Becoming a blogger is a lot of work and there is so much you need to know! I’ve been blogging for almost three years now and let me tell you, starting a successful blog is not easy. It takes a lot of time and effort, but it’s definitely worth it!
Today, I thought I’d share 15 of my best blogging tips that I’ve learned over the past few years. These are tips that every new (and seasoned) blogger should know!
I first started Sunday Mimosas back in 2018 when I knew absolutely nothing about the blogging world or making money blogging. I learned as I went. I spent countless hours watching YouTube videos, reading other blogs, searching on Google, and taking online courses. Finally after three years, I feel like I have a pretty good handle on this blogging thing! So, I thought I’d share everything I’ve learned with you!
If you are just starting out and your goal is to become a successful blogger, keep reading! This post is going to be very informational and packed with value, so get ready to takes notes. I’m sharing 15 of my best blogging tips to help you grow and build a profitable blog.
Let me first say, if you haven’t built your website yet, stop what you’re doing and read this post! I walk you through an easy to follow, step by step guide to creating and launching a successful, money-making blog. There’s also a special discount code to set up your website for just $3.95/mo.
Here are the 15 things I wish I would’ve known before becoming a blogger!
1. You can’t just hit publish on a new blog post and expect people to read it
When I first started blogging, I assumed that when I clicked publish on a new post that people would automatically read it. Don’t ask me why I thought this! But, boy was I wrong. In reality, when you click that publish button, nothing actually happens. Yes, it’s live on your site, but if you don’t do any marketing, your post will never be seen.
Promoting your posts is arguably the most important part (after actually writing the post)! That means, making pins for Pinterest and sharing them across your boards (I’ll talk more about Pinterest later in this post), sharing your posts on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, in any blogging groups you’re a part of, on Bloglovin’ and/or any other platform you use.
Share your blog posts anywhere and everywhere! The more platforms you share your posts on, the more people that will potentially see your posts, read them, and share them with others!
2. Optimizing your posts for SEO is so important.
I never quite understood the importance of SEO, or search engine optimization, until this past year and it has been a game-changer! Last year, I installed the SEO plugin, Yoast SEO, to my WordPress blog, and I wish I would’ve done it sooner! If you’re a blogger and don’t have this plugin installed yet.. You need it!
Yoast SEO tells you exactly what you need to do to optimize your blog posts for search engines (such a Google) and readability by giving you a green, orange or red light. It makes sure you’ve added alt text to your images, written a meta description and SEO title, linked internal and external posts, and so much more!
Before I had the Yoast SEO plugin, I didn’t know about any of these things! If you’re a beginner blogger, Yoast SEO is definitely a great starting point to learning SEO. However, Yoast doesn’t do the keyword research for you. This is something you have to do on your own. Personally, I use KeySearch for all my research because it’s the most affordable and offers so many tools and resources.
In the future, I’ll do a more in-depth blog post about keyword research and why it’s so important. There is A LOT of information to cover and I don’t want to make this post too long, so I’ll leave it at that!
3. You need a Pinterest Strategy
Pinterest is life-changing for anyone with a website. Pinterest currently drives over 80% of my blog traffic. It’s by far the easiest way for new (and seasoned) bloggers to majorly increase their blog traffic FAST. But, you need to have a strategy in place in order to do so.
Before we get to figuring out a strategy, you’ll want to make sure you’ve claimed your website on Pinterest, you’ve enabled rich pins, you’ve fully optimized your account for SEO, you’re using keywords and hashtags in specific areas, your pins are easy to read and beautifully designed and your boards are relevant and have descriptions. That’s just the set up.
If you want to take full advantage of everything Pinterest has to offer, then you’ll want to take some time and do some research. I invested in the Pinterest course, Pinteresting Strategies by Carly Campbell. She’s a mommy blogger that gets over 200,000 pageviews a month to her blog from Pinterest alone! If you’re new to using Pinterest to promote your blog, this is a great course to learn the ins and outs of the platform and nail down a strategy.
4. Creating a consistent brand is crucial
Branding is such a huge part of blogging that can sometimes get overlooked. When it comes to branding, consistency is important because it allows your readers to easily recognize your brand right away! This is why choosing your brand colors, fonts, logo and voice are so important. When people see your blog name somewhere, they will associate that name with the brand you’ve created for it.
If you haven’t put too much thought into your branding, take some time now to do so! Choose 3-5 colors that will represent your blog. Choose 2 fonts that pair well together that you will use consistently. Design a logo that people can associate with your blog. And find your voice that others will be able to recognize when they read your posts.
5. Canva is a blogger’s best friend
Canva is one of my favorite blogging tools EVER! I designed my media kit on Canva, all of my pinterest pins are created on Canva, my Instagram graphics, Instagram stories, my logo, Favicon, and even the freebies I’ve created! Almost every visual graphic I’ve created for my blog has been done on Canva. It’s such an easy website (and app) to use for beginners because it’s all drag and drop.
I’ve used Photoshop for a few creative things before, but I’ve found that Photoshop has a bit of a learning curve to it. Canva is so much easier and has tons and tons of free templates for you to start with! If you’re debating on upgrading to CanvaPro, do it! It’s such a great tool. CanvaPro was one of the best investments I made for my business. There are so many features, tools and elements you will use every day. It’s a no brainer.
6. Create content that your audience wants to read
When I first started blogging, I was primarily writing content for myself. Now, I’ve changed my strategy up a bit. I write about topics I’m passionate about, but that my audience actually wants to read.
I’m going to let you in on a secret that I wish I would’ve learned sooner. Your audience wants to read blog posts that will benefit them! People want to improve their own lives, they don’t necessarily care about what you’re doing, unless it will benefit them in some way.
So, when you’re writing your blog posts, ask yourself, “How will this post benefit my audience?” If you can’t think of how it will serve your readers, then change up how you’re writing the post. Creating high-quality content to serve your audience is always the most important thing!
7. Make Sure you have a Privacy Policy, Disclosure Policy and Terms of Use
These are important legal pages that every blog needs to have! You want to make sure that your blog is protected! You can find free templates online or you can pay to get them professionally done for you. Here is a free Privacy Policy template that you can use.
8. Taking Breaks is Important
Blogging can be exhausting. It will always seem like your to-do list is a mile long and that you’re never making a dent in it. Although you may always have way too many things to do, it’s so important to take breaks and allow yourself to rest. You’ll burn yourself out if you never take some time to slow down!
There have definitely been times where I’ve gone to bed after 1pm trying to learn something new and I wake up early just to keep learning. Once in a while that’s fine, but if you’re consistently spending ALL your time creating blog content you’ll wear yourself out.
9. There is always something to learn
It is crazy how much I’ve learned in the last couple years of blogging and how much I STILL have to learn. I keep a running to-do list of improvements I want to make to my blog, online courses I want to take, and other specific things I want to learn how to do.
You’d think after three years, I would have this whole blogging thing figured out. But, the truth is, things are always changing in the blogging world and you have to stay on your toes! With blogging, there will never be a day where you don’t have something new to learn.
10. Attending Conferences, listening to live trainings, and taking online courses is so beneficial
I’ve attended a few virtual conferences over the past year, the Thrive Together Blog Conference and the Blogher Creator Summit. Both of these were completely free and so beneficial! I wasn’t expecting to learn as much as I did. I took away so much valuable information that I was able to implement after these conferences. Next year, I’d love to attend one in person and be able to network with like-minded bloggers!
Live trainings, e-books and online courses are also a great way to learn new blogging, social media and marketing tips/tricks. I’ve taken a variety of free online courses throughout the past few years. This year, I want to invest in more paid courses.
I mentioned before, that I’ve taken Pinteresting Strategies already, but I also joined a monthly membership for creative entrepreneurs. I’m also looking into taking Michelle Schroder-Gardner’s Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing course. She teaches you the exact strategies she uses to make millions of dollars with affiliate marketing.
Quick side note – affiliate marketing is one of the best ways to start making money as a new blogger. You don’t need tons of viewers to apply to an affiliate program and you can start adding affiliate links to your blog immediately!
11. Blogging is an Investment
Just like any business, you have to invest in your own blog if you want it to be successful. A few of the investments you’ll have to make include, hosting for your blog (I recommend Bluehost‘s basic plan), your domain name, a WordPress theme, any tools you want: Tailwind (for Pinterest scheduling), Canva Pro (for designing graphics, logos, etc.), paid plugins for WordPress and any courses you choose to sign up for!
The costs can add up, however, if you set your blog up correctly, your profits will outweigh your initial start up costs eventually!
If you still haven’t set up your blog yet, click here to get started. I’ll walk you through step by step, how to set up your blog in less than 30 minutes!
12. Create a Content Calendar or Organization System that Works for You
I don’t know what I’d do without my content calendar and collaboration organizer. Without these two, I’d be completely lost and so disorganized. As a blogger, you wear so many different hats, so it’s important to keep all of your tasks organized. Having a content calendar or editorial calendar for your blog posts and social media platforms is an easy way to keep all of your stuff in order so you know exactly when and what to post.
I keep my content calendar in Google Sheets, but I know a lot of bloggers use Trello as well. Do what works best for you! But, just make sure you have an effective way to keep everything organized.
13. Blogging is HARD WORK!
By now, I probably don’t have to tell you that becoming a blogger and maintaining your website takes A LOT of time, effort and hard work. When you first start, there is so much you need to learn.
Not only do you need to know how to set up your web hosting and blogging platform, but you need to learn how to optimize your posts for SEO, design a logo, set up your Pinterest account and other social accounts (and try to learn their algorithms). You’ll have to learn how to set up an email list, how to reach your target audience, increase your blog traffic, and the list goes on.
If you work full time, like me, then it can be especially hard because everything you do for your blog has to be done outside of your work schedule. It can get tiring and there will be days that you want to quit, but if you love blogging, then it’s totally worth it!
14. You need an email list
How many times have you heard this one? I’m going to tell you again, because it’s so true! You need to have a mailing list. If Instagram or Pinterest were to disappear one day, how would your readers be able to connect with you?
You need to set up an email list from the beginning. There are a few popular email services to choose from such as Convertkit, Mailchimp, Flodesk and Mailerlite that most bloggers use. I personally use Mailerlite. It’s free up to 1,000 subscribers and is extremely user-friendly (especially for beginners).
Once you’ve chosen your email provider, I recommend creating an opt-in or a freebie for your audience to push them to sign up for your email list! There are so many opt-ins you could provide. Just think of something that your readers can’t turn down!
15. Don’t compare your blog to others!
It can be hard not to look at another blogger’s website or social media page and think about how much farther along they are than you. Truth is, comparing your blog or brand to theirs, won’t make yours grow any faster. Hard work and persistence will.
Focus on building a community of loyal followers and interacting with them on a regular basis, writing great, high quality content that your audience wants to read and creating an awesome Pinterest strategy that will drive tons of traffic to your blog.
Conclusion
I hope this post was beneficial to you and you feel encouraged and optimistic about your blogging journey! For those of you wanting to learn more about becoming a blogger and making money blogging, I’m starting a blogging series spilling all my best blogging tips and tricks that I’ve learned over the past few years.
In this series, we’re covering all things media kits, how to collaborate with brands and land sponsored posts as a small blogger, how to make money blogging, social media marketing strategies, creating a consistent schedule, email marketing, blogging resources and more!
Want More Blogging Tips and Tricks!? Check out these posts!
How to Start a Blog for Beginners: Simple Step By Step Guide
How I Started Blogging and Why You Should Too!
How to Find Brands to Work With on Instagram
This post shared the 15 things I wish I knew before becoming a blogger!
