Blogging 101: A couple of tips...

One of the emails I get from readers most often is something along the lines of "how do I get more readers to my blog?", "how did you get your blog known?", or "how do I keep readers interested enough to come back to my blog?" As the slogan reads, "a couple of tips which may or may not help you on your way to writing a successful blog" because honestly i'm far from a blogging expert. That said, I will throw in my two-cents about what *I* think makes a good blog because I do like to read other blogs and theres always that something that keeps me coming back to certain blogs. I really can't stress it enough that i'm not a know-it-all, and my blog is still a baby in comparison to many, but I hope this will at least help one person who is new to the blogging world!

DO blog for you. Its very easy to tell when someone is writing about a subject they have no interest in. I know that everyone wants a "successful" blog and wants to keep their readers interested, but your heart has to be in it.


DON'T feel pressured to keep up a certain standard or improve your content when you gain X amount of readers, its important to remember they followed your blog for a reason - they liked it how it is! If you decide to change things, do it for YOU.


DO update when you want to. Similar tip to the others but I don't update as much as other bloggers. I honestly don't have something to say every single day and don't dress up every day either. I don't want to fill my blog with posts that mean nothing to me.


DON'T feel pressured to write about one certain topic. I began with just fashion-related posts and recently began my "Friday Favorites" series and I have received a positive response about it. Its your blog so don't limit yourself! There are endless topics to post about.


DO interact with your readers. You don't have to become BFF's but it doesn't hurt to drop by their blogs now and then. I have quite a few followers on twitter who read my blog, I always tweet back!


DON'T feel that you have to pay for advertising on other blogs/websites to gain followers. I never signed up for paid advertising and I haven't promoted my blog anywhere. I just comments on blogs that I enjoy.


DO comment on blogs you enjoy. Some people say its a bad idea to leave your link at the bottom of a comment but I have done so since I started blogging (I'm lazy and do it for the benefit of other lazy people because bloggers commenting system is terrible!)


DON'T take advantage of 007 by leaving comments like "nice blog. follow me? ill follow you back. please follow me. follow 4 follow. www.myblognameandurlhere.com oh and im having a giveaway. please enter. tell all of your readers to enter www.giveawayurl.com oh and make sure you follow me!!!!" I'm pretty sure such comments tick off 99.9% of bloggers.


DO have a nice, easy-to-navigate theme. I edited mine from one of Bloggers basic codes and *I think* its easy for people to find their way around my blog! Its annoying to find a really good blog that is designed badly and takes half an hour to find what you're looking for!


DON'T get discouraged if you lose a follower after a certain post. There will always be people who unfollow for many reasons but for every follower you lose, in time you will gain a new follower and a couple extra!


DO share what you feel comfortable with. I don't write about my personal life - my friends, what I do every day, my job, my family - nothing! My friends are mostly men who don't have an interest in fashion/blogs, plus I just don't think the internet needs to know what I ate for lunch and danced to in the club on Saturday night. Its YOUR call how much you share, nobody will resent you for wanting to keep your private life private.


DON'T start a blog because you want free things. Yes, many bloggers get approached by companies to review products, some even get paid to write the review. But honestly, this should not be one of the things that pops into your head when you think of the positive side of blogging. I have been blogging almost one year and have not made any money from my blog. I have reviewed products from two companies and turned down over a dozen, simply because the products don't appeal to me or my readers. Its fine to review products and earn money from your blog, but it shouldn't be the main reason behind creating a blog!


And of course the obvious tips should be: ♥ Don't clutter your blog layout with a million advertisements and random pictures ♥ High quality images are always a plus - cropped, in focus, bright and not distracting ♥ If you use images from another source, always include a credit link back to their webpage/blog ♥ Don't give up if you haven't got lots of readers straight away, if you believe in your blog then stick with it and network as much as possible ♥ Haters come with blogging, you're putting yourself "out there" so, as sad as this may sound, you have to expect mean comments. Don't let them get you down! For every hater there will be hundreds of lovely people. ♥ Never compare your blog to other blogs. Similar to what I said in a recent post about being comfortable with your body - there will always be someone with more followers, better pictures, a lavish lifestyle, etc. You are you.. and that is special enough. :) ♥ ENJOY your blog! Blogging is incredible and I really can't imagine my life without it. I have talked to so many interesting girls (and even a couple of men!) from all over the world, whom I never would have known had it not been for my little blog!

xoxo