When I started my first blog, I just dove right in. I really didn’t know anything about running a successful blog, but through a lot of trial and error, I finally learned the ins and outs of being a webmaster. It took me over a year to become successful, but with my help, it shouldn’t take you nearly as long. Here are a few personal tips I wish I knew when I started my first blog.
- Blogging for money isn’t easy. I had to put this first. There are a lot of websites built around making money with a blog. Far too often, these people have no idea how to actually make money, but rather, they are experimenting with the process. Don’t buy into a $1,000,000 milestone counter on somebody’s blog. 99.999% of bloggers will never become millionaires through a blog. It’s just not feasible.
- Writer’s block is a common occurrence. There comes a time, usually one to two months into a new blog, where you will hit a wall. Here you have two options: A. Push through or B. Throw in the towel. Most bloggers get disheartened around the two month mark due to a lot of effort and nearly no return. Views may be low and income non-existent, but popular blogs aren’t born overnight. If you find yourself struggling for new material and blogging starts to feel like work, take a break for a few days and clear your thoughts. Try and figure out your blog’s direction. Return with a clear mind and the novelty of blogging will return.
- Emphasize your RSS Feed. You know that little orange button that has the quarter circles extending from a circle in the middle? This one: . That’s a link to an RSS feed and they are everywhere. RSS is short for Really Simple Syndication and this is essentially just the text of your new posts delivered through an RSS reader or an email subscription. This little button should be your greatest concern because it allows you to retain readers. Make sure a subscription option is boldly presented on your blog. You want as many feed subscribers as you can get. Sign up at Feedburner.com to learn more about RSS, as well as, manage your blog’s feed.
- Revive old content. Almost every blog lists content in a chronological fashion. While this highlights any updates you make, older content will likely never be visited. Try and link back to at least one older post in every new post that you make. Even though it’s old content to you, it will most likely provide your reader with something new or it could act as background information on your latest post. Don’t let old posts die.
- Communicate with other bloggers. If you are a new blogger, the best thing you can do for self-promotion is to make friends with a popular blogger in your niche. Start slow by leaving comments on their posts and eventually move up to more personal emails. After awhile, you can offer to guest post on their blog, or invite them to guest post on yours. The key here is to make your name well known.
I absolutely agree with you on these points. Sometimes, I want to write on a specific topic, but then either feel lazy, or let my curser blink at me for hours because I don’t know where to start.
I like to look at other people’s blogs to get ideas and learn different writing styles.