Blogging Tips
I’ve put off this post in the past because there are blogs way more successful than mine and I’m embarrassed to even pretend to be in the same league.
However, a common email I receive asks for tips on how write a successful blog. And since I’ve been able to turn my blog from just a hobby into my dream job, I guess I do have some qualifications to write such a post.
There’s no way I can sum up all my blogging tips in a single post; I’ve been blogging a long time! So how about a series on blogging tips? Obviously I’m not an expert in technology (Far from it!), but I can offer tips learned from experience. In many cases, they’ll be tips of things not to do, based on mistakes I’ve made. Hopefully if I offer up my own mistakes, I can spare y’all the frustration of repeating them.
Part One: What makes a successful blog?
Truthfully, there is only ONE criterion for determining whether a blog is successful or not: Do you enjoy blogging? Are you excited to create new posts, to connect with others, to publish for the world to see?
If the answer to these questions is yes, then (in my opinion, at least) your blog is a success! It doesn’t matter if you only have five readers or if you publish ten posts in a row about nothing but your love for Boston terriers. If your blog makes you happy, it is successful. Period.
On the other hand, if you have a huge readership and yet blogging feels like a chore, I’d argue your blog is not successful. What good is having a popular blog if you don’t even enjoy writing it? That’s like those poor, rich businesspeople who hate their jobs… yes they make a lot of money, and yes they’re successful by society’s standards. But are they having fun in life?
Blogging should be Fun
Based on the above criterion, my own blog is wildly successful. I have fun with it every day. Dreaming up recipes, experimenting in the kitchen, photographing my creations, writing blog posts, and connecting with readers…
I cannot imagine anything that could be more fun, especially when so many of the aforementioned kitchen experiments involve chocolate!
Such as my peanut butter stuffed brownies.
When I started my blog, it was a lot of fun.
I had about three daily readers and barely received any comments. Yet, I loved my baby blog because it was mine. I imagined it being an online scrapbook, where I could write whatever I wanted (no one was reading anyway!). With no readers, there’s no pressure. You can blog when you want and about what you want.
How to make your blog successful:
First, ask yourself if you’re having fun with your blog. If the answer is yes, you really don’t need to change a thing! If the answer is no, here are some ideas that might be helpful:
- Look over your old posts. Was there a time when you did have fun with your blog? Are there any particular posts you were especially excited to publish?
- Look at the blogs you love most. What about these blogs makes you smile?
- Are there any aspects of the blogging process you enjoy more than others? And any aspects of blogging you hate? For example, maybe you really like the writing process but hate taking photos. Or maybe photography is your thing, but you’re not one for words.
- Change your blogging style so that it suits YOU. If you love pictures but hate writing, who says you can’t do photo-only posts? Or, on the other hand, who says a good post needs a photo? What’s awesome about blogging is that you are your own boss ;).
(It might be helpful for you to make an actual list on paper, jotting down notes on what you like and dislike about your blog, about other blogs, and about the blogging process.)
Questions of the Day:
Do you enjoy blogging?
And what are your favorite aspects of blogging (or reading blogs)?
Connecting with people who are like you? Learning about new foods and trying out recipes? Taking photos? Looking back on your old posts?
By the way, if you want a laugh, check out my very first post.
🙂
I just made my first blogroll and added i you to it! thanks soo sooo much for this post Katie, it is so inspiring to new bloggers like me 🙂
I love sharing my passion for food & fitness! I love creating new recipes and trying new creations! I love TASTE TESTING (minus when my tummy gets too full-it happens:)! I love taking photos and experimenting with what shots look best! I love writing!! I love connecting with others who share the same passion! I love helping who maybe struggling by sharing my knowledge! I love learning from other people & increasing my own knowledge! There may be a few things I left out, but altogether, I LOVE blogging!!
I don’t have many frequent readers but after reading your post, I now feel like a sucessful blogger! Thanks! 😀 I really love blogging, editing my photos to make them look good to others (usually not very sucessful though) and sharing stuff with people, and I guess that love is just enough. Thank you for your wise words! 😀 Rock on!
Awesome tips! I do love to blog and being part of the blogging network. There’s some amazing people in blog land.
Well first off, I definitely consider your blog a success so you are thus extremely qualified to be giving tips! I really enjoy blogging – it’s helped me to get closer to that dream job and for that, I feel so lucky. Unfortunately, I still have that other “not dream job” during the day. So it is a struggle for me to balance them both at times. The hardest thing for me thus far has been writing posts that I think are great and maybe not getting as many reads/comments as I would have thought. It makes me worry that I’m not connected with readers. However, I know that this is an ever-evolving process and I’ll continue to learn and grow as I go along.
I love blogging! Even though it’s a baby blog, it helps me to get my thoughts out. I like writing, I like how it keeps me on track with eating healthy and working out. I love the support I get from other bloggers and I just think it’s fun!! 🙂
Good post 🙂 I would say 90% of the time I am super happy and have a lot of fun on my blog…the only time it feels like a chore is when I’m super tired at the end of a long day of my real job (lawyering) and there are certain days when I think “Gosh, I still have to blog.” I get about 30 readers daily, and I used to check every day to see how many I was getting, but now I don’t care. I just like doing it. I like creating recipes, I like learning about photography, and I like writing. So I guess my bloggy is a success then!
THanks Katie 🙂 I’ve been slacking off with blogging lately, but you just motivated me to blog last night!
I already posted a comment up above, but I just wanted to let you know that your post inspired me to write my own on the subject. I realize that you are a very busy woman (creating delicious treats for us all to try!), but if you get a moment you can read my post here.
So thank you for the inspiration and I look forward to reading the rest of your blogging tips series.
THANK YOU for posting this! xoxo