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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!
These are great tips! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the tips! Very helpful.
Wonderful list! Good thing I’m on month 2 of my first 6 months.
Thanks Anna & Becca for this post… it’s pinned for future reference. :)
Thanks for pinning, Cindy! And thanks for stopping by :)
heyyy…
thank you so much…. these pointers are just a reinforcement… thank you so much
p.s i loved ur 11th pointer..the best!!!!! cause alot of us forget that we need to reinvent ourselves and for that we HAVE to shut down and start a fresh.
I intend on starting a blog myself…so have been reading up alot before i step into the blogoshere! wink..wink…God bless
cheers
Jas ( India)
Good luck, Jas!
This is so helpful to me, a new blogger. I’m always trying to improve and figure out how all this works! So overwhelming at times. Thanks for the tips! Selena
http://myhomelifestory.blogspot.com
What an awesome post! I’m new to blogging and I love your tips, I’ve also been obsessing over Instagram :) Would love to get your feedback on my site: http://www.cyneats.com
xoxo,
Cyn
Thanks for stopping by, Cyn!
I really like this post. I have been blogging for about 2 months now and I really could use this advice. Thanks so much!
Thanks for stopping by, Kate!
Great post! I’ve been blogging for years, but am just now starting to take it seriously. I may have a lot of experience under my belt but can use all the tips I can get. Thanks!
Thanks for stopping by, Zylo!
Thank you! I am still brand spanking new to blogging and need to focus on a few of these: twitter party and instagram specifically. I would love to find a bigger blog to post for but am still in process. Thanks for some great tips. On one hand, it helped me see that I am on track. On the other, it gave me a few things to shoot for! Great post!
Thanks, Elizabeth!
Thank you! Not a new blog, but haven’t covered the ground I would’ve hoped to by now, so I always feel new.
These are great tips! I have done a few and am very new to this creative outlet. I am not really looking to make money. although I wouldn’t turn it down. I am mainly doing it for fun. I am going to try all the tips I haven’t yet and THANK YOU for #11. That is something I am struggling with and I want feedback on my posts, but never get any, so I know I am doing something wrong or a m just that boring.
I look forward to following your site for ideas.
Maybe creating a Facebook group for fellow bloggers is a way to get feedback on your posts, Brenda?
Thank you for these wonderful tips. Researching and writing to have copy prior to setting up.
Thanks
Thanks for stopping by, Vicky!
Fabulous tips… even for the veteran blogger such as myself. I’ve attended just a couple twitter parties. They were fun but I would like to try that out again. I’ve also only had one guest post on a larger site. I would like do that a few more times too.
Thanks for sharing.
xoxo
Thanks, Jennifer!
These are great tips! I needed to read them, especially taking a break!
Breaks are important! I think they help us write better content, too :)
Great post! I’m very much a beginner blogger and these tips are very helpful. There are a few on the list I’ve never considered and will be looking into soon. Thanks!
Thanks for stopping by, Nessa Jay!
Nice List! I think first six months of blogging is more kind of learning period, and you need to gather all the source of information and guides that you can. Its the time where you need to spend more time on other blogs then on yours :)
Thanks for stopping by, Worli!
And I agree – it’s a period of time where you can get your feet wet!
Great list! What is the best way to get started on giveaways? I started a linkup myself and have been slowly building it. What is the best way to build it?
Hi Nicki!
I actually wrote about giveaways and how to get started in my book: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IEM7BYO. There are templates in there that you can fill out and send to brands you’re interested in working with.
I wrote the book because so many bloggers (just like you!) have been asking me these questions. It talks about getting traffic to and building a community around you blog, as well – that’s how to build your linkup!
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Great list. I am just getting into using IG for blogging.
I just found this post through Pinterest! Great tips and I am definitely going to look more into #2 more.
Thx again. Mimi
http://callmemimi.com