my top tips for blogging

So earlier in the week I gave a little talk on blogging to a lovely group of ladies here. And here are my top tips which I think make a great blog and a great blogger! Even if you’re starting out you can adopt these and even if you don’t blog these are really important to think about your online presence.

find your niche

I think this is one of the most important things to set you and your blog apart. Is it your love of fashion, your obsession for cleaning/organisation or something in particular. Now if you’re running your business you can still have your blog sharing bits and pieces of your personal life. It gives readers out there a peek behind the scenes which they love, it lets them ask you questions/get to know you and makes your business more personal.

read blogs, comment on blogs and make friends online

people need to find your blog and to do that you need to read similar blogs to yours. This is the most common question I get asked – how do people find my blog because no one is reading it. think about joining up with the link ins which lots of bloggers have each week. Join forums especially digital parents, look for bloggers starting out, run a giveaway, attend events and network – there are some great blog conferences with lots of new bloggers.

blog regularly

you will become a better blogger and your readers will know when to come and read your posts. If you blog all over the place and wonder why you’re losing readers it could be that they’re coming back and there are no recent posts so they stop reading. Let them know when you’ve posted by a simple link on facebook or twitter.

be a real person

no point trying to be someone else or what you think people want to read. it will be a hard act to keep up, be yourself, be honest – if you’re having a tough day share it – they are often my most popular posts!

don’t go too hard too fast

we’ve all seen it, blogger burnout! bloggers who need to step back or wind up their blog. You’ve focused on your blog so much and tweeted yourself to death and tried everything and now you’re burnt out, you didn’t get the results you wanted or followers you wanted and you’ve lost your mojo. If you go at a steady rate, with achievable goals then you’re more likely to stick with it.

use your own photos

I really truly believe in this. Now of course if you’re a fashion blogger or style blogger or say an interiors blogger then you’re going to have inspiration shots. But you want your pictures to be part of your style and if it’s person then why aren’t you using your own pictures. You can use your iphone or little cameras now have great caabilities.

use the same name across all social media

your blog name is your twitter name and your facebook page and your pinterest and your flickr ID and so on. Get it? Make it easy for everyone to find you.This is also good for the search engines because it will be easy for you on google. When people search for your business you want to be on that first page of their search – if you’re using the same name across everything you could found faster for facebook or twitter than your blog. And actually youtube is often the first place you might be found.

watch your language

I read and re-read my blog posts to make sure I don’t have any spelling or grammar mistakes. It’s messy and also not very professional if you’ve got mistakes. Mind you I’m sure in the early weeks after having a baby I haven’t been perfect but really try to watch what you write.

don’t just blog for the $$$$’s

I love that the money came to me when I was least expecting it and has always been a sweetener. If it all dried up tomorrow you’d still find me here blogging and doing what I do. Because I love it. So make sure you are blogging because you love it – it will show and the good things will come to you

don’t be a slave to your traffic

For years I just didn’t even know how many people were coming to my blog. Every monday my stats come in and I check them and that’s it. Don’t obsess over them!

develop a thick skin

just because you’re nice doesn’t mean everyone who reads your blog is. I’m not sure why people need to go out of their way to express their opinions with the purpose of putting me down. So my strategy? Delete and move on. And my new motto is that they need to get on pinterest because they have too much time on their hands.

know your readers

This takes time but look at your readers comments on your blog and questions they ask you. What are people pinning and repinning of yours. Why not have a survey if you need it to find out why readers are coming to your blog.

you can’t please everyone

Knowing that not everyone will like your blog will make it easy to deal with any criticism. I know I won’t win everyone over.

remember your priorities at home

As a stay at home mum your number one priority is caring for your children. Don’t become so obsessed with blogging and being online that no one is getting dinner or baths. I blog at night time or when baby is feeding or super early in the morning when I have an unsettled baby trying to sleep. I do my pinterest and facebook while feeding emerson with the other hand. I make sure my children know I’m there for them.

I get so many invites to launches and events. I have a blanket rule that I don’t go to anything on a weekday because I’m here with all my little ones. And to be honest they are often events in the city when I have 4 little people and there is no way I could do it. I do however go to meetings or grab a coffee if it is to do with my sponsors. But it’s always in my time and when it suits me.

keep your blog layout and design simple

White is best, lots of white. It’s nice to have bright colours for your background and flashing ads but it detracts from your writing so think about your design and what impression it gives to your readers. Make it easy for them to read and think about how your blog looks on mobile phones. Make sure you include social media icons near the top of your blog so people can find you and follow you on facebook, twitter, pinterest and so on. A search button so people can find things in your archives. Your email address, your top posts, a bit of information on you and archives are the basics for me.

social media
Is really important for my blog and just look at traditonal media and how they are using it now. Facebook is where I hang out to share more with you my lovely readers and answer your questions. I love facebook…..perhaps a little too much. Twitter goes way too fast for me and I can’t keep my conversations to a sentence or two. But my FB posts go to twitter automatically.

If you find you can’t do work with social media because you spend so much time doing personal stuff once you’re on there then set times and limits when you’re going to be on there! really important if you have work to do!

And make sure you keep your business and personal pages separate – I make everything on my personal page private. I avoid accepting friendship requests from readers on that page as it’s really for family and school friends etc but the truth is I spend more time on my retro mummy page anyway so that is where my readers want to be.

run your own race
Blogging can be competitive but learnt a long time ago to run my own race and good things would come my way. And they sure did. I really do run my own race. My style is my own. I love the mix of family, craft, food, sponsored posts and the rest of what I write about and I’m happy that way. I love that I know lots of lovely bloggers when I go to events and blog conferences but I also love that I do my own thing and don’t compare myself to anyone else or what they are doing or achieving. It can really take the joy of your successes and achievements and where you are going.

be nice

I don’t think my readers need this because they are all so nice……..but some people like to be controversial, that’s ok. Maybe it will get you more traffic…..for a while. But don’t be controversial at the expense of others. Always be nice and treat other bloggers and your readers as you’d like to be treated. It’s important. Word travels fast….even on the net. And that means no leaving nasty comments or worse – anonymous comments on other blogs you don’t like. If you don’t like it then don’t read it. And make sure you have that mentality.

don’t overshare

No one wants to know everything! Have I ever shared my sex life on here? No. It’s pretty obvious if I have 5 kids under 7 anyway. Know what you will and won’t talk about. And it’s also important for the safety of your family and home that you don’t share too much. Didn’t I learn that the hard way this year? I don’t give out my address, I have a silent number, had the listing for our house changed so it didn’t reveal our address or purchase price and I don’t do school uniforms or logos either. Just little things I always do to keep my family safe. Think about your husband too, show him respect as its not his choice, don’t let off steam about him. Trust me retro daddy can drive me nuts sometimes but you won’t read about it here.

know the etiquette

sometimes as a new blogger it might be hard to know correct etiquette like how do I get on someone’s blog roll or how do I know if I can use that blogger’s photo. My rule is ask nicely first. Don’t copy other people’s blog template or photos. If you want to use a photo of another blogger go and read their policy or ask them first.

And don’t spam your blog posts all over facebook and twitter all day long. Oh that bores me to tears and I almost want to unfollow. Once or twice is enough. And don’t ask for too much info from another blogger. Make it a two way street if you want something from a blogger so that you offer something in return. Try to work with bloggers at your level or a bit higher than you so that you can help each other!

and my last tips I’ll leave you with….
ask questions to enourage a reply from your readers
inspire, motivate, educate with your posts
get your readers coming back from more – so this could be a post in a few parts, giveaways etc
do it because you love it
pace yourself and set yourself realistic goals
monitor your traffic but don’t become obsessed with it – focus on your writing instead

And that is that! Some of it is common sense and some of it you’ve heard before but the ladies enjoyed my talk so I knew I had to share it with my lovely ladies out there………………..