Five Tips for New Bloggers
Hi guys! It’s Julie from Girl on the Move and I’m here to share some blogging tips with you. I love all of the aspects of blogging and love being able to share what I’ve learned with other bloggers…and learning from other bloggers so I’d love to have you leave your tips in the comments below!
I have been blogging officially for about 18 months now and while I still have a lot to learn there are definitely a few things I wish I would have known when I began this blogging journey. So today I wanted to share five tips I’ve learned along the way for new bloggers.
Bloggers
First, find a tribe! Or a blogging group or community. It doesn’t really matter what you call it, but find other bloggers who can be your people. I absolutely love blogging, but it’s not easy! But if you can connect with other bloggers it will be much easier because you can ask them questions instead of spending hours googling information. You can get their feedback on project ideas, get their support on promoting your most recent post, and just have someone to talk to who understands SEO, monetization, and social media…because chances are your family doesn’t get it! If you’re not sure how to find a tribe, you can reach out to the bloggers behind the blogs you follow and ask them to connect and you can participate in a variety of different Twitter chats to connect with other bloggers. And don’t be afraid to reach out! Worst case is you don’t hear back from them and that’s not really that bad…best case scenario, you find your new blogging BFF!
Second, don’t get overwhelmed by social media! There are approximately 73 different social media platforms where you can build an online presence. Okay, maybe not 73 but there are a LOT! And the reality is you can’t excel at all of them…there are just not enough hours in the day! So, my advice is to find out where your audience/readers spend their time and then learn about how to build a presence on those platforms. When you’re just getting started I wouldn’t worry about more than 3-5 platforms because if you spread yourself too thin, you won’t be effective anywhere and then you’re just wasting time.
Third, it is absolutely possible to make money with your blog, but you probably won’t earn $10,000 this month! It takes time and hard work to build up an audience big enough to earn five figures a month with your blog (although it is possible!) but you can earn money even with a small audience. You can do a lot of research on ways to earn money blogging but what I have found most helpful in terms of research is to do a search for Blogging Income Reports. I do a quick search on Pinterest and then look through other bloggers reports…and get lots of ideas for how I can make money with my own blog!
Fourth, develop your blogging identity and brand. Anyone that follows my blog regularly know there are a few things I am passionate about…cupcakes, running, traveling, and blogging. In fact I get several messages a day from people with links to things related to cupcakes. Cupcake piñatas, cookbooks, magnets, shops, etc…if it’s related to cupcakes, someone has sent me the link. Same goes for running and traveling. Because those things represent my blogging identity and brand I have found it increasingly easier to connect with related brands, companies and products because they knew that people trust my opinions when it comes to those topics. So think about what you what your blogging identity and brand to be, and then start sharing that through posts, social media, and interaction.
Finally, don’t let your blog completely consume you! It can be very tempting, and easy, to spend a lot of your time working on your blog because there is always something more you can be doing. But remember that if you’re not ever pausing to actually live life, you’ll have nothing to blog about. So it’s okay to take an hour (or a whole afternoon!) off from social media and just go out and live life. You’ll come back refreshed and in my experience, a better blogger.
I’d love to hear from you! What tips would you offer new bloggers? If you’re a new blogger, what are you wishing you knew about blogging?
