Part Two: Blogging Tips
Click if you missed Part One: How to write a successful blog.
The second part in the blogging series pertains to a blog’s specific message or theme. When people ask me for tips on writing a successful blog, this is one of the things I stress: Make sure you have a clear understanding of your own blog!
Can you guess what my blog is about?
Did you say something along the lines of healthy dessert recipes?
Recipes such as my Strawberry Shortcake Pancakes.
What is your blog about?
1. There are thousands (millions?) of blogs out there. What makes your blog unique? What would make readers want to come back? If readers are unclear about your blog’s purpose, they won’t know whether or not they’ll enjoy future posts and thus might not feel compelled to return.
2. If your blog’s purpose is to hold yourself accountable for what you ate or to help organize your thoughts, and you therefore don’t care if no one else ever reads, it’s perfectly fine to post without rhyme or reason. However, even if you don’t want more readers, knowing your blog’s purpose can help you to understand what types of posts you love writing the most.
For example: In my own journey to find my blogging voice, I experimented with the style of “this is what I ate” posts. But I wasn’t having fun with it. When I took a good look at the posts I most enjoyed writing (the posts I couldn’t wait to publish), they were all dessert posts! So I decided, “If this is what I really love, why am I not only writing these posts? Why waste my time creating posts on subjects for which I have no passion when I could be publishing my favorite posts every single day?”
How to figure out your blog’s theme:
Ask yourself the following questions:
- What makes your blog unique?
- Fill in the blank: My blog is about __________.
- What are the reasons you blog? Why does your blog exist?
- What can people expect to find when they read your blog?
For example, when readers click on my blog, they can expect to find a good-for-you dessert recipe that tastes downright naughty.
Like Healthy Milkshakes.
Lately it seems I could write an entirely new blog based solely upon the theme of bean-dessert recipes.
Such as the Chocolate Chip Blondies.
What is your blog about?
Or, if you had a blog, what would it be about? Recipes? Fitness? Family? A “what I ate” diary? A combination of some of these? What are your favorite subjects to post about?
Once again, if you missed it, here’s part one: Tips for Food Bloggers
Great post, Katie! I don’t have a blog, but I’ve thought about starting one. When I get a free chance, I’m going for it! And I’m bookmarking this post and your other one so I can have some guidance. It seems like such a complicated process, figuring out whether you want wordpress or blogger, setting up a facebook page, putting up a title picture thing. I don’t even know what you’re supposed to CALL the title picture thing, let alone how to put one up!
I wish I’d read this MONTHS ago! I kept thinking I had to make my blog like others blogs, and so I’d write post after post about fitness and things I just wasn’t interested in writing! Now I’m going to focus more on what I truly love. Who cares if I never post about my fitness routine? There are plenty of other blogs out there that do, if a reader wants to read about fitness.
Thanks for this post, Katie :).
This post is reason #2 why you should be speaking at Vida Vegan Con. Reason #1 is because I want to meet you!
Oh man, if they’d asked me to speak, I would’ve done so in a nanosecond! That would’ve been the greatest honor ever, only reserved for awesome people like… wait, YOU! 😉
I really wish I was going! (But I KNOW that we are gonna meet up someday. That has got to happen. And then you will feed me mac and cheeze from your best-selling cookbook and I will be a happy camper.)
If I had a blog, it’d probably be all about my kitties. Yes, I am going to be an old cat lady someday!
I’m with one of the commenters above. I kinda wish I had a blog right now. It sounds so fun. But it also seems like it’s time consuming, so I dunno.
If I had one, I’d probably have it be a collection of running stories, recipes, and maybe talk about my daily life too.
Sorry, that was supposed to be a general reply!
Mine in a nutshell would be healhy, balanced choices to undo years of disordered eating…and as if today, cholesterol-conscious meal planning!
I’m a new blogger, so this is really helpful for me to read. Thanks! I love your blog :).
I feel like what my blog is about changes from day to day. It’s always about living a healthy lifestyle, where it’s with tips, recipes, motivation, review, etc. I think a great tip is to not try to mimick anyone else and go with what YOU can offer!
Love this advice!
So many blogs seem to be trying to be someone else, just to be more popular. I sometimes fall into that trap too. I have to remind myself to post about what I like, not what’s necesarrily more popular or what the bigger bloggers are writing about!
Great tips Katie! I love waking up everyday excited to see what sinful (yet healthy) dessert you’ve concocted. 🙂
My blog is about finding balance in a life of veganism and fitness while overcoming my PCOS, past ED, and abusive home.
These are some fabulous tips, Katie! Thanks for sharing your blogging wisdom!
Thanks, Katie!