Hey There! Hope you are doing well. I started blogging in 2011 and learned many lessons the hard way as I was not trained in blogging in any way. I neither had any friends nor any other guidance. I do not want you and others to go through all of that pain. I wish I had known all of these details earlier to save a lot of time, effort, and money.
These days the number one place to get information, gossip, gist, etc., the blogs, welcome to the fantastic world of blogging, below are 7 essential things one should know as a blogger to achieve short-term and long-term success.
1. Blogging Platform
This is usually the first step in blogging – there are different blogging platforms in the world, some of which are WordPress, Tumblr, Blogger, Scoop, Drupal, etc. WordPress is by far the largest blogging platform and it is used all over the world, it’s advisable to use WordPress because it’s the easiest to set up and it’s also easy to interact with people on the WordPress platform.
2. Use of Visual Contents
The use of visual content on your blog posts helps to make it more attractive, visual content here includes graphics, photos, videos, etc. You should make sure that each post has a picture, this helps to attract readers and also enhances the posts, visual content also helps in adding extra information, breaking up posts that are long, also drawing the reader’s attention since it is normally at the beginning of the posts.
Make sure that you use only copy-right-free images. Do not just download any image from the internet and put it there. There are a few websites like Pixabay.com and Pexels.com that provide royalty-free images and videos for free.
3. Establish Good Relationships with Other Bloggers
I have not done this for a very long time. Building relationships with other bloggers is one of the vital factors that will influence the success of your blog. Don’t see other bloggers as competitors instead see them as potential allies because they can help you when you are stuck with an issue or a question in mind. They can also help you in advertising and sharing your posts on their social media platforms. If you are completely new to blogging and have no friends at all then you can start joining groups related to blogging, SEO, internet marketing, etc on Facebook and Linkedin. Start following blogging experts on Twitter as well.
4. Name Your Blog
What’s in the Name? One of the attractive features of blogs is the uniqueness of the blog’s name since it is the easiest way readers can find you. Preferably it will be better if the domain name and the blog name are similar so that your readers can easily find you. Try to make it as relevant to your content as possible. For example, my blog’s name is dollarsNrupees.com and I write about Money & Entrepreneurial topics in Asian and American markets.
5. Make use of Killer Headlines
This is the first thing that intrigues a reader to click on your post, coming up with a unique and attractive title is not as easy as it seems, but to be a successful blogger, attractive headlines and titles are one of the vital key to achieving that. A great headline usually sets up the readers’ expectations and attention.
6. Sharing Of Your Posts and Photos Should Be Made Easy
One way of making your posts noticed is through social media, but doing this all by yourself isn’t enough. One of the advantages of using WordPress is that it allows the sharing of posts through plugins.
These plugins make it easy to implement share buttons on your blog and this makes it easier for readers to click and share your posts and photos from your blog to other social media like Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, etc.
7. Get Acquitted With Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
It is required for you to learn the basics of Search Engine Optimization, this will go a long way in helping you choose keywords for your posts. Keywords are phrases that readers use to search the web for information E.g. best betting tips, three ways to make her fall in love with you, Etc. while constructing your post, it’s best you have a particular keyword which you would like to optimize the content for.