Sunday, May 10, 2020

MY TIPS ON BLOGGING

Now more than ever seems to be the perfect time to start a blog. With all this free time on our hands because of quarantine, a number of people have messaged me asking for advice on starting a blog. I thought I would share some tips that have got me to where I am today with my own blog. I’m by no means an expert on this subject, but having blogged for almost 2 years now and being well on my way to 50,000 views, I thought I would share some tips, tricks and hacks that could really benefit your own blog if you are planning on starting one soon! 




Pick the right blogging service (Blogger, WordPress, Wix etc):
Days were spent picking the right site for my blog! I ended up choosing Blogger. For me, I had heard that WordPress was quite awkward to work around; I knew I wanted something simple for me to use and easy for a reader to navigate. Wix was a no for me as well, simply because it would be harder for me to reply to potential comments, plus I found that Wix is extremely limiting when it comes to arranging your site. I found my theme on the website “pipdig.” I chose the theme “Aquae” which cost me £49 to install. Slightly pricy, but if you stick to your blogging like I have, it is worth every penny. Also, probably one of the most commented things about my blog is the way it looks; professional and fun, all you could ask for in a blog! Your blogs appearance is really important. People judge a book by its cover, and they may judge your blog for its homepage rather than its content, so make it stand out. 

Accessibility:
This was so important for me. I wanted to make sure that my URL could be concise and memorable. So, I purchased the domain “bobbisblog.co.uk” making it super easy to hit into your browser and it means I am the first result on Google – win win. Google charge me £10 a year to use the domain “.co.uk” which is so worth it if you want something sweet and simple. Using my nickname in the title also makes my blog more personal and friendly, like I am just having a chat with my readers in my posts!

Know the theme of your blog:
Are you passionate about travel? Will you blog about your baking? Blogging about mental health take your fancy? Maybe it’s all three! Either way, it’s great if you can find a title and theme of your blog that can encompass all that you write about. For me that was a little hard. I started my blog as a mental health blog, but within a month it turned into an everything blog (most of my posts are travel related now)! The name “Bobbi’s Blog” is non-specific and lets my readers know that they could stumble on anything that takes their interest on my site. It truly is a space anyone can enjoy!

Getting your blog “out there”:
If your blogging goal is to reach a wide audience, it’s important to use and abuse your social media accounts. As soon as I started my blog, I set up a Facebook page to publish my posts in. A lot of the views I get on my blog, come from Facebook. Another useful site to use is Twitter. I am part of a few blogger groups on here; it’s a wonderful community and we all help each other reach our goals. Having almost 1,000 followers on Instagram, I use this platform to advertise my posts and engage with my audience, all resulting in my blog reaching every continent (besides Antarctica), and consistently having a large number of views – pretty impressive if you ask me! 

General tips for your blogging space:
1.     It’s important to set realistic goals for your blog. The blogging community is saturated with a wide variety of blogs, meaning it’s hard to be unique and truly stand out. As a result of this, don’t be disheartened if you’re receiving few views. Everyone has to start somewhere, and with time your blog will grow! 

2.     Honesty is key in a blog. Don’t feel as though you need to come across as airbrushed and perfect. People come to blogs to find honest reviews on holidays, makeup, recipes etc. amongst other things. As an example, when I was blogging about my stay in Koh Tao in Thailand (which was essentially 4 days of hell), I was close to omitting the full details of what went wrong. My sister helped me realise that it was important to be open and honest about our experiences, that way I was able to help and advise other people planning a trip to Koh Tao. 

3.     Be as frequent with your posting as you can. This does not necessarily mean uploading every day but uploading once a week or a couple times a month will do wonders with the interactions on your blog and the amount of attention it gets! Sporadically uploading a post every couple of months will result in your views dropping. Now of course, a lot of us are busy and don’t have time to regularly post, but many sites (like Blogger) allow you to schedule a post weeks before you want it up, meaning you can work it around your busy schedule. (Of course, follow this tip if getting high views on your blog is your goal). 

A blog is a fantastic place to share emotions, marvel at people’s travels, make friends, and build your confidence. I am so lucky to be part of such a loving community. With any hope, these tips will help aspiring bloggers or people who are apprehensive to start. 

Remember, your blog is YOUR space. You can create the rules for it. Upload what you want, when you want to. That’s the beauty of having a space that is completely your own! 

And I am open to tips myself! I am not a pro blogger, so any tips would be appreciated! 

Happy blogging lovelies!

B x   
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34 comments

  1. Great advice for those just getting started and not sure where to put their focus.

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  2. I love this advice, thank you for sharing your tips. I'm over at until-another-day.com x

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    1. Thanks for reading and I am so happy I was able to help! I'll check your blog out now!

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  3. Having a blog - a place totally your own is pretty awesome. I've been blogging for two years now, and I'm learning a lot. I have a Facebook account, but didn't make a page for my blog yet. That's a great idea, by the way. Thanks for the tips!

    Fritzie | www.lifetravelsoul.com

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    1. No worries, I find that having a Facebook page really boosts my views, it's easy for my friends and family to keep up with my content! Will check your blog out now! x

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  4. Some great advice here! I'm fairly new to blogging but what I've learned so far is that there's SO much to do. I don't think I knew it would be so much work, but I'm loving it! I agree that we all have to set realistic goals. As much as we all want our blogs to take off straight off the bat that's not realistically going to happen. I like setting myself smaller goals and then slowly building up to the bigger goals!

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    1. Yes, I completely agree with you! There is a lot of work to do when it comes to a blog, especially when you are trying to get it out there. I love blogging, and it's great that I have so much time to focus on my blog now! Setting realistic goals is so important - when I first started I though it would have a few hundred views every few weeks, but it's exceeded all my expectations! Hope these tips were helpful for you! x

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  5. I love your points on naming your blog, and honesty. It is tempting to write what people want to see, but then it gets hard to share things that are important to you. Sharing things I love helps me meet people who love the same things, and that always makes me smile.

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    1. Thank you! It took me a while to think of a title, glad I chose what I did and I haven't had any urges to change it! Having a title that can encompass all that I write about means I won't fall in to the trap of needing to start another blog - I love that all of my stuff is in one place! And yes, I love meeting like-minded people on my blog, so many lovely people in the blogging community! x

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  6. I loved this post as a new blogger, so thank you for sharing! It really affirmed to me that I'm doing the right thing by using my 'real' voice rather than airbrushing myself into what I think people want to see.

    Nadine | www.beingnadine.co.uk

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    1. No worries hun, happy to help! Wish I could have read a similar post to this one when I started out as a blogger, think it would have really helped me. Yes being honest is so important in blog posts! Coming across as perfect and airbrushed all the time can be quite fake to read, glad you recognise that too! x

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  7. These are such great tips for anyone who wants to start a blog! I agree that it's important to remain authentic and not pretend to be something you're not. Also, I love your dress!

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    1. No worries, so glad the tips are helpful to you! It's easy to fall in to the trap of not being authentic, being honest makes it more personal! Aw thank you so much x

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  8. These are great tips for anyone who is thinking of starting a blog
    Thank you for sharing

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  9. Great advice. Thank you for sharing these tips. x

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  10. Very useful and practical post! Thanks for sharing

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    1. Thanks for reading, glad you found it helpful! x

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  11. There are some great tips here. I like that you have shared prices, too. That always overwhelms me when I think about going self hosted!
    Al x

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    1. Glad I could be of help to you! Yeah, I feel it's important to know the prices of everything before you get started, but obviously there are ways to do it completely for free! x

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  12. Thank you! This is very useful to me as I've just started a blog and needed a few tips

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    1. Happy to have helped! Hope your new blog goes well! x

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  13. I found your tips really useful especially the social part and connecting with people. I never knew how important it is to be social and now, I have found the most amazing community on Twitter.

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    1. The blogging groups on Twitter are honestly amazing and are the reason I get so many comments on each of my posts! Happy you have found these tips useful! x

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  14. Great post!

    It's so ice to see another blogger using blogger - So many people use wordpress and I have considered moving across but I'm comfortable with blogger right now!

    These are some great tips!

    K x

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    1. I LOVE blogger - so happy I made the decision to go with it! I hear WordPress has improved now, but I won't be moving over anytime soon! Thanks for reading my post! x

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  15. These are great tips! I've been blogging for two years as well. Loved the read ♥

    Deandra|theblackprincessdiaries.com

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    1. Glad you enjoyed reading my post! Hope the tips are helpful! x

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  16. Thank you so much for sharing! I just started blogging a couple of months ago and these tips are very helpful 🤗

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    1. Glad to see I can be of help to you! Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to read my post! x

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