Successful Blogging In 5 Easy Steps
Kevin Ocasio
Successful Blogging In 5 Easy Steps A lot of people are enticed with the idea of blogging for the reason of being able to make money online. So they start their blog and expect immediate outcomes. After waiting and not seeing results, they finally give up. That explains why several new blogs go live everyday but only handful stand the test of time. In reality, it’s easy to start a blog. The challenge is in making it super successful. It’s not enough to just have a blog. You have to be passionate in maintaining it. Today, I am going to show you 5 easy steps towards blogging success. These tips will help you build the blog you and your audience will love.
1. Well-Formatted Posts People usually skim when reading online content. For that reason, you should be able to make it easy for visitors to find the information they’re looking for by making your posts skimmable. Remember that not all your visitors are avid readers. Let people realize that your blog has everything they need. Below are some tips for well-formatted blog posts:
Successful Blogging In 5 Easy Steps
Successful Blogging In 5 Easy Steps Headings and subheadings – Whether or not you have a table of contents for your posts, headings and subheadings are important because they tell readers what a section is all about. Adding them in your posts saves people time and effort in deciphering the main point of a paragraph. Bullet points – Bullet points are not only visually appealing, they highlight important information. They are used to describe important steps or instructions that readers can reference anytime. Hyperlinks – Hyperlinks help supplement your blog posts. They expand your piece of information, providing visitors a wealth of information relevant to your topic at hand. Don’t allow the effort you’ve spent crafting your posts go to waste just because they’re poorly formatted. Well-formatted posts encourage visitors to keep reading.
2. Strong Introductions Your blog post intros are supposed to complement your titles and arouse readers’ curiosities, keeping them hooked until they arrive at the body of your content. Bloggers find it quite painful to craft introductions that inspire people to read more. In my own experience, I often find myself staring at a blank screen for minutes before writing the first sentence of a blog post intro. Julie Neidlinger of CoSchedule.com suggests these tips for writing intros:
Successful Blogging In 5 Easy Steps
Successful Blogging In 5 Easy Steps Include shocking, interesting facts – Unpredictable facts hook readers. Check out Jeff Deutsch’s introduction in his blog post entitled Confessions of a Google Spammer. One may wonder, “How exactly did this guy make $50,000 a month?” Use a quote – Quotations make beautiful openings. They add personality to your content and make readers feel inspired. However, be careful not to overuse them. Your readers might find them boring over time. Ask questions – Throw a question or two that compel readers to think. Don’t ask too obvious ones. They kill your posts. Your questions should be open-ended – not answerable with a simple yes or no. There’s no need for you to worry if you can’t write the best introductions fast at this point. It just takes some practice for you to master the skill. Keep pushing and follow the tips above.
3. Essential Plugins Plugins are must-haves. They are every blogger’s best friends. Plugins add functionality to your site and allow you and your blog readers to accomplish certain goals. There are a lot of free plugins available these days that add massive value to your blog. Take for example Akismet, a WordPress plugin that keeps your site safe from spam comments. Below are a list of plugins (free and paid) that you should try: Yoast SEO – Yoast SEO satisfies your content marketing needs. What it does is that it makes every piece of content you have SEO friendly by giving real-time recommendations on your keyword density, titles, meta descriptions, and more. WP Review Pro Successful Blogging In 5 Easy Steps
Successful Blogging In 5 Easy Steps – This plugin adds social proof to your blog by allowing you to generate real reviews and comments from your visitors. You have the option to choose your review type – star, point, or percentage. Comment Luv – Comment Luv gets you more comments from your blog readers so you can increase your search traffic. It has built-in anti-spam features so you won’t have to worry about receiving spam comments.
4. Quality Theme First impressions last online. If you want your blog to appeal to all audiences, invest in a quality theme. The design of your blog plays a huge role in engaging visitors and keeping them interested. The human brain craves visuals. This explains why visually engaging content always wins.
Design Shack outlines 10 features that should be present in a quality WordPress theme. They are the following:
Successful Blogging In 5 Easy Steps
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Social sharing features Inclusion of custom widgets Customization options Optimized for SEO Retina display ready Responsive design Multiple page styles Auto upgrade and support Design add-ons Quality code
With so many WordPress themes to choose from these days, any blogger can get confused in picking the best one for their blog. Hopefully, these 10 features are able to help you. A word of advice though: Go for a paid theme. It’ll guarantee you more updates and ongoing support.
5. Compelling About Page Your About page is the most essential part of your blog. It shows your visitors who you are, what your blog is all about, and how your blog can help them. Here’s an example of an About page that stands out: I’ve visited blogs with great content and found out that some of them either lack an About page or have an About page that’s too generic. Great content will matter less if readers have no idea who they’re dealing with. When crafting your About age, remember these tips:
Successful Blogging In 5 Easy Steps
Successful Blogging In 5 Easy Steps Be conversational and friendly. Tell people what you believe in. Add a real photo of yourself. If possible, add a compelling video of yourself. Add your contact details or links to your social media pages. A story of how you got started. An About page adds personality and credibility to your blog. Melyssa Griffin mentions that your About page must be all about the value you offer your readers.
Final Thoughts Blogging offers you tons of opportunities if give your blog the love it deserves. You’ll be able to engage people, connect with other great bloggers, make money, and grow a loyal tribe. These are just some of the many recommendations you can take note of when it comes to successful blogging. I hope this post is able to encourage you to make your blog as successful as it should be.
Successful Blogging In 5 Easy Steps
Successful Blogging In 5 Easy Steps What steps do you follow to build a successful blog? Let me know your thoughts by commenting below.
Successful Blogging In 5 Easy Steps