is always making sure to reply to comments. Sometimes the comments are just a “thanks,” but I honestly enjoy knowing that an author has actually read the comment that I have left. I LOVE when I leave a comment on a blog that contains a question, and the writer will answer it. I almost always go back to blogs that I comment on to see what was written back. Interacting with readers is always important.
Get Rid of the Captcha
Captcha, oh captcha. I go nuts when I try leaving a comment and I see this. For some reason I can never get it on the first try. I’m fine with the “tests” right before you leave a comment that ask for what “1+1” is, but when it says to decipher what “32097 dfg fdgjh3 4” and it’s super blurry and all of the letters seem to go in different directions? Sometimes I feel like I’m trying forever and have given up on leaving a comment before.
Make it Easy to Subscribe
I cannot tell you how many times I have gone to a website and they have made it literally impossible for me to subscribe. Either none of the links work, or there are no links altogether. No links for e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, Subscribing, etc? AHHHH. Please make it easier for readers to subscribe! We want to be able to find you more easily in the future.
Related: How To Start A Blog
Make Friends
One of the best things that I love about blogging is the awesome community that it brings. I have made many friends through my blog, and a lot of you I talk to nearly every single day. I really cannot say enough about making blogger friends. Reach out by commenting on blogs, interacting on Facebook, tweeting on Twitter and so on. Of course be yourself, and don’t force a relationship to happen! That’s just awkward 😛
Link Your Twitter to Your Posts
A lot of the time I like to tweet posts that I really enjoy. I’ve been to a couple of blogs where when you click on the tweet button, the person’s twitter handle does not automatically show up. Fix this! Make it easier for people to show you recognition. This is something that I didn’t do for a long time, until a couple of other bloggers told me that I was making life too difficult for them (joking of course).
Have Fun!
Yes, different people start a blog for different reasons. But if you do decide to start one, have fun with it! I feel that the best blogs out there are by writers who are having fun with it. I enjoy having a blog, and it has turned into a great hobby, but also a side hustle machine.
What blogging tips do you have for beginners? What do you wish you knew?
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This is such a great article and all the comments are so helpful to us "rookies." Everyday I try to tackle something new on site that is 2 weeks old. I have to work on a subcribers button now. Just figured out how to reply to the comments 🙂 Thanks for the help Michelle!
Excellent tips for a beginner, Michelle… Engaging others and being a part of the blogging community is certainly a big part of it.. There is no way that you will keep going past the first couple months without the support and encouragement of others.
My recent post Open House; Definite Dos and Tragic Don’ts
Great tips. I also don't like the corporate blah blah blah blogs. I think people hear that our site is from two money pros and think we're one of those….that's why every post we try to reaffirm our humanity.
I find that new bloggers worry too much about stats, too. Jump in and join the community! Stats will follow…..
My recent post How Colors Affect Your Investment Decisions
These are great tips. I can definitely apply them to my work. Thanks!!!
What a good topic for a series! As a beginner, I'd say the best thing to do is get into a rhythm. DON'T spend every waking minute writing, commenting, replying, etc. You'll burn out. Just put an hour or so away each day and stick to that. Remember that this is all supposed to be fun!
Nice list. I would say making friends is huge. The internet can feel lonely when you're writing a bunch of stuff, and it feels like you're talking at a wall. When you make some friends, and they show up at your measly site (yes, all blogs start out "measly"), it's a great joy, and motivation to keep going.
Also, don't be a jerk. 🙂
If I could punch "Captcha" in the face I would do it twice! Great tips, I wish I had stumbled upon a post like this early on in my blogging career, it would have made things MUCH easier.
Great tips, Michelle. It makes me feel a lot better knowing other dislike Catpcha too. I find them so hard to read and thought it was just me. I've actually left blogs because I was unable to comment. They made it so difficult. I understand the annoyance of SPAM, but yikes! I was guilty of not having my twitter account linked to my social buttons. 🙂 Commenting is huge to me. I haven't been blogging for very long, so I very clearly remember the days of no one commenting and no visitors and how I bummed I was. Now that I'm starting to get regular visitors and comments, I want to make sure they know that I'm not only reading their comments, but I truly appreciate them taking the time to share their thoughts with me.
My recent post 3 Money Myths Parents Need to Stop Believing
I really like this blog post you have. I started blogging about my personal finance and progress after I read loads of books of finance and saving. I happened to search personal finance one day and found one blog and through them all these other amazing blogs from different people writing
about their own personal debt issues and how people were commenting. I decided to create my own blog and document my highs and lows of it all. I love the comments and support via twitter each time I post.
I completely agree with your comment about “being yourself” on your blog. A few times I’ve caught myself censoring my words. Then I think, my friends won’t know it’s me talking if I try to sound “formal” or different! I say do it for the fun, and if the money follows that’s great — just don’t make it your primary reason for blogging.
Hey Michelle, I’m so confused about the advertising. I was having trouble figuring out how to use Google AdSense, so I started looking in the help section and here’s what I found – “AdSense, Yahoo, Chitika, TextLinkAds, and other third-party advertising is not allowed here at WordPress.com. If you would like to run ads on your blog, this support doc explains a few options that may work for you.” Do you know if that’s because I’m not self-hosted yet?
I don’t think free WordPress allows for advertising on their blogs. Self-hosted is the way to go!
I’ve been doing this since 2011, maybe earlier when yahoo had geocities 🙂 I do okay, I get a decent amount of likes from Facebook but I’m not getting the comments. I ask questions at the end. I’ve probably read every “how to” on blogging etc that I can. I think my site is simple, it’s not cluttered. I would like to earn income on my site but that’s been hit and miss. I’d love to make good money, as we are likely moving to Haiti as missionaries and we’re going to have a lot of money to raise. It would be AWESOME if I could bring in a decent income for the orphanage we are going to. Maybe I’m a terrible writer. I just don’t know. Hard not to get down. Money isn’t the reason I started a blog but it would be a nice bonus.
My big long comment disappeared 🙁 So I apologize if you see some of this twice. I’ve been at this for years now, back when yahoo had geocities. I got serious about blogging the end of 2010. Yet, bringing any income in has been hit and miss. I’ve tried to keep the blog clean and uncluttered. I’ve probably read every “how to” on blogging out there. I do okay getting Facebook likes but the comments just don’t come. I ask questions at the end but not always comments. I would really like to bring in an income. While I didn’t start my site with that intent, it would be a nice bonus. Especially since we are looking at moving to Haiti as missionaries. If I could bring in funds to help us get there AND support the orphanage we will be going to, that would be AWESOME! But what am I doing wrong? Maybe I’m a bad writer… I just don’t know.
Thanks for the tips Michelle! Been a regular lurker around here since I started my blog months ago and I’ve been trying to get better at commenting rather than lurking 🙂
I also don’t like it when people’s twitter handles don’t show up when you tweet from their page. I think a lot of people are not aware of this because they never tweet pages. I wrote a post about this in May to try to help people know how to configure this in wordpress.com or self hosted wordpress.