BECOMING A SUCCESSFUL BLOGGER PART IIII

winston churchill quote besottedI accidentally deleted my brilliant part iiii post, so I am sitting here in a panic hoping the re-write will be just as brilliant. Word to the wise take good notes prior to writing your opus. This series has painted broad strokes and there is a lot of minute detail that I won’t be covering but I do feel the points I covered will set you on the right course to blogging success.

BUILDING A COMMUNITY

Once you have your url, your theme, your gorgeous + easy to navigate design, your original content that can’t be found elsewhere, a consistent schedule and perhaps the added contributing posts to a larger site it’s time to build your community. I have to be honest I don’t like to refer to my visitors as readers, because I feel like the individuals that stop here are much more, community feels a bit more apropos, since that conveys a sense of  unity and the coming together of like minds. ‘Readers’ feels too detached and I don’t want that and hopefully as the successful blogger you are going to become neither will you.

Let me just preface this by saying if the above mentioned isn’t in place than trying to build a community that will garner you the ability to translate your hard work into an income is going to be futile. I also believe in being authentic, people are smart if they think you are trying to get them to visit because you are just trying to build stats you are not going to get anywhere. There is no reason why being authentic + successful can’t go hand in hand, you need to add value to your potential future visitors. What do you offer that your competition doesn’t? What information do you have that you can share that will be a benefit to individuals that visit? Always remember this is the information super highway most people search and find you based on the type of information they are wanting to discover, most people will come back if you can keep doing so.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Oh, sigh, this is so tough. I feel like I barely have time to write a blog let alone trying to woo people here via social media and that feels icky to me anyway. If you have an affinity for certain social media outlets than by all means use them, it goes back to being authentic, I think it will absolutely be transparent if you are using social media for inauthentic purposes. I don’t enjoy Facebook so I don’t use it, I do love Pinterest so I spend time there and in turn people organically can find me here. When I am traveling I use Instagram often and I do visit daily (some amazing talent), Twitter I update daily but I find that I can fall down the rabbit hole with that one so I ration my time there. Most of the big bloggers use one or all of these social media outlets, you rarely will see them hocking their blog, Dooce will usually have witty quips on Twitter that will have you wanting to visit her. Ez of Creature Comforts is one of the best Pinners around and it sure does get your interest peaked on what else she has going on. What I am trying to get at is use these mediums but do so earnestly and you should reap the benefits.

BUSINESS CARDS

It’s so inexpensive to get a business card these days and you’d most likely have one made for your new business so I think if you want to make blogging your business you should really consider having one made.  I think this very tiny step will help legitimize what you are trying to accomplish on line.

EDITING YOURSELF

You’ve heard the expression ‘do as I say not as I do’ right? Heed my warning here. I was fired from a job because I wrote something I thought was innocuous on my blog. There is a fine line between sharing and being honest about your experience and over sharing. Before you press publish ask yourself if you can live the rest of your life with what you just wrote and would you be okay with it in the future if someone like your employer, spouse, child, friends, etc, were to read it. I like that blogs are personal, that’s what sets them apart from other media such as newspapers or magazines, etc. I love the first person perspective but remember this is a public forum so choose your words wisely.

Most successful blogs are well written or at the very least well edited. I go over my posts multiple times, I know grammar is not my forte (something I hope to rectify; I suggest this book) but I do try to check and re-check spelling mistakes. You don’t need to be verbose, it’s fine to make your posts short + sweet, in fact for most individuals reading it is preferred.

Tomorrow I shall wrap this up, I will discuss both SEO + sponsors as promised and I’ll try to not delete my post. If you have questions or want to add to the conversation please do so below, I always love hearing from you!

Author / Miss Tristan B

Miss Tristan B. is the proprietress of Besotted Brand and the writer of this delightful blog. She recently re-located to the country with her handsome husband and two pups and will be re-locating back to the city in the very near future.

11 thoughts on “BECOMING A SUCCESSFUL BLOGGER PART IIII

  1. This has been a fantastic series of posts so far, Tristan! Thanks for sharing it. I am sure these words of advice will be very helpful to a lot of people :)

    1. I hope so and that I haven’t scared anyone away that has no interest in blogging! It’s a lot of work and it changes all the time but I think these basic tips are a great start and I wish someone shared this advice with me when I got started all those years ago.

    1. Oh, Mrs. Limestone it was so silly really, especially after I spent YEARS writing about my mean boss and truly hoping to get fired I got a new job and was lamenting how I felt no one liked me. I wrote it just like that, “I am worried that no one likes me.” I think that’s a normal feeling when you come into a new work situation if no one is acting like they like you. Anyways, the next day I got called into the HR office and let go because of that, it seemed so stupid, and I still think it is, but if I could fired for something so minute I just want others to be careful because you never know who is reading:)

  2. Tristan,
    Thank you for providing this in-depth and essential material for bloggers. I have learned so much in my first month as a “blogger” and it is wonderful to read your thoughts and tips. I must say, it is so nice to hear I am not the only one that does not prefer Facebook or Twitter. I came across you on Pinterest, my favorite of the social media outlets, it feels like home to me. Now, I feel like your blog is “home” to me. I thank you for again for all you share, including your amazing downloads! I believe bloggers can help shape the world, one post at a time. I think you are a wonderful example of someone who has shaped the community in a positive way. I wish you a wonderful day! Keep the goodness coming….

    Jocelyn

  3. Another excellent post. I was not referring to you yesterday in my comment. I think your writing is wonderful. So sorry to hear about your inadvertent deletion : (

    1. Thank you Moira, I am guilty of it though, I think it’s easy to be lazy. Please keep the feedback coming and I hope to not delete another post, I thought it was duplicate for some reason, sigh!

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