14
By Alexis Chateau

10 Tips for New Bloggers

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

By Alexis Chateau

I’ve tried many different platforms and recommend WordPress.

WordPress has a built-in community, and helps you create that professional website feel.

Other good choices include: ◦ Blogger

◦ FreeWebs

◦ Flipboard

◦ Tumblr

Decide what you want to write about.

A blog that covers everything has no real direction and is difficult to brand.

If you’re trying to grow your readership, then branding is something you need to keep in mind.

Switching topics can also cost you followers. ◦ For example: People looking for fashion tips today

might not care to read about your political views tomorrow.

Especially when working with professionals, it’s important to know the difference between a blog and a blog post to: ◦ Avoid confusion

◦ Avoid looking like an amateur (this affects your credibility)

Your blog post is your individual written piece.

Your blog is the collection of your blog posts, about me page, etc.

When people share your work on social media, it helps promote your blog.

Encourage people to share by making sharing easy. To do this, install share buttons on your site.

Platforms to include: ◦ Facebook

◦ Twitter

◦ LinkedIn (esp. for business blogs)

◦ Pinterest etc.

Don’t leave the social media promotion to your readers.

Share your work on your own social media pages, or even create separate social media accounts for your blog.

Don’t over-do it on promotional posts ◦ Should only make-up about 20% of what you post,

or readers begin to see your accounts as spam.

Post regularly but not too often. ◦ Posting too often spams your subscribers’ inboxes.

◦ Not often enough makes it easy to fall by the wayside.

Find a schedule that works for you and stick to it.

We recommend once or twice per week for smaller blogs with one writer.

Even if you’re only writing for the sake of art, art gets edited too. Ask any movie producer or published author.

Editing ensures your work says what you mean.

Typos detract from quality, and can confuse readers.

Networking is important.

Some great options: ◦ Social media

◦ Joining writing groups

◦ Making use of the built-in community on the platform you host on, if it has one.

People like to be acknowledged, and love to be listened to.

Acknowledge readers by liking their comments.

Show you’ve “listened” by responding to their comments.

Keep the conversation going. More comments help to build your ranking on search engines.

Your greatest support will usually come from family and friends.

They already love you, so they’re wonderfully biased.

That translates into good PR for you through: ◦ Their engagement with your posts (likes,

comments, just visiting the page boosts traffic)

◦ Word of mouth and referrals

◦ Sharing your posts on social media

It takes guts to publish your work and put it out there for people to either love or tear apart. But that’s the risk we all take when we venture into the world of blogging.

Read the full article here.

Alexis Chateau is the founder and managing partner of Alexis Chateau LLC.

She brings 10 years of experience to the PR firm as a writer, editor, and PR specialist.

Chateau holds an associate’s degree in the arts, and a bachelor’s in business.

“Professional PR for

Startup Budgets”