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 the very informative post, Katie! I still feel like im finding my own groove in the blogosphere…seeing what works for me and what doesnt…just like any creative outlet I’m trying to find my own style and then stick to it! Wish me luck 😉
Good luck! 😉
Hey Katie, thanks for the tips! It’s not just chocolate, but your enthusiasm, that makes your blog so fun to read. As a new blogger, I absolutely love writing Out of Liney, but I’ll try to keep your wisdom in mind for tougher times!
i loved your first post, so cute and down to earth. these are great tips katie, thank you! and I agree, it is all about passion.
Katie, I love your Intro 🙂 So much fun to think back- I used to read your blog from time to time. I didnt really knew what a blog was back then. then I lost your address, but found it again later- and was superhappy 😀
Thanks for your blog tips- your so right! It IS important that it is fun! It really shines through if a writer like to blog or not!
I’m so honored you’ve read my blog for so long lol!
Awww Katie this is great and I would LOVE a series! You’ve come a long way and as a respected and known blogger I, and I’m sure many other bloggers would love to take some pointers from you!
Katie I would love for you to do a series on blogging tips — you have done really well and I really enjoy your blog!
I have been blogging since Aug 2010 and I really like it so far — I did take a 2 month break and I changed the name, but the experience as a whole has been great!
I love this series!!! Girl, you are my inspiration. Thank you for everything you do! Thank you for all of the time you put into your blog. It has really changed me for the better. 🙂 Thank you. 🙂
I love blogging! I know how inspiring and fun it is for me to read other blogger posts, so I love sharing with people my unique perspective and personality and experiences, and hopefully I can inspire them, too!
Omg you’re not going to believe this BUT I have a post about blogging tips in my drafts and am going to be publishing it later today.
It comes at the heels of some recent unfortunate events I’ve found myself at the receiving end of and as much as I have not wanted to write this post, I am going to.
I am keeping it positive, about what to DO, rather than what not to do, when one is starting a blog. Some people truly just don’t know, and I get so many questions about it all, I figure why not. And I have been working on it or a few years, in my mind, that is 🙂 And then bam, you have yours and I know you’ve never done one like this. What are the odds.
Will link you back, of course 🙂
Oh Averie, maybe we are such good friends because we think alike? Haha you and I both know how bloggers’ ideas are often so similar… sometimes I have a post written up in my head, only to see someone else post a VERY similar recipe first, and then I am like, “Oh sh*t, ppl are going to think I copied her if I post now!” LOL but I know that it takes a lot of pre-planning to write a blog post; it’s not just something you think up in a day. So there’s no way I’d ever think you copied me… besides, you have your own creative, crazy mind. It’s one of the best in the blogworld! You have no need of copying mine!
I’ll be excited to read YOUR thoughts on blogging, as I always am! 🙂
You know how sometimes you just really need to see something and then when you do it all just clicks? That’s what this post did for me today. Just last week I started my blog and am really enjoying writing it. But I admit that it’s harder than I thought it would be to take pics and to post every day when I have a very long work day and am usually busy at night. And although I am trying to make peace with the whole- it’s ok if people aren’t reading my blog- the hard part for me is that I feel like it means I’m failing at something- and as a total perfectionist- I HATE to fail. I even just tweeted this morning how bummed I was to find that my 2 comments were actually only spam. Bummer. But reading this has really inspired me to not base my success on readers or comments. Besides- that will come, right? And I need to enjoy the process where I figure this all out 🙂 Thank you again for this post- it really, really spoke to me!
Me too! I just wrote the same exact thing: I needed to hear this!
Glad I am not the only one :). Oh and we have the same name too! 🙂