Top 5 lessons I’ve learned from blogging
Today’s post is a guest post by Kathy Cakebread, editor of Glitz and Glamour Makeup. I’m always happy for bloggers to share their journeys on my blog so do drop me an email if you’d like to share a post too!
When I started blogging in 2009 the blogging industry was very new and the blogger/brand relationship was taking its first baby steps. Fast forward ten years and the blogging industry is very different. Blogging is a multi-million-pound industry and almost everyone seems to have a blog. In those ten years, I’ve learnt a lot but there are 5 things that have impacted my blogging life the m
Keywords are so important
It wasn’t till the last few years that I’ve realised the importance of keywords. Keywords are vital for SEO and giving your blog post a chance to reach the first few spots on Google. There’s nothing more exciting than working hard on your keywords and then watching it pay off when organic Google traffic starts to flow in. Some keywords are more popular than others so it’s important to plan out your keyword strategy according to how competitive they are and the popularity of other websites using that keyword. Long tail keywords and using similar phrases is a good way of increasing your posts ranking. A good website to start with is KWFinder, you’ll get 5 free searches a day and the tool is incredibly handy.
Scheduling is Key
Back in the day I used to write a post and publish it the same day. Working that way requires you to be very motivated and in the mindset to write on the spot. Nowadays I prefer to write my content when I get an idea and then schedule it to go live at a later date. This means I’m not attached to my blog and don’t have to stick to a specific time in which I need to start writing.
Promotion is Vital to Success
When a movie, TV show or album is due for release do you notice how you are inundated with promotions about the product? Whether it’s a trailer, interview, review or image every mention makes you more intrigued in what it’s all about. It works the same way for a blog, promotion is vital for people to find out about your latest post/video and get people interested in finding out more. The best way of getting people to visit your post is to demonstrate why they need to read it. Maybe it’ll help them deal with a problem they have like the best ways to stay healthy during Winter or a review on the latest mascara that could rival false lashes.
Don’t compare yourselves to others
When you see a blogger that has only been blogging three months and has had 75,000 page views, it can be easy to feel despondent. What are they doing that you’re not? Why does no one want to visit your blog? Everyone is different and works at different speeds, blogging is not a competition. What’s important is that you have set blogging goals that you will meet in your own time. See these successful bloggers as an inspiration, not your competition and you’ll feel better in no time.
Take time out!
Whether you’re a full or part time blogger it can be very easy to spend all your focus on your blog. Whilst I highly recommend spending time on improving your blog and finding ways to get more traffic, you should always spend time on you and making sure you take regular breaks. Spending every waking moment on something can quickly lead to blogger burn out and over time a disinterest in blogging. After all if you worked a 9-5 you wouldn’t expect to work 8 hours without a break would you- in fact it’s illegal! So take care of yourself first and that will help you make your blog bigger and better.