Top blogging tips I wish I knew when I started blogging

Blogging tips for beginners

So, you just started blogging, or you have been blogging for a while but wondering how to get loyal readers on your website.

Driving traffic to your website is your most important goal as a blogger, right?

Then this is the right post for you. Free stock photo website details are also included in this post.

Build the right audience from the beginning and enjoy its benefits right from the start. Bypass the heartache of seeing only a few or no views day after day.

Disclosure: This post may have affiliate link(s). They do not cost anything extra to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

I recently published my 100th post. So, take my word when I say that I know how hard it is to create original content and then get it actually seen by the target audience.

In my recent active one year stint of blogging, I have learned many very useful tricks of the trade that I wish someone taught me before I started blogging full-time.

I worked on this day and night and finally I am looking at good traffic on my website. My dream has come true. So, I am writing this post to help everyone who is just starting this hard blogging journey to learn and avoid critical mistakes and boost your blog’s growth.

Blogging Right : Useful pointers for smart blogging

1. SEO

The topmost and most useful way to help your blog is to have good Search Engine Optimization in place for your content. Right from the beginning.

This is because Google search, the God of search engines, picks up your content based on keywords and good content.

If you do not optimize your content with the right keywords, your blog is lost in the tens of millions of pages out there in the online world.

We have good plugins to help us with SEO for any CMS, like we have Yoast plug-in for WordPress. Use it for guidance.

Look up “long-tail keywords”. Make use of them.

Also, you can use Keysearch tool for nailing the right keywords for your article. Keyword Tool and SEMRush are good FREE keyword planners.

SEO is such a vast subject that it can’t be discussed in a single post, but you get the idea!

And make it easy for Google Gods to find you. Make a sitemap and put it in your Google Search Console account. No account yet?? Create the Google Search Console account NOW and add your website details immediately!

2. Use powerful and attractive images

Posts without images can get boring at times. But if you have good photos for the post, they surely receive attention. Don’t you agree?

So, choose your photos appropriately to directly convey the idea of the post. No irrelevant pictures just for attention please.

If you do not have your own images to use, do not copy images from other websites, else you might break the law as it is copyright violation. 

There are great FREE images available on popular websites such as:

Pixabay,

Unsplash,

Pexels ,

Picjumbo,

Picography,

Stoksnap.io,

PikWizard,

and many more sites.

Use these images instead.

Do not forget to resize the images so that you have optimal load time for the page. I use a minimum width of 800 pixels for an image in my post.

There are many free tools to resize the image and my favorites are IrfanView and Picmonkey.

Also, give keyword rich description for title and alt text of the image. Very important for SEO.

On a side note, if you think that your images were copied and used by anyone, you can use specialized companies like Copytrack to take legal action.

3. Blogging Calendar

You will need a calendar to keep track of your post and promotion details. Stay organized to see success. A simple excel sheet also works. You can also use a diary too.

Else, it would be all work and no results because you don’t have any set target. Believe me, it would seem that you keep working away all the time, but at the end of the day complete nothing.

A blog planner is extremely helpful to stick to a schedule and plan out content efficiently. Try this Badass Blog Planner.

If you write down what you want to do each day, it is easy to check those tasks off and work towards your goals.

4. Batching

Batch your tasks to make most of your blogging time. Switching tasks unnecessarily wastes valuable time.

This is probably the most important tip to utilize your blogging time effectively.

For example, outline your drafts for about 3 to 5 articles. Next, get all your images for those 3 to 5 posts ready at a time. Then get the detailed text ready for those posts. Then do the actual posting.

Next step is promoting those posts in social media channels.

In your blogging calendar, you should set aside time for each task separately including time for promotion.

5. Email list

Build your email list. Its importance cannot be stressed enough. If you want your content to be seen, building a list of target audience is the right way. Your content gets engagement from relevant quarters regularly.

Use an opt-in freebie that is helpful to your target audience as a lure to get them to sign up with your website. Always works!

Later when you serious about making money from your blog by selling relevant products both digital and physical, your email list is the first place to advertise that and get guaranteed sales.

 6. Social Media and Blog Promotion

Social Media plays a critical role in getting exposure to your blog. I never knew this before or else I would have reached my blogging goals ages ago!

If you spend 10 hours working on a blog post, you should spend 30 hours promoting it in the initial stages, else your blog would not reach anyone and you end up wasting precious time and your efforts.

Put those social media accounts to good use by promoting your blog there. Create separate accounts for your blog, work on gaining followers and then promote your heart out!

You can use all the social channels like Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube and TikTok.

A website named Trollishly guarantees you spontaneous growth for your right effort. Buying Tiktok likes from Trollishly will increase the visibility of your account and boost your organic audience as well.

I would suggest you to dedicate your efforts in one channel in the beginning to reap maximum benefits. If you do not have accounts on these channels yet, go create them first.

For me Facebook works the best, next is Pinterest. Try and see what works well for you.

Use the free and super useful online tool Canva to create your pins for sharing on Pinterest.

Use a good social share plugin for your blog to make it easy for your readers to share your content. My favorite plugin is AddToAny Share for WordPress. Social Warfare seems to be good too.

Also read: Pinterest 101 for bloggers – Basics for beginners

 7. Quality over Quantity

Whatever you write, you should keep in mind that quality trumps quantity, always!

Even if you have only 10 posts on your blog, it is good if those are of good quality. It is useless to have numerous posts with poor content.

Use any tools online like Grammarly or Slick Write to check your grammar before posting. Always proofread your content before publishing.

If you post something with ridiculous mistakes in it, you would be sure to lose subscribers and will not gain any new ones. Focus on quality!

8. Round Up Posts and Content Upgrade

Have at least one pillar post on your blog which is a round up post of most useful posts on your website.

This will give the readers an opportunity to check out other relevant posts and stay on your website longer.

For example, check out my post Top 10 Travel destinations from Bangalore, where I list the top destinations along with links to relevant posts on each spot.

In continuation to the above point, you can also give relevant links to other posts in every post you write on your website.

9. Back links and toxic links

Try to do guest posts for other bloggers in your area of expertise. This will get you back links to your website and increase your Domain Authority (DA).

Leave good comments on other blogger’s posts in your domain with your website link.

These back links from websites with good DA put you in the good books of Google and other search engines.

But beware of leaving your website link on websites with very low DA, because it does you harm in SEO terms. Some links can turn into toxic back links and drag your website’s DA down too.

Check the DA of any website on MOZ Link Explorer or MOZ Checker.

When you monetize your website using affiliate links, make them nofollow links to be on the good side of search engines.

 10. FB groups sharing

This is a very useful tip to get your blog more eyes on it. Find relevant Facebook groups to share your content on.

Don’t spam the groups. Engage genuinely and share your content whenever you think it would be useful to the members. This will surely give you more views and probably more social shares. Check the group rules to see if posting blog links is allowed before you do so.

Tag the businesses you are writing about and they may share the post too which will maximize viewership of that post.

For example, I share my travel blogs on South Indian destinations in a Travel Buddies group in that area. Many readers find my tips useful and they share it with their friends. See the ripple effect?

Network with other bloggers and learn from experienced bloggers!

11. Good hosting provider

Having is a good hosting provider is more important than you realize. I say this from experience. Struggled with a very slow website and high-downtime with Godaddy. They could not find any issue in the hosting, but the problem was not solved even after wasting hours and hours with their customer care.

I finally moved to Siteground and my site speed skyrocketed. There has never been any downtime. Find the right hosting provider for your website. Do not pay for long term hosting space initially. Test what works for you by paying for a month or so and then jump in with long term plans. I highly recommend Siteground.

Also read: How to move your website to Siteground and why you should do it right now!

**Bonus Tips**

Totally unrelated, but very useful tip!

Blogging can be very addictive. Once you reach your goal of a few page views a day, you keep pushing for more as you taste sweet success!

In turn, you will surely stick to your desk if you are like me and ignore your health and fitness. So, remember to add into your blog schedule a clear slot for exercise and moving around too 😉

Treat your Blog as your Business

Right from the start, if you treat your blog as a business instead of a hobby, you will successfully learns the tricks of the trade faster and monetize your passion too.

Do yourself a favor and start maintaining accounts for your blog right away. You will thank me later when you see how useful your profit and loss sheet for the blog is. It enormously helps in evaluating what you need to do to improve the blog even more.

Form good relationship with readers

This will give you a sense of belonging and satisfaction that you make a difference. After all, in a way, we are all made to enjoy people and community 🙂

I was so happy when that first email came in from a reader, enquiring about a tourist spot I have written about, came in. Fact is, we become happy by helping others!

Conclusion

In the spirit of sharing knowledge, I want to help you realize your blogging dream too.

I am sharing these useful tricks because I feel good when I help someone out, and if you have a smile on your face because of me, I would be jumping for joy. I know, I am born this way 😀

Do let me know if these tips helped you and I would be very glad that I took the huge effort of chalking out such a detailed post of useful pointers for you 🙂

You can do it dear blogging buddy! Cheers!

XO

Priya

Also Read: Struggles of a Stay at Home Mom Blogger: The Ugly Side of Blogging