Can I share with you a secret? Just promise you won’t tell anyone. Femaleblogpreneur was my first blog… Whaat?! I know. Yes, my first blog was a blog teaching people how to blog. Funny right? Well now that you know let me tell you how I managed to look like a pro even though I’m just a beginner.
Well, I completed a Diploma in Blogging and Content Marketing, which gave me a basic foundation for blogging but in all honesty, I couldn’t depend on that alone to achieve success as a first-time blogger. There was so much more I had to learn myself and here are tips that have helped me to gain recognition in the blogging world. I hope these tips will help you in your journey as a blogpreneur.
Table of Contents
1. Planning is key
Did you know that 75% of blogs fail in their first 6 months. I thought about it and realized that one of the main causes of this is that most people fail to plan. They don’t have a plan for their blog, how they want to achieve their goals, or how they are going to grow it.
A blog requires a plan just like any other business does. When you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
If you want your blog to thrive and become a business, then plan it as if it is one. It’s not as hectic as it may sound. It’s small things like planning how you are going to market it, which platforms you will use, how often you will post, who your target audience is and how you will reach them.
Plan your theme, your hosting platform, and all those details, and you will realize that you will look like a pro even when you are a novice at blogging.
2. Research will make you an expert
Do a lot of research about your niche so you are up to date with what’s happening in the industry. This is the quickest way to become a pro blogger when you are just starting out. Study what other pro bloggers are doing and what is working for others. Try to implement the same. It will most probably work for you as well.
Research your post ideas before you publish them. Look for people in your niche, and see what they creating content around. Create content that is better than theirs so that you’re not just posting but you’re adding value in your niche.
If your content is either less quality or is indifferent from your competitors or other people in your niche, then nothing really separates you from them and readers have no reason to prefer your blog over theirs. So uniqueness is key.
By researching you also get more knowledgeable about the topics you blog about and learn more than you already know. This will help to establish you as a professional in your niche.
Most times when people are on the internet they are looking to learn something new or to be entertained, if your content is not well researched, planned, and doesn’t reflect relevant experience then it will most likely not provide value to readers.
So research, research, research!
3. Build connections with pro bloggers
The blogging community is one of the most supportive and friendly ones out there. We are all trying to reach a wider audience so helping each other is the best way for all of us to grow. One way to become a pro blogger is to connect with other pro bloggers in the industry and learn from each other.
Find fellow bloggers to partner up with, befriend, follow and support. These connections will help you grow as a blogger and also helps you to learn from others and get inspiration from them. The best places to find these connections are on social media especially on Twitter.
This takes me to my next tip…
4. Social media should be your best friend
Not in a literal sense cause we all need real friends, but in the sense that it should become the cornerstone of your blog marketing. I use social media to drive most of my blog traffic.
Learn and try out different strategies to find out which ones work best for you, as well as which platforms you prefer, and focus on those. There are several social networks these days, don’t try to master all of them it most probably won’t work (speaking from experience) instead pick 2-4 depending on how well you can manage to spread your efforts between them.
Make use of social media scheduling tools like Tailwind (for Pinterest scheduling) and Buffer for Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. They will lighten the burden of social media for you so you can be able to spend less time on it while maximizing it.
Be active and use hashtags to reach more people.
Here’s a brief guide for my most preferred platforms:
First of all, switch your Pinterest account to a business account, if you intend to use it to drive traffic to your blog. Follow other bloggers especially those in your niche. Share your posts’ pins (high-quality ones please) and re-pin other bloggers’ pins so that they can do the same for yours. Next, look for group boards where you can promote your pins and ask the admins to add you. Once they’ve added you, you will be able to reach more people by pinning through those boards.
Follow my Pinterest account to find examples of group boards I use, as well as inspiration on how your pins should be like here.
Firstly, switch your Instagram account to a business account and include your blog’s link in your bio. Include updates of new blog posts in your Instagram stories. Follow other bloggers in your niche as well as other niches in general. This is how you can use Instagram to network. Like their posts and comment as well (genuinely) and in so doing they may follow you back and replicate the effort. Their followers may find you as well and they may become yours too.
Look for blogging groups to join (there are many!) and share your links on each blog promotion thread they have. That’s what of them are for. This will drive traffic to your blog as well as make your connections with other fellow bloggers if you make an effort to engage with the group members. Also, find some Facebook pages to follow that are related to your niche. Most people will post blog updates and some other inspirational information that can help you grow. To be honest, this is one platform I need to put more effort into for my blog, I haven’t gotten as much response for the page as I would have liked. You can check it out here and help me change that.
I underestimated Twitter the first days of blogging but it has been my second-best source of traffic after Pinterest. On Twitter look for blogging pages or blogger RT accounts and these will help you reach a lot of people on Twitter if you use their hashtags. The platform is not as saturated as the other three so chances of exposure are higher if you master it. Follow my account here to find some examples of such accounts to follow.
5. Put in the work
One of the best ways to actually become a pro blogger is by putting in the work. Most pro bloggers who have achieved success in their careers as bloggers have simply put in the work and it has paid off.
Be consistent in your efforts and eventually it will pay off. Put out high-quality content and prioritize that over quantity. People will keep coming back for more and if your blog is monetized then the income will soon come rolling in. If you put in the work, then you will reap what you work for. Try not to work too hard though, instead work smart; it’s the more productive way to go.
It’s easy to lose motivation sometimes but if you keep your head in the game and work smart then you will soon see results.
Follow my Instagram page for regular motivation and positivity here.
6. An effort a day keeps the traffic coming
One of my daily goals is to do at least one thing a day that will benefit my blog no matter how small. Now I’m not talking about writing and publishing content on a daily basis but I mean doing some little research on your niche a day (e.g. an article from another pro blogger), posting on your blog’s social media, pinning pins to grow your blog’s Pinterest account, participating in blogger networks or other things along those lines.
Try to make it a daily habit to do a least one small thing that will benefit your blog or blogging expertise. Little efforts go a long way!
7. Use a premium theme from the beginning
Invest in a premium theme! Your blog’s design speaks on your behalf. Having a great theme for your blog will help build trust with your early audience and portray you as a pro blogger even if you are just beginning.
It’s not expensive to get a premium theme if you buy from the right places and it will be so worth it for several reasons other than the professionalism of your blog. It will boost your site SEO and enable you to add extra features not available on free themes as well as support for specific features you may want to add to your blog.
My top recommendations to find high-quality themes at affordable prices are Themeforest, Creative Market, and Restored316 (you can find more on my Resource page. And if you want a powerful and modernized theme for all uses then Divi is definitely the way to go. It is super easy to use because of its powerful and simplified front-end editor.
A nice-looking theme will easily make your blog look professional and can hide the fact that you’re a newbie blogger. It basically speaks on your behalf and gives a unique impression on your blog visitors that your writing doesn’t. You’ll be surprised how many people will come back not because they like to read your content but they are just drawn to the design of your blog, so make it count!
With these 7 tips, you can look like a pro blogger even if you are new to the blogging world and just starting your blog.
Insightful! It’s difficult to stay motivated when you don’t see the results right away. Planning is the most important thing, like you mentioned. I’m fairly new at blogging, but I look forward to implementing you tips and seeing success on my blog!
Yes planning is definitely key. The best of luck with your blogging journey!
Thank you for these helpful tips!!
It’s an absolute pleasure! Thank you for reading!
Love this post, so helpful! Your blog looks great, I love the layout and color scheme! Thanks for sharing xx
It’s a pleasure. Thank you so much!
Valuable information. Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to more tidbits.
It’s a pleasure!
Loving this type of blog post. Thank you for sharing these tips. Need to start taking note.
You’re welcome Kaye! Thank you for reading!
Great content ?
Thank you Alaina!
As a planning addict, I totally agree with your point about planning, but action definitely beats all the planning in the world! So, doing something every day for my business is my favorite tip, and I LOVE tracking my little efforts every day in my habit tracker 😉
That’s great Karen! XX
Thank you so much for sharing the information. I’m on week one of starting a blog, and this helps so much!