5 Things I Wish I Knew When I First Started Blogging
I started blogging before it was popular and have watched it change over time. There are so many things that I wish I had known when I first started blogging for The Life of a Home Mom. So many times I wish I had jumped in and got my feet wet through the years when I just stayed in the sidelines waiting to see what would happen. For those that are just starting out I hope these few tips help you out.
1 Consistency in posting is extremely important. If you are consistently posting on your blog your readership will go up and your readers will get use to visiting often. When you slow down the pace or are sporadic your readership will go down and possibly stop. I would suggest to start making a schedule of what types of posts you’ll be doing on a weekly basis. Ex: Monday could be Menu Monday and Wednesday would be Wordless Wednesday.
2 Comment back. If you are lucky enough to get someone that comments on your posts (especially in the beginning) make sure to comment back on your post and visit their blog and leave a comment. By visiting their blog you could possibly find a new reader. Keep in mind that you have posted your blog for the public to see and have expressed your own opinions which means you will get everyone else’s opinions too, which won’t always coincide with yours.
3 Take nice photos. Make sure not to post a very blurry photo. When you take the time to focus your camera or even use picmonkey to edit it your readers will enjoy your posts more. Try to include a photo on every post, it makes them a little more interesting.
4 Follow the rules to blogging. Believe it or not, even though blogging (when I began) is still a new frontier there are already rules in place. Find out what the FTC rules are when you begin and if you are reviewing products follow all the guidelines, make sure everyone knows what you got for the product, etc. Do not forget to claim everything on taxes. Another little secret is that Google doesn’t always like when you do paid posts and they will zap you when you don’t expect it.
5 Your blog is your business treat it like one. Don’t forget about your blog when it isn’t convenient, you wouldn’t walk away from a business because you have deadlines. Make sure to make a mission statement and stick to it. Set up company hours of when you will blog, review products, answer emails, etc. What will you allow to go on in your office? Will you set up a portion of your home for it?
When you first get up, make sure you are dressed and ready for the day so you can be more productive. Remember that this is YOUR business and if you wouldn’t do something in an office setting why would you do it now. Your time is worth money, no matter what anyone tells you. Don’t forget to watch your stats, you want to see when the best time for your visitors to stop by your blog because that will be the time you want to be sure to have new posts up.
I need to get better at commenting back. I tend to get behind with life and forget to do that.
Great tips, Eliza! Number 2 and 3 are pretty critical I’d say. I always try to comment back when I can, though sometimes it gets impossible when there’s dozens of comments on a single post. As for photos, I used to not care, and now I really try to take better photos if I have the time. An iPhone is great and convenient, but my Digital SLR takes SO much better pics. It’s really worth the time and effort.
These are great tips! The one I probably still have the most issues with is consistency. Just today I made up a calendar of posts I want to get done so I can get better with that.
I comment back but am afraid I need a different plugin because this one makes all my comments go to the bottom instead of directly after the person I am commenting back on.
Great tips! I agree with them all, especially treating your blog like a business. Professionalism is extremely important.
I keep saying I am going to go back and re-photograph everything I have ever made… MAN some of my old pictures are TERRIBLE lol Great list!
I wish I would’ve started off on WordPress instead of Blogger. Wish these tips would’ve been around 6 yrs ago when I started, but back then everyone was doing it the same as me. lol
I am horrible at commenting back. I need to get in the habit of making it part of my daily routine.
Those are great tips! I have been blogging for 3 years, and I am still pretty awful about treating my blog as my own business. I always call it my ‘small blog’ but the fact is, it’s growing and I shouldn’t ‘bad mouth it’ by calling it small.
I just died a little inside when you said to be up and dressed for the day. I blog so I can wear my jammies as long as possible.
Lee 😉
These are all things that I’m still learning, even the hard way! Thanks for the reminder though!
Great points!! If your blog is your business treat it like one…great reminder!
These are great tips. I need to comment back more…
There are so many things I didn’t know to do when I started way back in 2008. I don’t think many did though. If I could go back and to one thing better it would have been better organization with my categories and tags!
Great tips and thank you for the awesome advise. I will try and step outside of my comfort zone and start pitching
Yep…I can relate! We learn as we go. 🙂