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6 Life Changing Tips for Beginning Bloggers
"I may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post. I am careful to only recommend products I truly love."
I had thought about blogging for many years. I love to write, I even did in high school. When I was younger I would bring a small notebook on the bus and create books. In my AP language and literature classes, I loved the day that we had to write surprise essays. I really felt like I got in "the zone" and could just feel the writing flow moving through me.
It just felt right when I finally decided to start my blog. It was a perfect creative outlet for me and I loved being able to interact with so many different people about many different topics.
But starting my blog definitely wasn’t easy. It also wasn’t something I took lightly. I did a lot of research before finally deciding to jump in. Here are some of the things I wish I would have known when I first started blogging.
ONE- Sign up for a Pinterest business account
Pinterest is basically just a visual search engine. I recommend setting up a business account because not only can you create boards, you can also create your own pins that connect to your blog post or website.
You can even choose to run ads or pay to promote your pin.
Being able to create your own pins is vital for driving traffic to your blog. Pinterest is my biggest driver of traffic to my website.
When creating a pin for Pinterest it’s really important to have a visually appealing image that is the correct dimensions. I prefer to use Canva and upload images or use free stock images as a background. I prefer to use warm colors that feel inviting as well as a mix of type font and script fun. Think about what stands out to you while you're scrolling Pinterest and think about why it stands out. I keep those things in mind when creating my marketing pictures.
TWO- Blog share groups
There are a couple of options for different ways that you can network with other bloggers to help drive your traffic. The three main ways I use are Tailwind, Facebook, and Pinterest group boards.
Tailwind has different communities that cater to different niches that you can push your pin to. Others can share your pins or schedule your pins from there and it gets more eyes on your content. Common courtesy is that you also share the pins of others. You can get a free month of Tailwind from me by clicking here.
Facebook has an unbelievable amount of blog share groups, some unique to niches and some that are very general. These Facebook groups may offer threads where you can share pins, links to your blog, links to your Instagram or other social medias that you wanna grow in return for a few likes on others posts. These Facebook groups are also a great place to ask for advice or ask any questions you may have related to blogging. You can join my personal blog share group for lifestyle bloggers here.
Some of the bloggers on these pages have been doing it for a very long time and have an insane amount of knowledge that can help you as well as great audiences. You can also get some ideas on topics to write about and what you do and don’t like visually from seeing the work that other people do.
A few of my favorite facebook blog share groups:
Lastly you can join a group board on Pinterest. Pinterest allows boards to have different collaborators and you need to be invited to join these boards. You can also request to join but must be approved by the owner of the board.
The idea is that if you share a pin, you share other people's pins in return. Everybody is sharing other pins, so you’re basically gaining access to not only your followers, but the followers of your fellow collaborators on that board, too.
I had a really tough time getting accepted to collaborative boards when I first started my blog, so I made a few of my own and invited people that I admired in my niche. It may have been a little shocking to them to receive that invitation from a complete stranger, but it worked and I was able to get a few collaborators on my boards that were niche specific.
I’m always happy to support other bloggers, especially in my niche, because I know how daunting it can be when you’re first starting out. If you are interested in joining a collaborative board, head on over to my Pinterest page and see if there's a group that fits your needs.
THREE- Familiarize yourself with SEO
SEO stands for a search engine optimization. This helps you get found when somebody searches for something specific to what you’ve written about. More specifically, keywords. Keywords are so important in helping you get found. Think about when somebody has a question... for example "how do I get started writing a blog?" They might type that into Google. When you have a post or a post description and post title that really are heavy in the keywords that are searched, your post is more likely to be shown.
Especially if your website is more niche specific and has a lot of those keywords embedded into it. Before you write a post or while you’re writing a post, it’s really important to do keyword research to find out what the buzzword topics are what keywords will help you be found and include those in your blog post or go back and edit so that your blog post is rich in those keywords.
This will really help drive traffic from other sources that you don’t have to work your tail off to earn. A really simple way that you can do this on Pinterest is to type your idea into the search bar. Below, you will see the different keywords related to that and what people are searching for on Pinterest.
There are so many awesome courses out there about SEO and optimizing your website. There are lots of great paid courses and master classes and books as well. This is something that took me a long time to learn about, but I feel like the pay off has definitely been there and it was worth it.
FOUR- Familiarize yourself with photo editing and creation
Like I said before, Pinterest is one of my biggest traffic drivers. Because Pinterest is a visual search engine, the visual piece that you use to attract people to click on your pin or click through to your site is really important.
It’s important to use a quality image. Whether that be a picture you’ve taken or an image that is a stock photo, it’s important that it will pull the reader in. I love using the online platform called Canva to create my pins and other marketing things that I might use on Instagram or Facebook.
It’s also great for creating printables or worksheets. You can also post pins to your Pinterest account right from the website.
For me, Canva is super easy to use. It's a drag and drop format. It does color matching to your photos and has the option to add many different overlays to your visual as well.
I usually create a few different designs and then squint at them to figure out which one catches my eye the most. That's how I choose what I’m going to use as my very first piece of marketing. I continue to update the graphics in each post as they age.
I also hide multiple pinnable images within my piece so that reader's have the option to choose which photo fits their aesthetic. This also helps your pins look like something completely new and up-to-date when a reader scrolls past it on Pinterest.
FIVE- Dedicate yourself and stick to it
If you’re thinking that you want to start a blog but you feel really discouraged because of all the other bloggers out there, know that you too have the opportunity to be successful like them but it most likely won’t come overnight.
Blogging is hard, especially when the pool of options to read is so large. Choosing a niche that is specific can help drive people to your blog. It’s important to also choose something that you’re passionate about or have a lot to write about because this will help content continue to flow over the months and even years.
Like I mentioned before, success doesn’t happen overnight. It takes a lot of dedication and my first few months of blogging I was on my computer constantly. I would use voice to text in my notes on my phone while I drove to get my thoughts out before I lost them. I was constantly researching and thinking about how I could improve my blog and drive traffic to my blog. I networked like crazy and reached out to others often.
If this is something you’re passionate about, I personally think you should go for it. Everybody has a voice and a story to share and I think it’s important that you share your story so the others can learn from it. We all have value to add to the world.
SIX- Collaborate
In all that you do in life, I truly believe it’s really important to have a community of supporters behind you. The same is true for blogging.
If you have an Instagram account dedicated to your blog it’s important to follow like accounts and interact with them often. This will help you grow a group of supporters and in my opinion some of the people that I’ve never met except through online have been some of my biggest cheerleaders and have encouraged me greatly.
When other content creators like or comment on or share my work, that also put my work in front of the eyes of their readers and their followers, not just mine. This is how you grow a following.
Another popular thing on Instagram is collaborators in similar niches banding together to create giveaways (if you complete a specific task like follow all of the accounts associated with the giveaway).
Also many blogs offer the opportunity to be a guest writer. Usually, if they do, you will find a "work with me" section on their website. Again, this is a great way to get your work in front of other eyes that may not have seen it otherwise.
Think about the way you find new content creators or blogs. Usually, the way I find new people that I like to follow is because somebody else that I really liked connected with them in one way or another.
In many blog share groups, people may also post for a specific content writer that they are looking for to add or collaborate with them. I would definitely take the plunge and do that if you can or are interested!
Wrap Up
Blogging has changed my life. It has provided a supplemental income for my family It has been a creative outlet for me. I am so thankful I took the plunge and I really think you should, too. We all have a voice and a story worth sharing!
Some tips I have for beginning bloggers are:
- Sign up for a Pinterest business account
- Join Blog share groups
- SEO
- Content creation
- Collaborate
- Dedication
If you ever have any questions or want to connect please reach out to me at erica@thisunfilterelife.com or on Instagram @this.unfilteredlife.
I can't wait to see what you create!
Talk to you soon,
Erica
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