Some Tips for Starting a New Blog
Let Your Audience Listen As Well As Read
One method that can be used to attract more people to your blog is to create an audio version of your posts. This then be shared using a podcast that you can set up. This will be somewhat more time consuming, but you will be rewarded for your work. Check out coolkidproblems.com for some more information about blogging!
Making an audio version of your post is beneficial because many people like to listen to podcasts when they are doing things in their daily lives. For example, when people commute to work, they often will listen to a podcast, since they cannot read while they are driving. Also, if their job consists of mindless tasks, they may also listen to a podcast while they work. Another example is with people who exercise. While some people like to listen to music while running or at the gym, other people prefer to hear new content from their favorite podcast.
As a result of creating an audio version of your blog, you will be reaching a new audience that otherwise would not be experiencing the content that you are creating. This will cause the amount of people viewing your content to increase, which can lead to success with your blog.
Planning is the Key to Success
When first starting a blog, the author is always extremely excited and ready to write their content and get it out there as soon as possible. They want their content to be viewed immediately so that they will become famous. An in the beginning, writing your posts from start to finish is fine! You probably know exactly what you want to say and it will be easy for you to write about what you want.
Assuming you continue to blog, things may change. While at one time it may have been easy to write the content for your blog, you might have an idea but get stuck after the first paragraph. Sometimes you might not even be able to figure out how to start the article.
This is where planning comes in to play. By taking the time to figure out what you are going to write about, you will be able to get a better grasp on your approach to your articles. This may require you to take more time for each post, but it will keep you posting more in the long run. You will not have as much trouble with writing since you will be able to move around to different parts of the article and write until you get stuck.
Using Wordpress? Check out this article by the Huffington Post for some tips.
Include References in Your Posts
As the reader, it is sometimes challenging to know if the author of a blog is correct in what they are saying. While some may take whatever they read as fact, many will question the accuracy of some statements. Because of this, it is important to include references to the information that you present in your blog posts.
To do this, you should have links going to other sites. These sites can be where you learned this information. If it was information that you already knew about, then the site you are referencing can be seen to simply be backing up your content.
Some of the information you write about may not need references. Do not go crazy trying to flood your posts with links for every sentence that you write. However, since you should be trying to populate your posts with hard data, it is a good idea to include references for where you received the numbers that you are presenting to your audience. You readers will appreciate knowing where the information is coming from, and will make them trust you more.
Increase the Size of Your Email List
Many successful blogs implement an email list into their strategy for getting new readers as well as keeping their current ones. If you are just starting a blog, you should definitely be making an email list. Email lists serve the purpose of giving you a way to contact those who want to hear more from you.
However, these lists won’t be able to be made overnight. They need to grow over time. To do this, subscription buttons at the beginning and end of blogs should be used for people to click on and then enter their email address. In addition, pop-ups on your blogs should be used to prompt the reader to subscribe to your email list.
While the pop-ups may be slightly annoying to your reader, it won’t prevent them from viewing the content. It will however increase the amount of people that subscribe to your list. Having this email list will also increase your confidence. It will give your more motivation to write because you will know that there are people out there who want to read your content and are waiting for more. As a result, an email list should be seen as mandatory for creating a successful blog, as opposed to an optional addition.
Plan When You Will Publish
Especially in the beginning of creating a blog, you will most likely create several posts with the information that you are dying to talk about. This is great because it means you are excited about what you are doing.
However, these posts should not be published as soon as they are written. You should keep your posts scheduled to be published at specific intervals. This is good for several reasons. First, your viewers will make it a habit to check your blog each week at the time that you choose to have a post go out. This will keep them thinking about your blog on this day.
Scheduling your posts is also good because it gives you a buffer if you are having trouble writing or want to take a break. By having posts on reserve, you can take a break without worrying that your followers will leave you.
Also, being consistent is another way to increase the amount of followers you have. If the reader knows that there will be a new post from you every week, they will be more inclined to subscribe to your email list.
Check out this article by Entrepreneur on starting a blog for more information.