Blogging and Publishing Blog Posts is Fun, but it is also work!
Many people these days are working on the Web either full time or in their spare time. Blogging has become a great hobby, part time business and sometimes even a full-time business.
Depending on your reasons for Blogging, you may want to follow some of these steps so that more people will respond to what you are writing about!
So let’s get down to business and look at some of the steps you can take to make your Blog “Stand Out” and be seen.
It’s all About Connections
Subject
First and foremost you have to write about something that people want to know more about! It doesn’t help you to write Blog after Blog about a subject that no one searches the web for. So picking your subject is the first step. I use a tool called Jaaxy, which helps me to find the words and phrases that people are searching for on the web. This is called Keyword Research. Without this tool, you could be writing for years and never have your work found by the world at large. So start with good Keyword Research for all your Blog posts.
Writing
Along with the keyword research comes the actual writing of your Blog Post. You need to know your topic and write about it in an authoritative way. Keep your writing relevant to the Title of your Blog Post. You want people to look at what you are writing and take your advice, you are the authority on that subject! They should be compelled, by your writing to make a better decision. DO NOT plagiarize! Use your own words to express your topic. If you are quoting someone, give credit to the person you are quoting.
If you are looking for help with Blogging and using it to generate some income, I would highly suggest getting help from Pajama Affiliates! They are a group that teaches you how to turn your blogging into a business. You decide how big or how small you want that to be.
Would you like to learn the Right Way to Blog for Money?
Pictures
Blog posts can be pretty boring if they are just word after word with nothing to break up those words. Use pictures to give some meaning and visual beauty to your writing. Just as children love picture books, readers of blogs love to see pictures related to what they are reading. With Blog Posts you must remember to fill in your Alt tags. This will help your blog to be found by the search engines. You should also make sure that you have at least one picture ready for social media sharing. Pinterest pictures 735×1102 with Alt tags filled in should be on your Post. DO NOT just grab pictures off the internet without permission. Give credit to pictures you are using even if they come from a “free site”. This is a good habit and one that will help you in the long run.
Fonts and Bolding
Blogging can be so much fun when you put a little personality into your writing. Add different fonts and bolding to make your points stand out! Skim readers will pick up on those points that catch their eyes. You can also use “colored text” to catch their eyes too.
Do You like What You See? Follow me!
Affiliate Links
Here is where you should capitalize on your Blog Post. Use your links to Amazon, Shareasale, Linkshare etc, but don’t cover your Blog Post with these links. Write about each link (at least 100 words per link) and be the authority. No one wants to see a page full of links just waiting to be clicked on. They want compelling reasons to click on your links. Give them that reason, by writing about each one. All affiliate links should be “no follow” so that google indexes your blog site. They won’t index your site if you send them to Amazon or other affiliate sites. The “no follow” makes them stay on your Blog page.
PROOF READ
There is nothing more distressing than reading a Blog Post from someone that is supposed to be an authority on their subject and finding lots of spelling errors or errors in grammar. Most websites have a spell checker and grammar checker on board. Use them! I know it can be difficult when you have read and re-read what you are writing, sometimes your eyes skip over the typos. If that happens, have a friend look over your Blog Post before you publish it.
Search Engines
There are many places where you can direct your URL to be indexed. Many are free and you should use these to let the search engines know there is new content on your site. Bing, Google, and many other search engines regularly “crawl” the internet for new content, but when you let them know there is new content it will crawl them faster. Some of the Pinging Services I send my Blog Posts out to are: Pingomatic and SubmitStart. Both of these are free to use, so use them and get your content out there.
Social Media
If you are working on the internet, you know how important Social Media is. You should have your own Facebook page, invite friends and family to like your page. Post your Blogs on those pages. You should have a Pinterest account. Make sure you set it up properly and again, post your Blogs. Join other Facebook groups where you can share your writings. Have a Google + account as well and set it up properly. Everywhere you go on the web, make sure that your Home Page URL is visible.
Social Media, Social Media, Can I say it again, Social Media
Just a few Added thoughts:
Your blog is your space to write about things that matter to you or subjects that you want others to know about. Make it easier to find out what your audience is thinking by making sure there a comments section on your Blog Posts. If you can add social sharing buttons to your Blog Post that is also an added bonus. When someone finds your blog and they like what they see, it’s easy for them to share it with their friends as well. If you are comfortable with your Blog posts, you can also set up a newsletter where people can subscribe to your Blog.
If you’d like you can follow me or sign up for my newsletter. I always have something new and different just for you!
**Just to keep things on the Up and Up, the links for Jaaxy and Pajama Affiliates are my own personal links, if you sign up using those links, I will be paid a small commission! **
I too use Jaaxy. I’ve never found a tool that performs half as well with keyword research. If you do multiple searches on a keyword string you will find yourself with a long tail keyword phrase to target.
For better or for worse, I’m an Amazon Associate…and although this particular computer is handling it and I’m reading around them, to me this post looks cluttered up with too many, too big, messy graphics. For my eyes, the more it looks like a book, the better…and I don’t mean a picture book! (I’m the one who’s blogged about the increasing split between people who want the Internet to look more like TV and those who, like me, would prefer a text-only, click-to-see-one-picture-at-a-time-if-you-really-want-to version of *every*thing.)
That’s what makes the internet so much fun Priscilla King! Each person has their own likes and dislikes. I visited your page and for me there is just too much text….I like my reading to be broken up with a bit of fun in the way of pictures. Thank you for your visit and I hope to see you again.
These are all excellent tips for beginners and a few helpful reminders for the experienced as well. The hard part is realizing that it is an ever-changing world to work in, but the basics you have offered will always be relevant regardless.
Thank you Miss Cynthia, I need a list to keep me on track, otherwise, I always forget something important. I was hoping to help others as well. I appreciate your feedback.
Awesome post, written in such a fun and engaging tone, Just what a blogger should do. Pour your spirit into your content and you will attract those seeking your energy….Blogging is awesome and you just made it sound super easy! Thanks for sharing at the pit stop!
Thank you Julie, I’m glad you enjoyed the post…..I don’t know if it’s super easy, but it is doable…
Thank you, Julie, hopefully, it helps others become better bloggers and get more views on their sites as well. I appreciate you stopping and commenting.
Can you explain more about what no follow links are and how to do that?
Hope the email helps you Brenda.
I am a member of the group Pajama Affiliates. There are many great bloggers there. I can’t afford any courses at the moment. I bought one last year and could never figure out howto open it. My loss.
Oh Sandy, don’t give up. Send Robin or Lesley a note and let them know you are having trouble getting into their course. They will help you. Once you have bought a course, you have access for life. They are very good at responding to anyone who is having issues. I know that because I had issues when I first started too.
Lots of great information here, Olivia. It seems a bit overwhelming, but you’ve broken it down into pieces that anyone can follow to get their blog started or resurrected.
Thanks Susan, I’m glad you found the parts easy to digest. I just hope I didn’t forget anything important for beginner bloggers or those who are trying to resurrect an old blog. I appreciate your comments and visit.
I’ve been blogging for years but somewhere between then and now I got lazy when it came to those links (no follow). I honestly just thought it was on my site doing it for me. Oops. I’m trying to do it all now, going back through old posts and fixing the posts to be more of a keyword focus. Great tips.
Blogging is definitely not something that you want to get lazy about. It makes all the work you have done, useless. Those links are most important to get fixed, otherwise, you don’t get indexed at all. That’s the whole point of Blogging to begin with, you want to get indexed and rank. Good Luck with the updates, Eliza.
Proof-reading…. ah, so important! And nothing I hate more than finding a typo after I’ve shared a blog post on social media!
Very helpful list.
Proofreading is one of my pet peeves. I can’t stand finding typos either, but what makes me crazier is when you read something and it’s written almost in a child-like stutter. Words that are repeated incorrectly. I can’t bring myself to read those types of Blog posts. Thanks for your comments Dawn Rae.
Wonderful tips and advice for all blogger. I am still trying to get better with the whole keyword thing.
Thank you Brenda, I know, those keywords are hard for some (me especially), Jaaxy has been a lifesaver in that regard. Glad you found the tips helpful.
Some great tips here. As a photographer, I am a huge fan of photos, and since they are nearly always my own, I agree on adding the copyrights.
I was thinking of my photographer friends when I added the section about pictures Rhonda, you included. It is an important point for sure.
Olivia, you are brilliant! This is the best advice that I’ve seen about blogging. This same advice can be found in numerous other places online, but it’s so much quicker and easier to use, with them all in one place. Good work!
Thank You Nancy, that mean a lot to me. Glad people are finding it helpful. I don’t know if I missed any key points, but I’m hopeful that if I have someone will point them out so that I can add to the list.
I also try to do most of these things, but I don’t have a newsletter yet. Nor do I have Jaxxy yet. Keywords have always been my worst area. I think you have given good advice and covered most of the bases here.
If your blogs are making you a decent return, you probably already have the keywords down. If not, then Jaaxy is your next best friend. They have a 30 day free trial. Use the link and see if you like it or if it makes a difference in how your blogs are seen. Thanks Barbara….
These are some really great tips that would benefit every blogger. I could definitely work on some of these myself!
Thanks for your comments Jessica. It means the world to me.
I think I’m doing most of these things on my blogs, Olivia, except for not being very good at keyword research.
Pat, that is great to hear. I was doing this post for my benefit. I always seem to forget something. But the Keyword research is key…..after using it on one of my posts, I made almost !0.00 where I had made nothing before….Jaaxy is easy to use and gives you lots of keywords and long tailed keywords too. Worth the investment.
For me blogging used to be hard work but now, since I’ve realised I’m not going to get rich, it’s become much more fun. I now write what I want when I want and place it where I want and never mind how much it earns – what concerns me now is how much it is seen!
Bill, the key to getting it seen is to share it on social media. People are always looking for something that will catch their eyes. Pinterest is great, make sure you have a picture to pin….Size 735×1102 and put it up on group boards with regards to travel. I know you write about Scotland. I have shared many on my Pinterest Travel boards.
This is really helpful! I’ve been blogging for years now but I am only now digging deeper into all this stuff.
Divya, I can’t believe how much difference there is since I started to use Jaaxy. It’s a bit of an investment, but the bottom line is without getting noticed, you go nowhere. It is worth its weight in gold. That’s not just my opinion, a lot of people who blog recognize that Keywords are of utmost importance.
Thank you for sharing this. I love how detailed the post is. I made a few notes in order to make changes to some things on my blog.
Dear Divine, if there is one thing that you need more than anything else, it is the Keyword research tool. It makes finding and using keywords and long-tailed keywords a breeze. Worth its weight in gold. Especially if you want to monetize your blog posts. Keyword research is key and Jaaxy is the tool to do it easily.
Very helpful list – lots of things which I already do, but some things I could add to my work as I try to move from hobby blogging to possibly something more. 🙂
Hi Heather, glad to hear that you do many of these things. I made the list for my own sake because I inevitably forget something important. If you are moving from hobby to monetizing your blog, the Keyword research tool Jaaxy is a must have. It will make a big difference in your visibility if you use it correctly. Keywords and long-tailed keywords are important parts of writing a blog post that can convert to sales.
I loved reading this, as I am new to blogging for business and using affiliates. I am happy to know I am on the right track with the alt tags and no follow points, phew! I think I might use a little too much bolding of text and italics…something to work on lol 😉 Thank you!!!
Thank you for your comments Tanya, glad it was a help to you.