It's the blog's half-birthday so here's a list of 6! I started this blog with no idea about blogs, blogging or social media in general really. Since then I have devoured advice, scoured the web for inspiration and tried out as much as I could understand....and in 6 months have gone from no page views to thousands. These are the 6 things that I have found are most useful and have the most impact...I'm not saying I did them all but I certainly would now if I started again!
Think carefully about your blog's name
Obviously. But does it need to reflect you, or what your blog is about? or are you grabbing attention? Some of your first ideas may well already be taken so you might have to be a bit creative.
Do seriously think about the length of your blog name - Pinterest and Twitter will only take a certain amount of characters and you want it to make sense across all the networks you are using. I have user profiles that aren't the full title of my blog because they don't fit. If I started again I would probably choose something else!
Embrace social media
Bloggers communicate and draw traffic from multiple platforms. This means you need to be identifiable and accessible as a website and through social media. A lot of traffic for this blog comes from Twitter and Pinterest...(I haven't really got the hang of Facebook or Google+ yet). Every network you use is potential advertising for your blog.
If you aren't already using Bloglovin' then get on there and claim your blog. It's yet another way to engage with readers.
All these accounts should appear on the blog so that it's easy to follow. Pretty much all of them have a way of embedding widgets somewhere.
Be consistent
Invest time in your bio, then keep this consistent across your social media accounts too (the 'about' page of your blog gets a lot more views than you would think). This is the most crucial task before you begin to write as you are letting people know all about your blog in very few words. Many social media platforms display a wide range of images in one go. This is easy for readers to quickly peruse a large amount of content, but can mean that there is a danger of getting lost in the crowd. Keeping consistency in the styles you use - visually and in content - helps to maintain a strong identity.
For instance ByRegina uses the same font and layout for all her Pins. I know whenever I am browsing Pinterest which Pins are hers and I always follow them through because I know her content is awesome.
Pick a palette
There are a ton of articles that show that keeping to a colour palette of about three key colours, rather than a wide variety, is more preferable for readers. It is visually more pleasing and also then contributes to establishing a consistent presence.
Developing an Instagram 'palette' also helps to maintain a strong identity, and helps to curate the content that is posted so it is consistent with the blog too. For instance, I chose words like feminine, modern and romantic when I wanted to sum up what my blog was about. The colours I picked were from a pinky peach area of the colour wheel, with a soft grey and white. If I have to pick accents I pick an aqua or a gold. The images that find their way to my Instagram keep mainly to these colours and include feminine things like flowers.
Optimise images
There is so much to learn about blog photography and use of images it is unreal. The basics that I have siphoned off in 6 months are:
- Use natural lighting wherever you can for photos.
- Edit photos so that they are bright and clean.
- Use Picmonkey to resize images for faster page loading.
- Use Canva to create blog titles for your blog page and for Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter....whatever your poison.
- Use different sized or shaped images for different platforms. Pinterest likes vertical images, Instagram like squares...everything else is kind of landscape rectangle.
- Make images 'Pinnable', then Pin them.
- Use free stock photos...as in royalty and permission free. There lots that you can use if you know where to look.
The photos in this post are from It's Pinkpot and Creative Convex. (Thank you Chaitra for the brilliant freebies!)
Get in the conversation
Add Disqus to your blog to manage comments, and make sure you comment on other blogs too. Leave genuine comments and people will read them. Every blogger wants people who have enjoyed their post to engage with comments, so share the love by leaving your own. Eventually people will follow back to your blog and will be leaving their own too.
Find a Twitter chat or two that takes your fancy and get involved. It is one of the most powerful ways of seeing what other bloggers are up to, and getting your blog out there. Finding collaborative Pinterest boards also helps with your blog network.
This Essential Guide for Beginner Bloggers contains the most useful blogging blogs that I have come across so far, with lots of tips for getting to grips with these fundamentals.
What would you say is crucial for bloggers to get to grips with in their first year?
6 blogging fundamentals you need to know in your first year from @petitepassions blog #bloggers #lbloggers
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