Let me just throw this out there, no I'm not getting paid millions to write tutorials or give my opinion but I have a lot of readers and traffic from all over the world. In my opinion, as long as you are getting decent traffic you are successful. Let me tell you how and why!
1.When you first start out, you start with a blank page. YOU are the painter and your blog is the canvas. You have the ability to create whatever your heart desires. I mean like anything! Fashion, art, music, DIY, gardening, the list goes on. Choose what you love and have a passion for because when you are feeling burnt out, something that inspires you with get your creative juices flowing again. Choose your genre!
2. You have to remember that you are starting out with nothing and 0, zero, nothing, nada readers. Ok, so maybe your mom, sister and a few friends you told. Other than that you have not gained any loyal readers yet. You must remember to be patient! If you create great content the traffic will come.
3. Be oringinal. I think this is one of the biggest blogging DOs. You have to be yourself. People can smell fake from a mile away. No one is perfect and I never claim to be. My house can look like a tornado hit it within a few hours even after I just cleaned. Stuff happens, messes happen, dirty dishes and laundry happen. Even "big time" home decor bloggers face all these things. Show the real you, good and quirkiness. People will appreciate the real you.
4. Be relate able. Create content and write about stuff that people can relate to. This is what draws people in and makes them come back again and again. Having a bad day? Kids driving you crazy? Any mom can relate. DIY fail? Yup, I can relate. It's what makes you real.
5. Be honest. My house doesn't always stay perfect. There is always laundry to do, dishes to do. Messes to clean. Crayon to magic erase off the wall. Spills to be cleaned off the carpet. Life happens! It's ok to show the not so perfect.
6. Don't copy without giving credit. I get inspired easily and like to tweak other's past projects. If you do, make sure you give credit where credit is due. Sometimes, you can copy and don't even know it! That's ok. Thanks to pinterest, the whole world is a copy cat.
7. Create what you love. Make what you love. This is what makes blogging fun. Do it because YOU love it and not because you want to please everyone else. You will enjoy blogging so much more if you love the things you are doing for it.
8. There will be haters. People will want to knock you down when you are doing great. They do it by saying small rude comments. It could be about the way you look or what you forgot to do for your reveal photo shoot. Just ignore it. Haters gon hate. Don't let it bring you down! It just means your awesome!
9.Use Pinterest like crazy. Pin every post! This is where I get a huge amount of my traffic! It's free advertisement so why not use it?! People will repin & repin and soon you've reached thousands of people! Also, a SUPER important thing is to add a pin it button to every picture of your blog. This makes it easier for people to instantly pin your content so they can come back to it. When things are made easy for people, they will do it more often.
10. Make sure you brand yourself. Make sure you have matching logos, headers, facebook headers, ect. This is what brands you and displays your style and what your all about in a blink of an eye. If I am scanning blogs I will linger longer if it has a super cute header. It's how you present yourself that keeps people on your site.
11. Put your face on it. Have a cute picture of yourself on your main page and about me section. People want to see who is writing and put a face to the words. It makes you real.
12. Network, network, network! Then, network some more. Help support other bloggers and they will most likely return the favor. Comment on other blogs, like their FB pages & follow on twitter & Pinterest.
13. Post consistently. I'm not always great at this. I have a lot going on in my life. More than what I should actually take on but somehow I manage to get everything done everday. Pure miracle and I amaze myself. One thing you can do to have consistent content, schedule posts! It will make your life 100% easier. You can write whenever you want and keep posts lined up.
14. Great Pictures. Let's face it. The pretty pictures get pinned more on Pinterest than ugly pics. People want to pin and see pretty things. So make sure you have a decent camera and know how to work it. It is super important. The MOST important thing about your pictures is your lighting. Make sure you use indirect natural light and a nice exposure. Also make sure it's in focus. Duh! People will come back more if you have awesome pictures. It's an obvious fact.
15. Don't stress. Don't forget that your family and life come first. If you're burnt out, it reflects in your content. Take some days off, refresh yourself and come back ready to give it your all. Also don't feel guilty if you don't post for a week. Once again, life happens! Your readers will understand. You can also let your readers know when you are stepping away for a little blog vacation to clear your mind and relax.
16. Quality over quantity. Make sure you post great things often rather than a bunch of junk everyday. Put more effort into your posts. Don't post just for the sake of posting.
17. Don't compare yourself. Just because someone is getting more views and traffic than you doesn't mean you aren't good enough. Value every reader and click because they are just as important as 10,000 views. Just worry about you and do your own thing. It's less stressful anyways. If you just do your own thing the orginality will bring you readers. Your success could be 1,000 views a month compares to someone elses 1 million views a month. It is a slow continual growth. Nothing happens over night.
I have more tips and sometime soon I'll be sharing more! I hope you enjoyed my input on how to be a successful blogger. Everyone's definition of success is different. Just be happy with what you have. - Teryn Yancey
6 comments:
this is a great list and great reminder! blogging can be hard, but I love all this and it's so important to remember the patience and the passion! <3
I agree with ALL of these! But especially the last one. I think comparing yourself to other bloggers is your kiss of death, because you will NEVER be another blogger. You can only be YOU. And everything starts to fall out of place when you forget that.
Let me just say thank you for keeping it real. I don't know how you find the time, Wow! I loved every one of these tips so important for every blogger no matter how big or small their blog is. Thank you, thank you. Pinning Now! #SITSblogging
#2 is something all newbies need to realize. Many of us had to work hard and long to get the following we have now. #16 and #17 have been challenging though. There's always the thought that one has to post daily, especially if it's common in your niche. Also, it's tough looking at others and wondering why they get certain opps or have more traffic. Appreciating what you do get and being genuinely happy for others' success will get you much further.
Love this list! I especially love that everyone's success is different - so true!
I like these tips because they seem to be more relatable for the wahm blogger. We are so hard on ourselves and compare each other way to much.
Everyone has a different set of skills and talents to offer and it's really pointless to compare one another as bloggers.
We should only be comparing ourselves to the best version of ourselves when seeking ways to improve our skills as bloggers.
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