Blogging Tips & Tricks for Beginners 2018 // MissBeautyEmily
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Blogging is becoming huge right now and so many new personalities are joining and creating their own content. I have had my blog for a few years now and although I don't dedicate myself to it as much as my Youtube, I still feel like I've got a couple helpful tips and tricks up my sleeve. Hopefully this post is going to help any new or emerging bloggers on how to make the most of their blog!
Write for yourself
When starting out you want to make your personality shine! To do this, you need to be writing for yourself and not imitate/copy others or produce content others want but you have no interest in. What distinguishes one blogger from another is them as a person and if you're producing content that is just a carbon copy then people won't be interested or invest themselves into your writing.
Be consistent
I bang on and on about this whenever anyone asks for me tips on blogging and youtube. Being consistent is so important in this field of work. If you want to get your content out there and build an invested audience then you need to be producing content as much as possible. Of course quality comes over quantity so I would recommend 1 - 2 decent posts a week. I know that may seem very hypocritical as I already admitted I don't blog much but if you were to see my youtube, I religiously produce videos twice a week and it's made a huge difference to when I'd upload every so often. The same applies to blogging and I highly recommend it.
Create social media pages
Twitter and Instagram are two social media pages I swear by. I have met many of my blogging friends through these means and they are perfect to promote your posts on. Twitter is huge for bloggers and you can use a range of hashtags to put yourself out there. I tend to use '#bbloggers, #fbloggers and #ukbloggers' as they are very well known and looked through daily. Feel free to have a little look at my social media to see how I put myself out there!
Promote yourself
Leading on from the social media pages, promoting yourself is key in blogging. The industry is huge now and you can't rely on the hope of someone stumbling across your page now. I would recommend scheduling some promotional tweets for your twitter on platforms such as Crowdfire, Buffer or a quick google search will bring many more up. I used to schedule a couple of tweets a day linking to my blog, to recent posts and some of my youtube videos. I feel as long as you don't over-promote yourself then this way will build your reader and view base strongly. Just don't be one of those bloggers where you promote your posts every 5 minutes! Otherwise it becomes a bit spammy, something no ones wants to see.
Sign up to websites for opportunities
A fantastic perk of blogging is being able to take part in opportunities you never would of thought you would. I have been lucky to work with the likes of Magnitone, UNiDAYS, Makeup Revolution, Charlotte Tilbury and more! A lot of mine come from being directly contacted by the brand but I have sourced some through websites designed for blogging opportunities. Some of my favourites are:
Write for yourself
When starting out you want to make your personality shine! To do this, you need to be writing for yourself and not imitate/copy others or produce content others want but you have no interest in. What distinguishes one blogger from another is them as a person and if you're producing content that is just a carbon copy then people won't be interested or invest themselves into your writing.
Be consistent
I bang on and on about this whenever anyone asks for me tips on blogging and youtube. Being consistent is so important in this field of work. If you want to get your content out there and build an invested audience then you need to be producing content as much as possible. Of course quality comes over quantity so I would recommend 1 - 2 decent posts a week. I know that may seem very hypocritical as I already admitted I don't blog much but if you were to see my youtube, I religiously produce videos twice a week and it's made a huge difference to when I'd upload every so often. The same applies to blogging and I highly recommend it.
Create social media pages
Twitter and Instagram are two social media pages I swear by. I have met many of my blogging friends through these means and they are perfect to promote your posts on. Twitter is huge for bloggers and you can use a range of hashtags to put yourself out there. I tend to use '#bbloggers, #fbloggers and #ukbloggers' as they are very well known and looked through daily. Feel free to have a little look at my social media to see how I put myself out there!
Promote yourself
Leading on from the social media pages, promoting yourself is key in blogging. The industry is huge now and you can't rely on the hope of someone stumbling across your page now. I would recommend scheduling some promotional tweets for your twitter on platforms such as Crowdfire, Buffer or a quick google search will bring many more up. I used to schedule a couple of tweets a day linking to my blog, to recent posts and some of my youtube videos. I feel as long as you don't over-promote yourself then this way will build your reader and view base strongly. Just don't be one of those bloggers where you promote your posts every 5 minutes! Otherwise it becomes a bit spammy, something no ones wants to see.
Sign up to websites for opportunities
A fantastic perk of blogging is being able to take part in opportunities you never would of thought you would. I have been lucky to work with the likes of Magnitone, UNiDAYS, Makeup Revolution, Charlotte Tilbury and more! A lot of mine come from being directly contacted by the brand but I have sourced some through websites designed for blogging opportunities. Some of my favourites are:
- WOW Free Stuff: A site that lists loads of freebies that you can get! I recently got chosen to receive a free L'Oreal lipstick which fits in perfectly for me but there's all different freebies on there including baby stuff, pet items and perfumes. You just need to follow the instructions listed on how to get the freebie and then you qualify!
- TheBloggerProgramme: I've gotten a few opportunities through this website and find they update their site frequently. They put up opportunities along with social media requirements and if you meet these then you can send over your pitch to why they should choose you.
- Influenster: This app is great for bloggers of all followings as you are randomly picked to receive a box containing goodies from a brand. I've received 3 boxes from Rimmel London now and you get little tasks to complete to earn badges involving the products you were sent.
The first thing any reader will see of your post is the title and accompanying photo. This is why I can't stress how important it is to make sure your photos are clear and pleasing to look at! Having a catchy title to draw readers in is also key, it's almost like an advert to the whole post and if it's plain and boring then no one is going to want to click. Play around with different styles of photography and find your own unique look. I'm definitely not the best at photography but I have definitely improved since day 1. Look into guides online on how to maximise the use of your camera/phone for photos and keep trying!
Involve your audience
Although I always stress to 'write for yourself', I do like to invite my readers to let me know what they'd like to see. You're not obliged to use the ideas but if they're reading your blog frequently it's likely that they already share a lot of the same interests with you so the ideas they have will work with you. This is also so helpful if you get a complete mind block, the amount of times I struggle for ideas is crazy!
What are your top tips? Leave them below!
- Emily x
* This post was sponsored but all opinions are my own
Involve your audience
Although I always stress to 'write for yourself', I do like to invite my readers to let me know what they'd like to see. You're not obliged to use the ideas but if they're reading your blog frequently it's likely that they already share a lot of the same interests with you so the ideas they have will work with you. This is also so helpful if you get a complete mind block, the amount of times I struggle for ideas is crazy!
What are your top tips? Leave them below!
- Emily x
* This post was sponsored but all opinions are my own
4 comments
Love this post! Just wish I'd read this when I first started, some very interesting points! Thanks for sharing x
ReplyDeleteThese are great tips! Like you I've had a blog for years but only really started to commit myself to writing regularly this year. I'm starting to look into brand reviews and things and didn't know about some of those sites! Will definitely check them out. Thanks for all the tips x
ReplyDeleteEscapesAndEpiphanies | Travel Fashion Lifestyle
Great tips! I love influenster, it gives you the opportunity to try so many nice new products xx
ReplyDeleteSome really helpful tips here. I love using Influenster too!
ReplyDelete