Tips for a Successful Blog

Before I get started discussing this, I want to mention that this is my opinion and my experience in my five years of blogging.  Everyone has their own opinions so please share yours in the comments!  Also note that while I run a book blog and my comments are regarding book blogs, they pretty much go for any blog; whether you blog books or green living or family, it all comes down to these things.

Quality content
Now this is a given, you want people to read your blog, right?  So you'll want to have stuff people want to read!  As a book blogger, I prefer to have a majority of my posts reviews, and that's what I prefer to read on other blogs.  However, I'm aware that not everyone is able to read the 200+ books a year that I read and may not be able to post more than one book review a week.  That means you'll be relying on meme's and other types of posts to fill a few slots.  It depends on how many days a week you blog, but my opinion is that a person should have only two memes a week, maybe 3.  When I visit a blog, I don't want to see a full page of only memes.  It's okay to see two and then a review, but if it's only memes then I'm likely to click away and visit another blog. Same thing if you post more than two or three book blasts or spotlights on your blog with no reviews in site.  Discussion posts are always something I'm drawn to read, and they tend to go over extremely well.  However, they require thought and effort and having regular discussion posts is just not always possible.  One blogger who writes about books and writing is KCross Writing. She doesn't review books often, but all her posts are extremely well done.  They are often short but highly entertaining!  I read every post she does, and look forward to it every day (or most days, as she doesn't always post daily).  This is an example of a fantastic blog!

Side note for the newbies:
What is a meme?

A meme is an idea passed on from one person to another and is repeated over and over.

In the book blogging community some examples are:

• The Sunday Post
• In My Mailbox
• Teaser Tuesday
• Top Ten Tuesday
• Top off Thursday
• Waiting on Wednesday

And the list goes on...

Unique content
I think most all bloggers know that plagiarism is not cool.  Do not steal things from another site and post it on yours.  Everything you write about should be your own and not taken from somewhere else on the internet.  You found a cool article that you'd like to write about?  Okay, that's cool- but write your own version and don't flip to it and use it as a reference.  Close the page, think about it for awhile, and then write up something that is totally your own.

I use Grammarly's plagiarism checker because stealing someones work is not gratification, but misrepresentation.  While I know that the stuff I write is unique and that I haven't taken it from another site, when I post something prepared by someone else (guest posts, guest reviews, etc) then I know that I'm not posting something that has been posted elsewhere.

This goes for images as well.  You cannot take images off of the internet and post them on your blog.  There are some that you can take, but you have to be very careful what you use.  I tend to use Photopin as they provide the credit and the pictures are suppose to be safe to use.  I tend to be very cautious doing this though as I'm always afraid of accidentally grabbing something I shouldn't.

Don't steal ideas!  So you saw this really cool thing these bloggers did, they had a Blog Carnival, oh wow, that's such a great idea!  I think I'll have one too!  Yeah, well you are now stealing their idea.  (This is actually a very true story as me and some other bloggers had the Carnival first and now a few different people have started doing it.)

It's hard to come up with unique ideas, it seems like it's all been done.  You may accidentally steal another persons idea and not even know it.  For that reason, I tend to just let it go when I see some idea of mine seems to have been stolen.  I try to give them the benefit of the doubt.  If you do see an idea you like, maybe you can talk to that blogger and ask them about it.  The best you can do is just be cautious and be aware that it's rude to steal another idea.  But maybe it can help you come up with another creative idea with your own spin.  Remember, use your imagination and be creative!


Regular content
What comes next in my list of important things is posting regularly.  I find that I visit blogs who post daily more then those who only post occasionally.  It becomes a habit to visit their blog every day and leave a comment.  However, I'm aware that in the real world, where people work outside the home, or attend school daily, posting every day is not always possible.  So what's regularly then?  At least once a week.  When I'm looking for hosts for my tours I check their blog and if they have not posted in over a week I will not contact them about a tour, or allow them on a tour if they have signed up, because they don't seem reliable.  There are exceptions to this rule, like if I know there happened to have been a personal thing going on in their life or if they have proven reliable in the past (though I will still be sure to confirm that they will be back to regular scheduling in time for the tour). 

An attractive blog
I like reading blogs that are attractive.  I don't want busy side bars full of crazy widgets that don't fit.  I don't want to struggle to read the blog due to the background colors and crazy fonts.  I want my experience to be pleasurable and not cringe-worthy.   I have stuff on my sidebars, but I try to keep it narrowed down and I don't include any moving graphics or buttons that are too large.  If a blog isn't attractive but has great content, I will probably still visit it, but I keep my visit short.

A fast loading blog
I hate waiting for blogs to load.  Some of the simplest things can cause a blog to load slowly.  Too many widgets, a slide-show, the list goes on.  If a blog loads slowly for you I suggest mentioning it to the blogger, I know I appreciate it because I may not notice if my blog loads slowly and I want to know.  Obviously, be kind and just mention that it seems it's loading more slowly recently and thought you'd mention it in case they weren't aware.  They are losing traffic because of it, so they should want to fix the problem.  For your own blog try to check the speed once in awhile, especially if you make changes to the sidebar or add anything new that could bog it down.

Proper spelling, grammar, etc
I may not be the spelling and grammar queen, but I'm really not too shabby on my own.  However, I know that when I stick it in a site to get checked, it often comes back with many errors I never caught.  I have used my Microsoft Word for this, but copying from Word brings in HTML that isn't so great.  And it doesn't catch everything. It helps, but it's definitely not as good as using a service like Grammarly.

Reading a blog that has incorrect spelling and poor grammar isn't always a horrible experience.  However, if you don't capitalize and use punctuation there's no way I'll be sticking around.  Having a few errors here and there is expected and isn't going to keep me away.

If you don't want to pay for a service, that's fine, just remember to check your posts for errors before publishing.  I try to read it over at least 3 times and one of those times is a few days after writing it, so I have fresh eyes.

Now you have a great looking and fast loading blog, you have great unique content, your spelling and grammar are brushed up on and now you need readers!
I have had a lot of people ask me how I get so many comments on my blog and the answer is simple, I visit other blogs.  I visit blogs and I leave comments regularly.  It's often the same ones as it has become a habit. I visit them most days and they visit me.  I read every post they put up and comment on each one and they do the same.  It's time consuming, but if you want to bring people to your blog this is the best way to see it.  Not everyone is a commenter though and there are plenty that read your blog without you commenting on theirs.  However, I really like this friendship I have developed with others and it has enhanced my blogging experience.
{Edit: Melanie mentioned in the comments about CAPTCHA and I was shocked I hadn't remembered to mention this.  Please, please, PLEASE turn off CAPTCHA!  You are losing comments because of it.  I will often skip leaving a comment because of CAPTCHA.  I have blogged for 5 years and I get spam comments sometimes, but when I get on I just remove them if they have snuck through the spam catcher. It's not a big deal. It's annoying, sure, but it's not necessary to have CAPTCHA on.  This is a default setting, I believe, so if you have a newer blog you'll need to go in and change it.}

Bringing in more readers isn't easy.  It requires time and effort but if you have a good blog, with all those things I've listed above, then you shouldn't have too much of a problem.  Just remember that it takes time.

Twitter, Triberr and Facebook.  I'm not the most socially adept person.  I feel like a nerd, or a loser when it comes to social networking.  I'm terrified of taking the wrong step.  Saying or doing the wrong thing.  But we don't get anywhere living in fear, right?  So tweet your posts like crazy (like crazy, I mean like 3 times a day with hours between).  Get invited to a Triberr tribe so your tribe mates tweet your posts.  Post on your facebook page (be sure to start one for your blog, it's a great networking tool).  Chat on facebook so your readers get to know you.  Confession: I have almost 3,700 likes on my facebook and sometimes I feel like I'm talking to myself.  People just don't always respond.  Sometimes it's the wrong people seeing it, ones that maybe aren't interested in the discussion.  Don't let it get to you (I'm so hypocritical right now, it SO gets to me) and just keep on doing it.  Eventually you'll get some conversation going and will make some new friends.

Learn about SEO.  I have no tips regarding this.  I get emails with 'professionals' offering to help but I've been advised that they likely don't really know anything and I'm better off learning on my own, so that's a goal for the future.  

Set realistic goals, don't get caught up in 'being the best' and remember to find a balance that works for yourself.  We're all different, and there's enough space in the blogosphere for all of us.  Don't be intimidated by the biggest blogs, because they aren't necessarily the best blogs.  Make friends, and have fun!  Don't let it stress you out or bring you down. Don't let blogging become a job, keep it a hobby (unless it's part of your business, of course).

This is a sponsored post. I was provided a gift card for including mention of Grammarly.  All opinions expressed are my own and this is my own completely unique opinion, thought up and written by myself.  This post is not to be copied and shared on any other blog at any other time.