Blogging isn’t hard, and once you get the hang of it, it can certainly be a treat. But when you first create a blog, it can be challenging to publish new posts consistently.
Maybe you are all excited about your blog. But if you don’t channel that energy into creating posts and interacting with readers and other bloggers, your effort may come to nothing.
Your blog could then end up like one of those forgotten construction projects — a house beautifully envisioned but which, due to the mismanagement of resources, has been abandoned to the whims of the weather.
Don’t get me wrong – WordPress.com offers us one of the easiest ways to create a blog. But after that, after your blog has a name and a theme and the Hello World page greets your eyes, it’s up to you to choose topics, create posts, and find your pace.
In my last post, I wrote about 15 Damn Good Reasons to Blog in 2016.
Now I’d like to share with you some blogging tips drawn from my 3+ years experience with WordPres.com.
Now and then I receive messages from bloggers who are new to WordPress.com and ask for advice. I try to help them as best I can, but I realize that a list like the one below can be more useful to them than a few suggestions in an email.
So, here are a few tips which I hope will help you attract new followers and breathe life into your new blog.
1
Don’t write only for yourself
While blogging is personal, it’s also inherently social, and that sets it apart from diary-keeping. We love to hear about your problems, but I can tell you from experience that people will be more drawn to your blog if you address those problems in a positive and practical way.
Leafing through my older posts, I am not ashamed to admit that I’ve bitched about my love problems, health problems, and other things.
People were supportive, and through their comments, they helped me. But I also published useful content, and that kept things in a healthy balance.
2
Whatever you blog about, be candid
You don’t have to be impartial, not even when you talk about the news, because your blog is not a news channel.
Goethe said,
“I can promise to be candid, not, however, to be impartial.”
That’s so true for bloggers!
People in the blogosphere are open-minded and can understand anything, even sympathize with you. Whatever dwells within you, whatever wants to come out, your blog helps you express it and, in the process, better understand it yourself.
3
Read, follow, like, share, and comment on other blogs
Blogging is not a monologue. It’s a conversation.
After you write your first posts, you have to encourage people to discover them.
Leaving thoughtful comments on blogs similar to your own, or blogs you simply enjoy reading, is the most effective way to do that and gain new followers.
4
Post at least once or twice a week, preferably on the same days and around the same hours, so you can build a sense of expectancy
Not posting weekly will make it difficult for you to attract readers, at least in the beginning. I would also caution you against posting too much: it can become tiring and may even make your blog feel like an obligation, taking the fun out of it. The crucial thing is to find your own pace.
5
Create an inviting About page
That’s the page that usually gets the most views on your blog, and where I invariably end up when visiting a new blog I like. You don’t have to write your autobiography on your About page – a few words or sentences and an image are enough. But please don’t leave it blank! It’s easier to connect with a blogger when you know a little about him or her. What about my About page? Do you like it?
6
Use a real Gravatar.
I am camera shy and don’t really like to see my photo on the web, so when I first began blogging I didn’t use a Gravatar. It felt so awkward to see a blank avatar next to my comments though that I eventually added one it has sure helped! A real Gravatar adds a lot of personality to your blog, and makes the author easier to believe. Whether you have a beard or not doesn’t really matter.
7
Add good, relevant images to your posts
Images help catch the eye in the Reader stream, and besides, they make your blog look good. To find great images, look beyond the first results on Google’s Image Search; try Pinterest, too. And don’t forget to give credit to photographs/paintings/illustrations.
8
Encourage comments by asking relevant questions at the end of your posts
Again, blogging is not a monologue. Your post expresses your views, but there are people with other views, or who can contribute to the subject by sharing their own experiences and insight.
You don’t want all your comments to be like “Great post!” or “Thanks for writing!” but to actually expand and enrich the conversation.
9
Write engaging titles
Good titles promise something. Take the title of this post, 15 Blogging Tips For Beginners New Bloggers.
It’s by no means extraordinary, but it does promise you some useful information.
Blog titles that work usually do that, or are beautifully creative or enticing or intriguing.
10
Insert the Read More tag after your introduction.
This hides everything below the tag – the rest of your post essentially – so that people who discover it through the Reader or through an RSS feed app have to click the Read More link and visit your blog to view the full post.
More than winning you another blog view, the Read More tag invites readers to discover the rest of your blog.
11
Link to older posts to remind people about them, like I have done above
You can do it through the little link button in the post editing window. I myself don’t do this nearly as much as I should.
12
Choose a responsive theme for your blog
A responsive theme adjusts itself depending on the screen size of the device on which it is viewed. It ensures your blog displays well on mobile devices.
Many people like to read blogs on their smartphones and tablets, especially when they are on the go. Without a responsive theme, mobile users may not be able to really enjoy your blog.
13
Go for a theme that suits your primary type of content
The guys at Automattic provide hundreds of themes, some free, others premium. But some themes are better for photography blogs than others, while certain themes are better for writers.
If you choose a theme made for photographers for your diary-like blog, you can make it harder for people to find their way around your blog.
14
Use widgets you need and don’t use widgets you don’t need
Just because WordPress.com offers you a score of widgets doesn’t mean you should put them all on your blog – the less cluttered your theme is, the easier it will be for readers to focus on the content.
You’ll find Widgets under the Appearance tab in the Dashboard. They can help you integrate into your blog an Email sign-up form or a Twitter feed, showcase a list of your most viewed posts, and more.
As you can see, I’m using on my blog a sidebar with a custom HTML widget that mentions a book I published on Amazon.
15
Proofread your posts.
A few typos and grammatical errors won’t offend anyone, especially if you’re not a native English speaker and blog in English – you’ll find plenty of typos in my own posts…
They just sneak in! The fewer errors there are, however, the smoother the reading experience, and the more credible your blog will be.
There you have it, 15 blogging tips. I hope you’ve enjoyed them.
***
If you are new to blogging… Do you find the tips above useful? Let me know!
If you are a seasoned blogger… Can I ask you a favor? Would you please share a blogging tip with us? New bloggers reading this will thank you!
boy with a hat 
I suppose by this point in time I would be considered a seasoned blogger by most so here’s my top tips for new bloggers just setting out:
1. Don’t worry too much about creating a niche for your blog. While it can help to have a theme to your site, right at the beginning you’re allowed to play around with what you want the site to be about and variety can help you expand your readership.
2. Shop around and find blog hops and interactive blog events. These not only give you some starting points for posts but also provide a pre-built community of bloggers who will read your posts. Make sure to return the favour and read the other posts submitted as well as adding your own however.
3. Make sure you choose subjects that you like and can engage with. Passion is key to writing a good blog and if you’re not enjoying writing then people probably won’t enjoy reading.
4. Don’t be afraid to ask other bloggers for help. If you want to set up your own blog hop or blogging event then don’t be afraid to go out and see if other bloggers are interested in joining or promoting. WordPress is a community like any other.
Carol, could you explain further what a blog hop is? I’ve been trying to be more dedicated to my blog. I also found your comment about “niches” to be very interesting. Although I usually post most about screenwriting and film, I recently started including more about my love of languages. Thanks!
A blog hop is where numerous bloggers all write for a single prompt and link their post to all the others partaking. Most use a linky tool.
Oh, I see. Thanks for the info!
No worries. 🙂
Good and useful tips, Carol! They show that you are a seasoned blogger. 🙂 Thank you for taking the time to add them here.
A pleasure. It’s good to see bloggers putting up tips for newbies.
Ha! I love your comment invite. I think all of your tips are helpful for new bloggers. I like bloggers who take chances, too, so they’re not the same every time you look. And the photos/graphics are huge. Can’t be underestimated.
I tip my hat to you. 🙂
These tips are great! I’ve been blogging for about four months now. Can you give me a tip on the best way to insert videos (youtube) into your post? I see there are two way on wordpress. One is by inserting the link which opens in a new tab, and the other is by posting the video directly in the post to play there. You can see on my most recent post that I used the first option: http://meinthemiddlewrites.com/ Thanks! 🙂
You can copy and paste the url from the ‘share’ button in youtube directly into your post….easy peasy!!
Thanks Kaye! I’m going to edit the post and see how it looks doing it that way. It does look easy peasy! 🙂
I’m going to peak at your post to see how you got on!
Oops! I tried it out and still, for this particular post, like the links that open in a different tab. I didn’t want to detract from my sketch. What’s your opinion? I wasn’t sure because both the song and the video go so well with the post. Thanks, Kaye!
I think it works very well, and as you say, does not detract from your great post!
Thanks so much, Kaye, for taking the time to check it out! 🙂
Hello Mary Lou! It’s indeed as simple as Kaye says. Try her method. You can also take a look at https://en.support.wordpress.com/videos/youtube/
Thanks Vincent! I’ll take a look at the link. 🙂
Great refresher going into a new year.
Don’t be afraid to try new ways of writing, or new topics to deal with!
I second that! Thanks for reminding us.
I think consistency makes a huge difference, as does choosing the right image, and interacting with other bloggers–I saw a big spike in followers when I started making the conscious effort to explore and comment on other people’s blogs. Spot-on with this list, great job.
That’s true Mary Kate, exploring other blogs and commenting on them does require a conscious effort, but it’s well worth it.
Your tips for new bloggers are very helpful and useful for a beginner like me. Thanks!!
Glad to hear that and you are most welcome.
Hi there, thanks for these tips.I’ll reblog it at some stage if you don’t mind. Here’s my tip:
I’m inviting writer friends to send me possible “guest posts” on writing, so that when I’m working on my novel, I can still have interesting stuff to put up on my blog.
Yes, guest posts are a great way to keep the content fresh and interact with other bloggers. Good thing you mentioned them. Sure, feel free to reblog it, Anne.
Great tips. Hope you don’t mind my linking to them and sharing with my small readership!
I don’t mind at all. Glad to hear it!
Reblogged this on Rebooting and commented:
Some really useful blogging tips from The Boy in the Hat!
Thanks for this informative blog. I was not doing a few of them for my blog, but now I will. However, I could not find my way to Read More tag. 😦
Would appreciate if you could elaborate on that.
Thanks again! 🙂
You’re more than welcome, Garima.
You’ll find the Read More tag in the visual editor toolbar when you Add a New Post to your blog or edit an already published post. You can learn more about it at https://en.support.wordpress.com/more-tag/2/
Thanks. That helped! 🙂
NIce set of points you outlined above. Reminded me of certain things. It was nicely written as well so don’t worry about little tweaks you mentioned as typos at least for this post
Haha, glad to hear that!
Loved this. Started blogging in March last year and I’m slowly progressing. This helps me a lot. Thanks so much. Cheers!
Glad to hear that, Zinara! Good luck with your blog!
I started blogging last fall with my mothers cancer journey. I hope to inspire as many as possible and hopefully readers will love what I bring to the blogging world. much help and advice would be greatly needed. check it out and let me know what you all think. thanks
Hello boy with a hat.
What I really don’t like about blogging is interacting. No, I actually like interacting when I read a meaningful post. But I don’t like interacting just to let people know that I blog. Leaving comment on others’ blog so that can discover my blog. I don’t like it to an extent that now I almost abhor it! I don’t understand why I think like that. But I do.
I can understand your point. Leaving comments doesn’t have to feel like an obligation, though. I was not referring to commenting just as a way to promote a blog, but as a genuine reaction to posts you enjoy and feel the need to reply to. It’s a very dull business to mechanically comment on other blogs just to promote yourself and I don’t encourage it. Commenting has to be genuine.
Great tips! I should probably revisit a few areas of my blog to see if they need updating/tweaking… like my About page. One item I’d add to your list is don’t make it hard to leave a comment. On some blogs I feel as if I need to have a full-body scan before it accepts my comment. Jeez, folks, make it simple and friendly for your readers.
Great point there! Choosing to manually approve comments before they show up on a blog can discourage comments.
Or, worse, the blogs that make you go through an authentication process that, if you don’t do everything just so (which is sometimes a puzzle), your comment never shows up. I usually try twice, then give up.
Yeah, that, too. It’s a pain!
Reblogged this on anne skyvington and commented:
Here are some great tips to all you new bloggers, and, like me, older ones.
As a novice blogger, I was intrigued to go through this post… Good tips!!
Hi!
Its my first time here an i really love these tips. Thanks for this!
You’re welcome Ajayi!
At first, I did not enjoy blogging. I did not really understand it. But, now I enjoy it.
On my blog posts, I always add text, text links, images, etc. I might include a YouTube video on a future blog post. But, I prefer to add a text link so that the reader can be shown to an external website (e.g. YouTube) if he or she wants to see a video.
I do the same thing when I include other people’s images. I always mention and give credit to the sources because those images are not mines. Plus, I do not want any trouble or lawsuit in the future …
My advice for blogging beginners is to plan or pre-write on a notebook. That is what I do. I come up with more words to write/type. Even I am surprised. When I start typing the blog post, I can look at my notebook. I do not have to think so hard and face frustration while I type. I would rather do them while I am writing on my notebook. I have written a blog post (“Planning Is Necessary”) about planning. It is on my other blog website called “Third Line Designs”.
http://thirdlinedesigns.blogspot.com/2017/02/planning-is-necessary.html
Reblogged this on The World of Daddy Felix , your Digital Friend, Business Partner and a Solutions Provider.
I love this post! It’s sometimes hard to start something new. I appreciate your helpful pointers.
Glad to hear that. 🙂
Thank you the useful tips!
Extremely useful, thank you s o much. That was a great post.
Hey! Thank you so much for sharing these tips. It was really helpful, it helped me to understand the whole blogging thing better.
Thank You ! your posts are a great help:)
Reblogged this on THE BLOGGING STATION.
Reblogged this on When Angels Fly.
Reblogged this on Stevie Turner and commented:
Some useful blogging tips here from Boy With a Hat…
Thanks for such a comprehensive list of helpful hints, Vincent…
Reblogged this on anita dawes and jaye marie.