8 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Blogging

Starting a new business can be difficult and you have resources available that you wouldn’t have had years ago. However, it’s human nature not to follow the advice of people because we think we know it all. I remember when I first started blogging, I wanted to make some quick money and avoided the advice of pioneers in the industry. To tell you the truth, there is no short cut to success and you have to work hard to succeed. For those of you who are looking to start blogging, it’s important you follow this advice. Why? Simple…

You’ll end up losing valuable time you could have otherwise applied to your business. Don’t take shortcuts as they don’t work. If you decide to, then you’re not really passionate about helping yourself and others.

Let’s jump right into it…

Stay Consistent

Rome wasn’t built overnight and this concept can be applied to your business. You have to stay consistent and be ready to go through adversity to get what you want. If, in the beginning, you are posting content every 3 days, then stick to the schedule. Consistency will have a huge effect on your credibility and your traffic as visitors don’t know when to expect new content. Blogging “3” times a week then dropping to “1” a month can slow growth, so create a schedule that is consistent and easy to keep. If you have a hard time staying consistent, then start slow and build your way up until you find something suitable for you in the middle.

Here’s a great example from Neil Patel…

Back in May 2009, he used to blog five times a month, and his traffic stats were 45,237 visitors a month. When he slowed down on his blogging, his traffic tanked to 35,786 visitors a month.

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Write the Best Content

It’s important you stay consistent with the quality of content you produce for two very important reasons. First, Google tweaked their search engine to give higher rankings to those who produce quality content. From my experience, high quality content provides an in-depth solution to a very common problem within your niche. Next,

Whatever is published online will stay online and it’s important to stay consistent throughout your content. Over time, your content will increase in rankings and older content can drive huge traffic to your blog. This increases user engagement and it’s important to ensure you have other high quality content to build loyalty.

Go Social

I wish I was better at using social platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ before I started blogging. When I started blogging it took me a month to become accustomed to sharing content and how to build a relevant following. Next, I had no clued how to use #hashtags and by the time I learned, it was around the 2 month mark. This means I lost out on relevant social marketing that would have produced enormous results.

Here’s something else Neil Patel mentioned on his blog…

“Once you build up your social media profiles, you can make almost any blog popular. For example, my business partner and I were able to get the Crazy Egg blog to over 100,000 visitors a month in less than one year. We did this by promoting the blog content on our social profiles.”

List Posts Rank Quickly

People are always looking for quick information and a list post fits that criteria because it offers everything in point form. A list point is EXACTLY like this post I’m writing, which is numbered and to the point. I’ve seen some even shorter, which provide on the heading and no text below. Here’s an example of one that I put together and it ranked #2 within Google in 2 months: 80 Do-Follow Article Directory Sites.

Before getting started, you have to know how to put a solid list post together.

First, you need to choose something relevant to your niche and make sure it’s popular. If your blogging on SEO, then lists posts like “10 Link Building Strategies” will work well and can build momentum quickly. Here’s a good strategy to use the next time you’re thinking of writing a list type post. Research your competition and create one better than them so you get an upper edge on your competition. Next, you can do a quick search in Google looking for the number 1 result for your keyword and create something better than them.

It Costs Money

Believe me when I say there is a cost for everything. This even applies to those who work from home and write content on their own. You still need to pay money to set up your blog, and purchase a domain and tools for keyword research. The funny thing is once you start making money, your expenses go even higher. This can be attributed to the less time you have to work on your blog. You’ll have side projects that take up much of your time and you’ll need to start freelancing much of your content writing. However, before you start, keep in mind that you’ll have to pay monthly fees for hosting and domains. This isn’t much for people who are making money through their blog, but for those getting started, it can definitely add up.

Next,

If you have no programming skills, you’ll require someone to design your blog and make changes over time. Next, to start building email subscribers, you’ll require an ESP, which costs $20-$30 per month, depending on the amount of subscribers on your lists. If you indulge in social media marketing, then you’ll have to pay for marketing campaigns, etc. The point I’m trying to make is you should have money saved before starting or it’ll delay your plans going forward.

Content Length=Traffic

When I first started blogging, I wrote short posts around 500 words so I can start publishing content on my blog right away. I forgot the concept of “Quality over Quantity” and by the time I realized how length effects rankings, I had wasted 2 months. Now, when I think about it, the equation is very simple because the longer the content, the more in-depth I can make it. This means I’m providing more value to my readers and have more flexibility with keyword density. Over several months, I realized something else…

Detailed content ranks higher within Google because its value based content that readers are looking for. Google needs to keep its status as the number 1 search engine online, so gives priority to high quality content that is in-depth.

Here’s something cool…

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You’ll notice the higher you went in the SERP’s, the more content these websites had on the specific page.

Solid Design Matters

Did you know 80% of people leave your website because poor web design? A majority of people arrive on your website through Google and if they don’t like the way your website looks, they’ll leave right away. Poor web design is attributed to a higher bounce rate, and lower purchases and trust levels. If you don’t have a website that is attractive and looks trustworthy, you’ll lose visitors as soon as they arrive on your home page.

Personally, I knew it was an important element when I was setting up my blog, but didn’t know the small things matter. For example, I was more concerned with finding the right color combination and ignored navigation, layout, banners, and forms. The next time you are on your website, ask yourself these questions…

  • Is my website easy to navigate?
  • Can visitors find content easily?
  • The colors I’m using…are they easy on the eyes?
  • Am I using too many banners on a page?
  • Can visitors opt-in easily to my newsletter?
  • How quick does my website load?

Answering all these questions will help fine tune your website for optimal results. Remember, the longer someone stays on your page, the greater the chances of building user engagement through subscriptions, social shares, and traffic.

Be Humble and Help Others

No matter how much success you have online, it’s important to stay humble and give back. When I first started blogging, I didn’t know how much of my success depended on networking and getting help from others more experience. Whenever I can help someone, I’ll go the extra mile to make sure I do so I can give back to this profession. Blogging isn’t easy and you’ll need a helping hand, which many are willing to do. However, it’s important you give the same respect back when someone asks you!

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