It was a BIG week for me last week. I celebrated both the one year anniversary of my blog and my birthday. Truthfully, I was a little more excited about my blogaversary. I could stand to not have a birthday or two, but it was a lot of fun to take a look back at the last year of blog writing for me.
There are a lot of reasons why people write blogs. Some blogs are personal, some are knowledge based, others are sales focused…you get the picture. The common theme of blogs is to be recognized. You may be a freelance writer who wants to get noticed, a new business that wants to establish credibility, or possibly build (and monetize) your blog as the go-to place for particular information.
For me, my personal blog organically grew and indicated that there was a need for real time information for moms in transition looking to branch out in the biz world. Moms who were faced with new situations, tween kids, more time to themselves, and the burning desire to build something of their own. I established a need and built my blog just for that group. After a year of pouring myself into the blog, I am about to launch with a media company monetizing the site. I guess this is why the blogaversary was so exciting for me!
Enough about me though. Last night I met with a friend who runs an amazing local business and truly is an authority in her particular vertical. This fabulous woman wants to grow bigger, position herself as a speaker/expert in the national arena, and develop a web presence. Yes, she approached me about helping her set up a blog. A blog positioned within her website (weblog) will help this amazing woman start down the path of these goals.
Of course, my friend asked me for my TOP blogging tips…….
I thought that I would share my Blogging Tricks & Treats:
- Sketch some Skeletons. Before setting up your blog, make some rough notes on topic ideas that you will write about. It is always a good idea to have a few skeleton outlines of posts in your back pocket especially as you start out. In the beginning it is not uncommon to experience ‘blog fright’ and all of sudden be caught wordless. With a few outlines, you can generate posts easily. This is a good habit to keep up throughout blogging.
- Do not be Frightened of your Platform. Choose an easy interface for your blogging backend and educate yourself how to use it. I like WordPress. It is simple, basic, and set up for someone who does not understand writing code. There are a ton of online instructional videos that you can watch that will educate you about various blogging interfaces.
- Glamor your audience. Think about your potential audience when writing up ideas. What is the general personality type that you are writing for? Write in a flavor/style that will be appealing to them. If you are writing for mostly parent-run businesses, bet you they will like to hear little family anecdotes in your post. If you are writing a finance blog, maybe a little humor will help engage readers? Nicole Fende at Small Business Finance Forum does a great job of exactly this!
- Never Scare Away your Audience! Always be truthful and honest with your readers, and do not make claims that you cannot substantiate. Your readers will appreciate your honesty if you do not know something or if you share a mistake that you made.
- Make it a Mixed Bag Sometimes short and sweet is best. Other times, readers want more. Weave different types of posts into your mix. Short posts, Long ones, Videos, and Pictures all help to keep your readers coming back.
- Proof is in the (Pumpkin) Pudding. Make sure to PROOFREAD!! This is always essential!
- Treat yourself to Other Blogs. Make sure to stay in touch with other blogs out there. Spend some time reading blogs in your space/category, and COMMENT!! If you want an active audience on your blog, you need to be active, too.
Hope you enjoyed these Treats (especially because they are way less fattening than the real kind).
Do you have a new blog? Would you add anything to the treat bag?
Feel free to stop in for a treat at my blog http://backngroovemom.com (no tricks allowed).
