A Few Tips on Blogging

· by · in Book Reviews. ·

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I have been blogging for three years now and, so, I think, I can consider myself as a self-proclaimed veteran. After all, I have spent one hundred and ninety-six days anointing the muse of blogging!

Jokes apart, blogging, to me, is a continuous learning process and the most amazing part being, one can learn a lot even from the newbies. From the Day 1, I considered myself a student and, I’m still holding to that stand. The only difference is, I’m now a veteran student (oxymoron it might sound, but true).

I’m not here to discuss how to monetize your blog and the SEO aspects of blogging; how to increase traffic on your blog, how to bring your URL on the first page of Google Search…. a litany of such things. I would like to discuss a few tips, rather, a few observations I have come to learn in these three years.

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1. #BloggingTips: Write For Yourself

It’s your blog. It acts as a conduit between you and your thoughts. Be true to yourself and write from your heart. Whatever content is there, try to portray your own feelings and thoughts. Be it a review, a tech-article, an essay on the political scenario of your country or music, try to convey your personal opinions on it. Remember, there are gazillions of articles out there on the internet on the very same topic you are writing about; so apart from mere information, you need to add something else to make it unique. And, adding your own views are the easiest way to do that.

2. #BloggingTips: Build Your Audience

Building your audience doesn’t mean SEO. You can find a pretty good number of articles on the internet about SEO. There are even agencies who will do SEO for your blog on a contractual basis. I’m not into those things. I’m simply saying that try to make a circle of your own by connecting with other bloggers. No, this is not a quid pro quo thing; it is, rather, a friendly interaction with people having the same interest as you. Once you understand the thing, you’ll fall in love with it. It’s like fun learning with friends where everyone gets benefitted in some way or another.

3. #BloggingTips: Learning Is Fun, Read And Learn

As for myself, I’ve already told you that I learn every day. In fact, we all can learn every day if we pay attention. Visit other blogs and read other people’s views. At the end of the day, you will eventually succeed in learning at least one new thing. Interact with the bloggers whose blog you have enjoyed and encourage them by leaving a comment.

4. #BloggingTips: Commenting On Blogs 

Some might opine that commenting is not an important part of blogging. I would like to differ. If you don’t have feedbacks or comments on your articles, what’s the point being a blogger? And how is then you blog different from a typical website?

So, again, write for your audience and not for Google. Make your content unique and try to speak to your readers through your articles. Let them share their thoughts and honour their presence on your site. Try to reciprocate answering the comments. You consider your blog as your own virtual space, right? Then, don’t you think it’s of utmost importance to show some retaliation to your virtual visitors? Moreover, new ideas often spring from such conversations and help us to write better.

Don’t lambaste on any content or comment. You may or may not like a particular post of a fellow blogger or a negative comment on your blog. But, express your opinion with a calm composure. Never let anyone or anything get your goats. It’s an open space and, everybody is entitled to her/his views. So, establish your point firmly yet politely.

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5. #BloggingTips: Try To Be Consistent

Though consistency in blogging is important, but time plays a great role in this respect. A few, very few of us, are whole time bloggers. Most of us are into blogging just to gratify our creative side. But, try to write at least once a week. Don’t make your presence too sporadic by leaving your blog sulking in your absence.Your readers want to read new stories from you and, nobody likes to follow a ‘dead’ blog.

Similarly, don’t overdo things. That is, avoid writing 10 posts a day!

6. #BloggingTips: Role Of Social Media

Social media is playing a great role in today’s world. Use them effectively. Share your posts on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, StumbleUpon, and such other networking sites. Promote posts of other bloggers you have enjoyed reading. It will help you extend your network. Create a page on Facebook and share your posts on it as well. It’ll garner some traffic from Facebook for sure.

7. #BloggingTips: Strictly Avoid Cluttering Your Content With Keywords

We all are eager of getting more traffic. But is more traffic always a great sign of popularity? Let me cite an example. Let’s assume you own a spiffily decorated shop. Thousands of visitors come to the shop each day and leave without uttering a word or buying anything.
Do you consider it a successful business?
Well, the answer is NO.
I think you’ve gotten my point here. Don’t make your posts bland and uninteresting by stuffing keywords. That might pull off more traffic, but you’ll lose dedicated readers.

8. #BloggingTips: A Good Content Says The Last Word

Lastly, let me utter the clichéd yet evergreen phrase, content is the king. A good, well-researched, unique content always attracts more readers. Not only that, it helps to build up your credibility as a blogger. Use appropriate photographs to make your posts look attractive. It’s best to use images clicked by you, but that is not always possible. In case you use images from other sources, don’t forget to give the credit.

I hope you’ll find the above discussion helpful. What are your views about blogging? I’ll be more than happy to know your thoughts. #HappyBlogging 🙂

Space for my mind, my cozy nest
I open here myself, unsuppressed
My blog, here I find my serendipity 
Digital footprints on the ocean of eternity.

Image Credit (first one) here

192 responses to “A Few Tips on Blogging”

  1. Very useful tips! I agree that one should write for the audience and should not be too much concerned with SEO. If the content is good, readers will keep coming back for more.

    Liked by 1 person

  2. “To be a writer you should read, write and talk to people, hear their knowledge, hear their problems. Be a good Listener. The rest will come. -Jean Craighead George
    Great tips, although am struggling with consistency need to look into it.
    Anyways, thanks for your tips.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Great quote indeed. Yes, consistency is a problem with most of us as we are not full-time or professional bloggers. The best way to improve it is to write more when you’ve time enough and save them as drafts so that they can be published from time to time… 🙂 Thanks a lot for sharing your views…

      Like

  4. The wife and I noticed your blog and appreciate the neat incite you provide. We would like to encourage you to keep writing and never abandon this blog. If you ever decide you’d like a mobile app version of your blog, we would love to help. I appreciate the hard work you have put into this blog and wish you all future success in business and in life.

    Thank you for your time, it is the most precious thing we all possess.
    -Jacque’

    Liked by 1 person

  8. These could come convincing only from a ace like you. Agree on most points and this article reminds me “Social media is playing a great role in today’s world” which I’m rarely capitalizing 😦

    Like

  11. This is wonderful. I am just about to embark on my writing journey when I found your blog. These tips are going to be so helpful for a newbie like me. Congratulations for your 3rd year anniversary with blogging and many more years to come. Thank you!

    Liked by 1 person

  12. मनिपर्णा जी, ब्लॉगर्स के लिए बहुत ही उपयोगी टिप्स दिए है आपने। धन्यवाद।

    Liked by 1 person

  13. Very informative and helpful tips indeed,, I never understood SEO and all those complicated geeky tips, I do understand these tips and thanks for sharing. 🙂

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  14. Very well stated…. being consistent is a must… At times, I find that difficult and I know my post could be longggg… 😉 but that´s why I post less (for my readers sake and for my sake too 😀 Great share, Mani… have a beautiful weekend.

    Liked by 1 person

  20. Beautiful post, Mani. Congrats on about three years of blogging. I’ve enjoyed following along and reading the variety of articles, from book reviews to your thoughts about Indian culture 🙂

    Brilliant points raised. I agree that commenting and checking out other blogs is what makes blogging engaging. Getting feedback on blog posts makes me see what I’ve written in another perspective, and sometimes these interactions inspire future posts of mine. For instance, I love reading your blog and other Indian bloggers’ blogs too, and it has inspired me to do a post touching upon the theme of Asian and Indian. When the time is right, it will be out.

    I also like the point on blogging with original content and the fancy shop analogy. You can have a thousand views on your blog in a day, but what does that mean for you and your writing? It could mean that your writing is catching. But if you have one person stop and leave a comment, it might mean you have made a friend 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    • I so agree with your views, Mabel. I’ve gathered knowledge from your posts about Asian culture other than India. This, I believe, has strengthened by GK. Similarly, I read blogs from other countries and that helps me to know about their ways of life… 🙂

      Just loved the last line of your comment…so true it is!

      I will be waiting for your post on the said theme.

      Like

  21. Great tips for blogging, Mani. I recall that I had no clue when I started a few years ago. I agree, learning is fun, and I have learned so much from our blog community. 🙂 Good read, Thank you!

    Liked by 1 person

  22. Couldn’t agree more with what you had to say though consistency is not my forte. I mean I have been there and done that but these days it’s more ‘ I’ll only write about what excites me.’

    Liked by 1 person

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