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Looking for more blogging tips? Everything But the Posts, my new book, gives tips about setting up a blog, connecting with your community, and monetizing. It’s available on Kindle, Nook, and iBooks.
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I am so excited to introduce you to Anna from Learn Like A Mom. Anna is a client and friend, and she even contributed a chapter in my book! When Anna started her blog, she had so many questions. She was always thinking ahead to the next step, and had very small learning curve because of that-she’s a natural. Because of this, she is a valuable resource for new bloggers. I’m excited to be posting her list of 10 things to try in your first 6 months of blogging (but I think all bloggers could benefit from this list)!
Ten Things to Try in Your First Six Months of Blogging
One: Get organized! Create or download a planner if that’s your style. Have a blogging bulletin board if that’s how you roll. Just try to contain all of those notes, ideas, and lists in one place.
Two: Follow other successful blogs. Study what they do and how they do it. Participate in some of the socializing aspects to get a feel for it even more. Simply commenting, liking, tweeting, or linking can help you network without any cost but time. Sometimes bloggers even share their secrets–keep your eyes out for these posts!
Three: Link Up! Find Linky Parties. Make sure your content is appropriate, follow their rules, and remember you are creating a name for yourself that will follow you everywhere! There are linky parties for content, social media follows, and even giveaways.
Four: Host a giveaway. This will give you a chance to learn how to use Rafflecopter if you so choose, learn how to make nofollow links, and advertise in this format if it appeals to you. At first, you may have to hunt someone down and offer advertising in exchange for a review and/or giveaway. (I partnered up with people in direct sales.) People love free stuff, so it’s a great way to build the social reach for both of you.
Five: Attend a Twitter Party. As you follow people of interest on Twitter, you’ll find that many of them host, co-host, or participate in Twitter Parties. They are short and you’ll spend so much time keeping up with the conversation that the hour will be over before you know it.
Six: Be Pinteresting. Follow all of Becca’s tips on using Pinterest. Be Pin Friendly on your site by having “Pin it” sharing options on posts, pages, and images, and think about having a Pinterest area in your sidebar. When adding your pictures to your posts, fill out the alt description, include the URL to that specific post, and hashtag the keywords. Here’s a great article about making your pins go viral!
Seven: Instagram! It’s another fun one because of its simplicity. Follow people. Search for topics by hashtag. Like other pictures. Comment on posts. When you’re about to post something, search through the hashtags first to see what’s being used the most for your topic. Then, Hashtag away!
Eight: Remember Suggestion #2? Well, do the same for Blogging Networks. There are a ton of Blog Networks out there, so if you want to see what’s going on, follow them. Keep up with those feeds and pay attention to what they are doing, offering, and encouraging.
Nine: Not all bloggers care to make money, but some would like to. One of the first things you can do is look into affiliate programs. You’ll have some affiliate links and images in posts and your sidebar and you’ll start learning about contracts and how partnering with brands and products can work for you.
Ten: Try to contribute to a blog with a larger audience. I was lucky and knew Sara, from Mom Endeavors before I started my own blog. When she offered me the opportunity, I jumped on it. It gives the host more quality content they didn’t have to create and provides the guest with more exposure!
Eleven: What? Eleven? I thought this was a list of ten. Well, guess what? This bonus suggestion is a keeper for new and seasoned bloggers alike. Read on my friend, read on!
Eleven: Take a break! This is very important. Almost more important that every other suggestion on this list. If you are starting this to have fun, make sure you’re having fun. If you find yourself writing about things you don’t care about. Stop. Regroup. Start again. In the blogosphere, you have to create your own limits. Humans are not machines. Once in awhile you need to shutdown and restart yourself.
Still need some tips? My book, Everything But the Posts, might be just for you! Learn how to create an eye-catching blog that people want to read, build your blogging community and monetize your blog! Check it out on Amazon, iBooks, or Nook.
If you’re looking for more Blogging Tutorials, you can find them right here!
Great list, Anna! I did all of those in the beginning…well minus Pinterest & Instagram since they didn’t exist! ;) Keep up the good work!
Thanks Sara! YOU have been a HUGE help as I’ve started this whole thing! I can’t thank you enough for allowing me to contribute on Mom Endeavers AND for all of your guidance as I continue to face challenges in this unknown world!
Thank you for the great tips and links!!! :D
Serahe,
I am glad you like them!
Wow! These are great tips. As a fairly new blogger I’m always looking for ways to improve, reach out, write content my readers enjoy. I have never done a giveaway. Definitely need to do one. Thanks for sharing these great tips!
Camilla, I am still always looking for the same things you listed! It’s a learning process and takes a lot more time and energy than I think I anticipated! I’m glad you like the tips and good luck!
Awesome list–thanks for posting! Definitely gives me some direction since I’m just starting out.
Deborah, I’m so glad you like the list of tips. They are great things to try! Then there will be more and more things to try! The learning curve never seems to end…but I am still new to this! :)
Great list! I wish I had something like this when I started.
Hanan, Hopefully it will help other new bloggers. (I still fit into that category!) And maybe give seasoned bloggers a refresher of things to try if they haven’t done so in awhile! Glad you like the list!
Love this. Using a planner has been a huge help for me.
Ellen, I got a great planner from another blogger (My Joy-Filled Life is the name of the blog.) It helped me just gather everything into one place. I still find myself in a frenzy most of the time, but at least the binder has my notes and lists contained. There’s room for growth, but it helps my mind stay on track! Glad you like the post!
Thanks for the list. Definitely on the planner, I use one for my classroom and will use one for my blog
It’s so easy to dedicate 99% of your time to your new blog, so much that “life” becomes an intrusion so #11 is my favorite tip – but they all rocked!
Ashley, Yes! I noticed how much I was consumed by my blog when I was trying to set up every little detail to make sure I didn’t make a mistake along the way and when I took a break for just three days and didn’t touch it, I was soooo happy! I’m glad you like my bonus tip! Now I remind myself of it when I’m feeling pressured by it and just take a break!
These are such useful tips especially if you are just starting out. Being active with other social media will help to spread the word about your posts. Pinning now!
Kerri, Thanks for pinning this! I was completely surprised by the time on social media that was needed to promote my blog or to interact with others. I still find this a struggle to complete in the most efficient and effective way, but maybe one day I’ll feel better about it! Glad you think the list is useful!
Thank you so much for the chance to guest post on this Crazy Good Blog! I really appreciate it and thank you so much for all the assistance you have given me in my new endeavor!
Wow, what a great list! These 10 things are very important and great to learn in the first few months of blogging!
Jess,
Thank you! Hopefully these are useful for you or someone you know!
That list is a gold mine for successful new bloggers!! I wish someone had shared this with me when I started! TFS!
Cori,
Your words mean so much to me! Especially since I sometimes feel like I still don’t know what I’m doing! I’m constantly learning something new and what I made a mistake with, etc. But I guess that’s the entire premise behind Learn Like A Mom! So, I am happy to share, and hopefully you’ll share it as well!
So glad to have found you! One thing that would be helpful for someone like me who needs things right in front of them on paper…would be to have some of these posts in printable format. At any rate, I am printing, reading and absorbing as much of your advice as my little brain can handle! Thank you so much. I have found, sadly, that many established bloggers aren’t as willing to share what they have learned. So thank you again so much for sharing your knowledge!
Robin,
I have had to literally take notes on things other bloggers have shared with me and then put them in my binder or in a word document. Or I add the blog posts to my favorites or bookmark them. After awhile, when you do things repeatedly, you just do it without thinking. That’s why I suggested that Becca have part of her book geared toward the blogger who’s just gone live. Once it’s routine, I think we forget what it’s like when you’re first starting out and afraid to make a mistake. That’s what prompted me to share this. And this isn’t all you can try to do. There are several things I have yet to try. These were just ten! This blogging business comes with a giant learning curve! Pretty soon you’ll find that people are asking you about it all! Good luck!
I really struggle with number 11. I find it so hard to disconnect most of the time.
Me too! I’ve even gone into my phone settings and turned off email and social media notifications some weeks. It’s tough, but necessary!
Awesome post and tips. I’m a newbie so I really appreciate this! Thank you!!
Thanks for stopping by!
This is some if the best advice I’ve read since starting my blog in January! Thanks for taking the time to put it together, and for #11! :)
Thank you for writing this. It is very helpful. I started my blog (mycreativedays.com) last April. I am having a lot of fun doing it, but there is so much to learn! I love to hear what other bloggers did in the beginning because you don’t know if you are doing the right things. I really want 2014 to be an exciting year for my blog and I would really like to start monetizing….. any tips or help for this newbie blogger would be greatly appreciated!!
Fun, Lindsay! You’re almost at a year for your blog!
I have a lot of blogging tutorials that you can get to from my sidebar, and I recommend heading to AmyLynnAndrews.com for tips! Also, I have a book that is just now available on Amazon for beginner bloggers: Everything But the Posts: Tips, Advice, and Templates from a Blogger Who Has Been in Your Shoes: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IEM7BYO/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_MZU.sb16QVZRV. It’ll be available in paperback within the next week or two!
I’m on my 2nd month of blogging. Thanks for sharing this! It is very helpful.
During my first month I only had 3k visits, is it OK to start using affiliates at this stage for me?
You can always use affiliate links! The ads might take a while to make money, but affiliate links can go in social media posts, blog posts, wherever!
Thanks for the great tips, just thinking about dipping into the blogging world. There is so much to learn and consider when starting a blog.
There really is! Don’t get overwhelmed – take it a step at a time!
This is a great list and very informative. Thank you.