The Geeky Shopaholic

What I’ve learned about blogging so far

5th September 2011 | Blogging | 8 comments

I have been blogging for a little over a year now, and I’ve learned a lot in that year. While I still have a lot more to learn, I thought I would share some things that I have had the biggest impact on the way I blog.

Use Short Paragraphs
This was actually something that I figured out on my own. I just thought about the fact that when faced with a very long paragraph of text, I usually didn’t read it. I just move on to the next blog. And I don’t want people to do that with my blog. I have since found other bloggers offering this same advice, so I know it’s good.

Link to Your Own Posts Within Your Post
I read Penelope Trunk religiously, and she is an absolute master at this! The first time I visited her blog, I was there for over an hour, just following links from one post to another. It taught me a great lesson about how to keep someone on your blog, just point them to where they need to go next.

Schedule Your Posts
It was Michelle Rafter’s Blog that first introduced me to the idea of scheduling my posts, and it has really changed the way I blog. I always felt like I had to write and publish my posts right then, right in the moment. Scheduling my posts took a lot of that pressure off, and because of that I actually write more often.

Use Twitter to Promote Your Posts
I am horrible at promoting my blog, I just am, and I know it is something that I have to work on. So, one of the things that I am doing, is tweeting about my posts. I usually tweet twice a day, and since I have been doing this, I have seen my unique visitor count go up a lot.

Make Sure People Can Subscribe to Your Blog
Besides my Twitter account, I also use FeedBurner which offers my visitors lots of options to subscribe to my blog. And thanks to Dayle, who pointed out that I didn’t have an e-mail option, I now offer that as well. :)

Things I still need to work on:
Adding images to my posts.
Commenting more on other blogs.
Writing posts that make people want to comment here.
Finding my niche.

So, what have you learned about blogging that could be helpful to me or others? Let me know in the comments! :)

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8 Comments

Dayle Fraschilla

11th September 2011 at 1:17 AM permalink

I used to blog a bit on MySpace and I had a LiveJournal account once (but that was more personal). I only *really* started blogging this past February.

I totally agree with everything you said here, and I have learned much of the same.

I haven’t used scheduled posts yet, but I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately. When I participated in the May blogathon, my readership skyrocketed. Now, it’s kind of dwindled down a bit. I want to get back in the habit of posting at least 3 to 5 times a week, and I definitely think scheduled posting is the way to go!

I’m also trying to comment more on others’ blogs . . . and to share other people’s blogs, which I often forget to do.

Great post, Paula!

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Dayle Fraschilla

11th September 2011 at 1:25 AM permalink

Oh oh oh! One more suggestion :P

Can you add an option to subscribe to comments? I usually remember to check back to see if you’ve responded to my comments (especially because it seems like you always do), but I like getting email notifications that there’s replies to my comments! (If you haven’t noticed, I kind of live by my email :P )

[Reply]

Paula

11th September 2011 at 7:09 PM permalink

Scheduling posts is awesome! You’ll love it. Oh, the Word Count Blogathon was how I started reading your blog. :)

Yes, great suggestion! I have been thinking about doing this. I just have to figure out how to do it! lol There are so many options, so I need to do a little research.

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Mira

17th September 2011 at 6:50 AM permalink

Yes, those are the basics. I suck at implementing them, though.

This is particularly true for scheduling posts, which in turn makes me blog not as often as I should. So people come, comment, follow, and then I disappear and they go. Which is understandable.

So I guess the tip number one should be: blog often. Blog often!!!

Ok, not several times a day. But at least two to three times a week.

[Reply]

geeky_shopaholic

17th September 2011 at 3:09 PM permalink

LOL There are times when I do really well with scheduling posts, and then times when I suck at it as well. I have a lot of ideas, but sometimes I just lack in motivation. Self-discipline has never been my strong point. :)

Your number one tip is a great one and one that I forgot. Blog often! If I would blog more often, then that would make scheduling posts a lot easier. lol

[Reply]

Carissa

20th September 2011 at 3:58 PM permalink

That’s a good question! I’ve been blogging since 2004? On different platforms but just started really getting into less than a year ago. A few things I’ve learned:

-use good pictures. People like bright, big, fun pictures. I don’t always achieve that. But I try sometimes! :)
-don’t post because you feel like you have to. do it because you want to and you like the post/topic. quality not quantity.
-if it stops being fun or stresses you out, take a break for a bit. Be creative, go for a walk, brainstorm ideas with a friend, drink a lot of coffee–ok maybe not that one.
-always make new friends. blogging can be so fun when you have great blogger friends that you comment on their blogs, they comment on yours, and you build a friendship. It’s one of my favorite things about blogging. The connection you can make with people you have never met.
ok that’s the end of my novel! :)

[Reply]

Carissa

20th September 2011 at 3:59 PM permalink

p.s. I really like the idea of this post! I might do my own version of these days!

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Paula

20th September 2011 at 6:51 PM permalink

Carissa, you definitely need to do a blog post on this topic. You gave some great tips there! I especially like the quality over quantity one. I keep meaning to start adding pictures to my posts, because I really enjoy that on other blogs. :)

[Reply]

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