Blogging Tips

Congratulations! you've made the first step by starting a blog. Now whether you're writing for your own personal reasons or you're blogging to grow a business, it's nice to be on the right track as far as being successful.

1-Begin by choosing a clean, neat layout. Something that is easy to navigate and easy on the eye. Flashy bright colors may throw some people off and they may click the back button real quick. A simple, yet elegant header is important. Font size shouldn't be too small or too large. Your style defines you and gives readers an idea of what you're all about by first impressions.

2-Too much of something can distract a reader, therefore they get out of there and don't have time to deal with all the chaos. If you have too many widgets, apps, music players, etc....it overwhelms the site and gets in the way. Choose what you like wisely. If it doesn't need to be there, get rid of it.

3-Create an about me and contact page. It's important for people to find out about you. We wanna know who we're dealing with. And if we have questions, we want to email you.

4-Make sure your settings fit your layout. Don't let the pictures over lap into the sidebars. Set the width big enough to support your photos.

5-Make sure a subscribe button is easily found.

6-If you're looking to gain readers (aka followers) be sure your Follow with GFC can be seen within a matter of seconds. People want to see it near the top of the page.

7-Post lengths. If your posts are way too long, chances are people will not read and click the back button. It's true. Let's face it. 1 out of 10 People reading your blog have time to read a 20 minute post. Writing is a wonderful thing and we want people to read. Make it a post, not a book.

8-Break up the posts into paragraphs. A bunched up post with a flood of words tied together puts strain on the brain. Separate into paragraphs and mix it up with photos.

9-Include photos. I personally love a ton of photos. Some people don't. But put a mix of photos in your posts and you'll be good to go. We don't want to hear about the handbag you just bought without seeing what it looks like. Your description isn't good enough. Show it off.

10-Make a button. A snazzy one so people can share you.

11-Comment Love. Yes. It's that important. If someone is kind enough to stop by your place, leave a sincere note, then return the love when you get a chance. Ps: Try switching to POP UP in your comments settings because there is a glitch with embed below the post comments and people are having a really hard time showing the love.

12-Turn Word Verification OFF. It's a nuisance. Blogger NOW puts your spam in a separate folder under your comments. NO NEED to HAVE it ON. Turn OFF-You'll get more comments! We Promise.

13-Google Ads. Really. Do you think you are going to make a bazillion dollars. Because more than likely if your blog is being viewed from Networked Blogs or any other referring sites, You won't get credit. They will. It's messy and so not needed. Especially in between your posts. annoying!

14-Don't be rude and leave copy and pasted comments. When visiting a blog, be respectful enough to actually read their post. Leave a sincere comment about their writing, photography. Tell them where you are coming from if you are new to their site. Do Not Leave Comments asking For Follow Backs. It makes people feel very uncomfortable and they won't even bother to check you out. If you go about it the right way, more than likely they will follow you back and that makes for good friendship. Leaving comments such as: "Hi I'm your newest follower from the blog hop, please come follow me back." is extremely rude and inconsiderate. We don't encourage that and you should be smart enough to know that it's just plain ignorant. People don't like that. We're here for building more than just a follow. We're building a community where people feel comfortable in meeting friends and reading new fabulous blogs, not too feel pressured to follow everyone just to clog up our readers. We're strongly authentic.

15-Join blog hops and communities. Get involved. Don't be afraid that everyone is like a #14 {many are but there are a lot who are not}. It's okay to jump in on things that someone else started. Some blogs are too demanding on the rules but many are laid back and here, we require nothing of you to join our hops{except #14}.

16-In regards to #14 and #15: If someone stops by your blog from a hop and leaves such a comment {and it bothers you}, ignore, delete and move on. The authenticity of their own blog is not worth your time. Shameless Self-Promotion Deserves no recognition. 

17-Post often. Posting everyday throughout the week is recommended. It's okay to take breaks, we all need them. But for the most part try to update the blog.

18-Guest Post. It's a really nice thing to be a guest once in a while. And allow others to be a guest of yours. If you're going to be on vacation, look for some guests ahead of time and schedule those posts while you are away.

19-Link. Linking back to sites and other blogs is a must.

20-Exaggerating and Sarcasm is okay. Lying is not.

21-Be real. Say whatever it is that you want to say. It's your blog. People fall in love with you for who you are not what you pretend to be.

22-Remember that a successful blog doesn't happen overnight. It takes work. Sometimes as much as a full time job. So be patient in growing your numbers and get out there as much as possible.

Please take a moment to read and scroll through all of our Tips Posts. They are informational and from our e-course, we've even added to them, so we hope you enjoy. If you want any posts about anything, please don't hesitate to email us and we'll be happy to get the post out.