10 Top Tips for Blogging Newbies

With the sound of the fireworks from New Year’s Eve now a distant memory, we are well and truly into 2016. You have probably been asked how you are going to drive more traffic to the website or how you will improve your Search Engine Optimisation or how you will better engage with your audience. You may come to one conclusion…..we need a blog.

Now, while a blog can answer all of those questions, blogging is not as simple as you would think. So here are 10 tips for people new to blogging:

1. You need commitment – I don’t want to start of all heavy, but you are into this, right? Like really into this? If you don’t think you can keep up with posting on your blog regularly, you can’t, so don’t start one!
   
2. Why am I starting a blog – You should have a clear objective as to why you are starting your blog. The objective will help you to determine how long your blog should be and even where you should post it.
   
3. Have a content calendar – This is very often overlooked, but having key dates throughout the year may spark some inspiration when you just can’t think of what to blog about – and that is a feeling you want to avoid.
   
4. Make it unique – It is likely that the subject that you are writing about is being written about already by someone else. But don’t let that put you off. If you make the content personal, your content will always be unique.
   
5. Stick to your frequency – How often you post a blog will depend on a number of factors, but aiming to write one blog per week gives you the opportunity to quickly build up a library of your material. However, blogging more frequently may be more appropriate, especially if your environment is very fast-moving, e.g. technology.
   
6. What platform is right – You should consider where your audience is – if you can do that (this step isn’t very easy) then you will know whether you can post your blog directly onto the platform (e.g. LinkedIn, Tumblr) or use a third party (e.g. WordPress).
   
7. Proof read your blog – People may not remember your blog forever, but an unfortunate autocorrect or typo can make your blog stand out for all the wrong reasons.
   
8. What happens next to your blog – You should have a clear idea where you are going to distribute your blog, whether it is on social media, a newsletter, etc. If you write it and expect people to come to you, you may be disappointed.
   
9. What is your blog about – This should seem fairly obvious, but it’s not as simple as you would think – as a human being, you will have lots of interests, so will your blog be about all of them or will it be about just one of them. Spend some time defining what should and shouldn’t be in scope.
   
10. Review your blog performance – Writing a blog can sometimes feel like you are writing some words and just sending it out into the wilderness, never to be heard of again. If you track your metrics, not only will this boost morale, it will give you an idea of what works well, what people are interested in and how you can improve your blog.

I hope that these tips do not put you off from blogging! It really is a great digital marketing tool and well worth the effort.

Do you have any tips for people starting their blogging journey? If so, please leave a comment and share your experience!

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