The Art of Successful Blogging

Blogging is an art. It allows you express your thoughts in a manner that can be understood by your readers, and also helps you create an identity as a content creator.

Blogs can be made of a variety of contents. It could be words alone, or a combination of words, pictures, or short videos.

To blog successfully, the following tips should be hearkened to (not to the letter but whatever rocks your boat and makes your brand stand out):

• Select a good blogging platform: It’s advised to build your blog on already existing services such as HashNode, WordPress, and a host of others, customize your blog to suit your brand, and create a niche for yourself by writing about specific or closely related topics.

• Publicize your blog: after a marathon brainstorming session, your handy solution is ready to be put up on your blog, but no one knows about it yet. Publicity should not be looked down on. Your blog posts serve as solutions to challenges, the more reason the world needs to be aware when you publish a new post.

• Also, encourage easy interaction on your blog as some people might have further questions or nice comments for you. Remember, people play an important role in the life of a blogger, so be courteous.

• Be confident and tough, but open to improvement. At certain points, you might get a lot of visitors, and the more visitors, the higher the chances of a negative comment. This could make a blogger rethink their decision to write. But as a blogger, you must be willing to overcome such hurdles. Remember that people go where they can get value for their time and find fixes to their challenges, hence the overwhelming visitors your blog is getting. Also know that negative comments are simply opinions of others you could or not adhere to. Instead, be ready to accept changes you agree with, focus on being regular at publishing articles (especially if you see Search Engine Optimization as a major priority), try out new writing styles, ask your audience for their take on certain ideas you might have, see your blog as a community of learners.

• Write clearly: what good would it be if your audience don't understand your solution? Your points should be passed across easily, employ the use of images, a simple choice of words, and a personal feel to your texts. Your blog should be correctly formatted and edited for typos (a trusted friend can be your personal editor), get personal with your audience (it’s okay to drop some personal experiences from time to time, whatever you are comfortable with sharing), and avoid clutter. You owe your audience a seamless and pleasant reading experience!

Worthy mentions:

• Employ social media in marketing your blog and announcing your awesome articles to your fans.
• Keep an eye on analytics, how does your audience react to your articles? Identify areas where you can tailor your writing to suit a certain style your audience is more comfortable with, and also what topics bother your target audience most.
• Ensure you enjoy what you are doing and write about what you love.
• With time, as your blog gains popularity, you might be approached to advertise for other brands, and why not?
• Blogging should be seen as a journey, with plenty of room for improvement, hence you should trust your process.

May the force be with you!

Edited by: Akinwande Akinboluwarin