Becoming a great blogger isn’t easy. You have to dedicate time to it and learn a completely new craft.
You have to decide on a domain name, choose a platform, choose a design, create a privacy policy, decide on a blogging calendar, set up your social media accounts, and create regular content.
But what can you do immediately? Here are seven easy ways to become a better blogger.
1. Choose a job that allows you to create
Most bloggers don’t make a living from their blogs. At least not immediately. Hopefully, you will be able to find a job that still allows you to be creative in some way.
2. Keep a notepad with you at all times
Keep a physical paper notepad and a pen and pencil with you at all times. Doodle. Eavesdrop. Write it all down. Writing by hand actually makes you smarter. ‘Writing entails using the hand and fingers to form letters … the sequential finger movements activate multiple regions of the brain associated with processing and remembering information,’ says Patricia Ann Wade. (via) We spend so much of life attached to electronic devices, it seems like a good idea to keep our brains stimulated.
3. Create your own social media hashtag
Instead of worrying about which hashtag you should use, create your own. Use it every time you share your posts on social media. You can also use these as a call to action. When you create your own hashtag, you give potential followers a unique way to find you on social media.
3. Try something new
Never let boredom win. You have to be interested in things to be interesting.
- Visit an astrologer or tarot card reader or psychic.
- Listen to music you’ve never listened to before.
- Watch a film you swore you’d never watch in a genre you dislike.
- Paint or draw.
- Learn to play a musical instrument – if you don’t.
- If you’re worried about your writing skills, read a book on how to write or take a writing course.
- Reinvent yourself. Go bungee jumping. Pick up that dreaded spider.
- Research something weird.
- Join a book club. At the very least, you’ll meet some interesting characters.
4. Find a blogging ally
Find somebody who blogs about the same things you do. Ask them if you can blog for them and if they would like to return the favour.
5. Attend blogging or writers’ conferences
You should attend conferences on the topic you’ve chosen for your blog. You can choose conferences on blogging and writing as well.
6. Follow great blogs
Find great blogs who blog about your topic. Follow them. Use a search engine like Google and search for ‘The 10 Best Blogs On…’ You can also follow a page on Facebook and it will suggest similar pages to the one you like. Visit them and see if you enjoy the content. There are also blog directories for suggestions.
7. Follow trends
This does not mean that you must write about every new thing that happens. But, when something comes along that you enjoy , or you know your followers will enjoy, write about it.
If you want to learn how to blog and write for social media, join us for The Complete Blogging and Social Media Course.
Amanda Patterson is the founder of Writers Write. Books have saved her life many times and she carries one with her at all times in case of emergencies. She has interviewed many authors, written a ridiculous number of book reviews, several books, hundreds of blog posts, and more courses than she can remember.
