8 Ways To Blog Better

I’ve written before about my secrets to running an award-nominated, profitable blog, so today I’m sharing my tips to help you blog better. These are things you can do to take your blog to the next level, things that I’ve learned over the 5 years I’ve been writing this blog, and my tips to help you make the most of your blog. I hope these help you, regardless of where you are in your blogging journey!

This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting Kate the (Almost) Great!

8 Ways To Blog Better

Write about what you like and what you know – If you’re not genuine, it will be obvious in your posts. Your readers will be annoyed, see you as a sell-out, etc. if you’re clearly writing about something you don’t know and/or like. And besides, you’ll eventually run out of things that make you excited to keep blogging. What are you an expert in? You should share your knowledge. And you don’t have to have a PhD in a subject to be an expert. You can be an expert on what to do in your city, how to wear a trend, the best new makeup products, technology news, the best books to read in a certain genre, etc. Additionally, what do you have a unique perspective on? Essentially, you should think about why someone should read your posts.

Keep a list of post ideas – Blogging is a lot of like writing in general, especially in that you can and will face bloggers block. I strongly suggest keeping a list of things to write about when you have no ideas – I keep mine on Evernote – but at the very least, plenty of bloggers have blog posts with lists of post ideas. You can find them on Google or Pinterest, or download my list of 164 blog post ideas. As for keeping track of post ideas, I like using Evernote because I have the app on my phone, so if I have a random blog idea when I’m out and about, I can jot it down before I forget it.

Where To Find Post Ideas | 5 Most Amazing Post Ideas To Bring You Traffic for Years

Follow bloggers in your niche that you admire and like, and interact with them – There are so many reasons to do this. You can learn something from them, either from talking to them and asking questions or by watching their strategies. Plenty of bloggers also write posts about their strategies; here’s mine, for example. You could also collaborate with them, which could include writing guest posts their site, working on a joint post with them, featuring them on your social media as part of a #FollowFriday, or more. (As a heads up, though, I’m currently not accepting guest posts and won’t be until 2019). Or – even better – than the other options, you can befriend them. If you live in the same city, ask them if they want to get coffee or drinks so you can pick their brain. Follow them on social media and interact with their posts. Get creative, but don’t get creepy. By following other bloggers, not only can you build relationships and network, but you can also learn about what other people are saying online about your niche, what kinds of posts are successful and what are not, what “good” blog posts look like, and more.

Up your skills in writing and photography (and just in general) – Yes, you need to have great content in order to succeed, but you also need to show that content properly. If what you’re writing about is awesome but your writing isn’t, it’s going to turn people away. If you’re providing your own images in posts, they need to be good-quality pictures for the same reason. Wondering how to do this? First and foremost, proofread your blog posts. Another big thing is grammar. I’m a former English teacher, writer, and editor, so I know that I’m a bit more picky than most, but bad grammar in blog posts turns me away. I’m shared my expertise in this blog post, Grammar Tips for Blog Writing, so hopefully that will help you. Another way to improve your writing is to keep doing it. If you’re worried that your writing is bad quality, keep a journal so you can improve it without worrying about what other people think. You can also take online courses about writing or read a lot, which I have found always improves my writing. I’ve also written a post about my process for writing a blog post, which will hopefully help you. Some ways to improve your photography are similar. Get feedback from people on your photos – which ones they like or dislike, how they could be better, if they would read a blog post based on that image, etc. There are also a ton of bloggers out there who have written posts about improving your photography, and you can also take courses to improve your skills.

Up your blogging knowledge – There is so much to learn! If you want to take your blog to the next level, you need to be prepared to educate yourself. Somethings to learn about include SEO (search engine optimization), how to succeed on different social media networks, whether or not buying social media ads are worth it, how to make a successful social media ad if you decide it is worth it, what makes a successful email newsletter, how to monetize your blog, you get the picture. It can be overwhelming, which is why I suggest taking one topic at a time. For the last few years, I’ve been working on growing my blog by focusing on one big blog-traffic boosting tool a month. This way I’m not overwhelmed by all that I have to learn and I can put some serious work into trying that thing. And something else to keep in mind is that what works for one blogger isn’t going to work for another.

How to use SEO to stand out I 8 ways to lower your bounce rate

Up your technology – This could mean a lot of different things, such as getting a new theme or design for your blog, becoming self-hosted, or getting a new camera. These are the tools that take your blog from average to the next level. If I had to choose one technological thing to try first, I would go with being self-hosted. This means that you not only have your own domain (katethealmostgreat.com, for example), but you also have much more control over your materials. In fact, if you use Blogger – even with your own domain – Google owns your content, not you. So switch over to self-hosted as soon as you can afford it! Another way to up your technology is to improve the means through which you get pictures. If you’re going to have a good quality blog, you need to have images in your posts. I get stock images from Unsplash for some of my images, but I also take my own. I have an iPhone 7 that I use to take some images, and I also use a camera. It’s more advanced than a simple point-and-shoot, but it’s not as complicated or expensive as a DSLR. If you’re a fashion or beauty blogger or just regularly take pictures for your blog posts, getting a good camera is a huge must.

Stay up-to-date – Even if you are a master right now at everything that is blogging, new things will always come up. The Instagram algorithm will change. New laws will be passed – looking at you, GDPR. New technology will be released that will impact blogging. New tools will become available. Basically, it’s important to stay up-to-date on what’s happening. This is where reading other blogs will come in handy, as they might be more up-to-date than you are. You can also follow companies related to blogging and social media.

Continue to learn – This is the most important part: constantly learn. I’m a big proponent of everyone constantly learning, and this is definitely true for blogging. We can all improve in some way, and what’s most important is to never assume that you know it all. Not only can things change (see GDPR, the Instagram algorithm, etc.), but there’s also an infinite amount of knowledge out there. You can always improve, and thinking that there’s no way you can be better is hubris at best. So keep educating yourself. Keep researching. Make your blog as good as you can; you deserve it.

What sort of things about blogging do you want to learn about so you can blog better?

Like this post? Check out:

Tips for New Bloggers, 12 Blog-Traffic Boosting Tools to Try In 2018, 10 Things Every Blog Needs, 9 Reasons Why Tailwind Is Worth the Money