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.
🙂
Thanks for this post! I think my favorite parts of blogging are the writing and connecting with other bloggers : )
my favorite part of blog reading is trying out the recipes! when i first became a vegan, i was eating so boring, just salads all the time, because that’s what i thought vegans ate! my world has been turned completely over by blogs like yours. 🙂
Awesome post! I would love a series on blogging tips 😀 I’ve made some pretty stupid mistakes in the short time I’ve been blogging, but I guess everyone makes mistakes. And I really do enjoy blogging and sharing my recipes and food. And honestly if no one read it I’d still like having a place to keep all my recipes 😀
“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, then it is successful. Period.”
This is so so true! I took up blogging in 2005 and continue to this day – it’s all sorts of fun to read back on my personal journey. Although my blog is more like a personal diary style thing I have gathered a number of readers over the years and I’m all like “who are you?!”. Except for real life friends no one ever comments and frankly, my ramblings are not really that interesting, haha.
I just love to read bigger blogs like yours, they have and continue to inspire me so much. You can’t imagine how excited I was to stumble upon a Whole Foods in London … I bought so many bars I had read about on blogs but aren’t available where I live. Crazy, lol.
Point is: your blog is totally rad! 😀
Aww thank you! And I’m so impressed you’ve been blogging since 2005!
I LOVE to blog! I think meeting new people from all over the country (and world) is so much fun. Plus, it gives me a creative outlet to express myself.
Also, didn’t realize you went to SMU! I work at TCU, but think SMU’s campus is amazingly beautiful 🙂
Haha my mom always thought I should’ve gone to TCU, because it’s close to Spiral Diner… she was like, “Then you can work there!”
Silly mommy, thinking I would base my decision on the location of a restaurant. Moms always want to make sure we’re fed! 😉
Yes, please do a series on blogging tips. This post helped me SO much!
I can tell you love blogging by the way you write- thats how I can tell if Im going to follow a blog or not!
I LOVE blogging. I love writing reviews, trying new samples, commenting on other peoples blogs, its SO much fun!
and although you may not think you are in “the same league” as other bloggers, I think yours is SO successful. YOu have so many followers and ppl like myself who LOVE this blog!! 🙂
here’s to Chocolate Covered Katie blog!! 🙂
Aww BIG chocolate hugs to you, Lisa!
YAY! I’m new to blogging, so it’s always good to have any tips and advice, particularly from a blogger as amazing as you! Thanks for this!
Im new here, but I love blogging so far! I cant wait to look back on posts a while from now and see how or if I have changed!
yes, you are most definitely a successful blogger. There are two kinds of blogs in my RSS feed, blogs that I want to read and blogs that I have to read. Yours is the former. I subscribe to a lot of food blogs, yours is one of the more fun ones to read 🙂
I’ve been blogging since, well, blogs existed, but it’s more like a diary than anything. I never cared if anyone read it. I have a few close online friends who come comment on my blog and then I comment on their blog and in some cases, this has gone on for years and years.
Mostly, I like having a record of my life. It’s a lot of fun going back and reading entries from years ago.
This is an entry from June 2002, my how far I’ve come 😀
“OK, is there some like huge conspiracy against comic sans ms? Like seriously! i’ve gotten about 5 complaints about my font today. They’re all like, comic sans, hiss boo! Ya know what! I happen to like comic sans ms. In fact, it is my favoritest font! And if u have a problem wit dat, den too bad”
Wow, I am in awe that you’ve been blogging since 2001! I thought I’d been around a long time, but you have me beat by like 7 years!