I Accept Tips... & I Give Them, Too!

I Accept Tips... & I Give Them, Too!

• Apr 17, 2012

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Every week they post a new topic/Top Ten list and invite everyone to share their own answers. I'm so obsessed with lists!

I am SO excited about this week's topic because I'm still a new blogger myself! Although I've had some type of a blog for a few years now, I'm very new to the book blogging community. It's the first time I've had a blog that I love and want to spend time on. So, I'm really looking forward to reading everyone's tips. But I'm also going to share a few tips - both things that have helped me and things I've noticed about successful bloggers!

Source

Top Ten Tips for New Bloggers

1. Be Yourself

You've got to have this little cheesy phrase on the list... because it's true! The best tip I can give and the most attractive quality in any blogger is someone who is true to themselves. They read what they like, they write in their own voice, they develop their own content... You get the picture.

I am instantly attracted to a blog where I feel like I know something about the person behind it. If your blog makes me feel like I know you, you're doing a good job about being yourself!

2. Comment!

Comments make you feel good, right? It's proof that someone not only read what you wrote, but they also took the time to tell you what they thought about it. As a new blogger, I get excited for each and every comment that I receive. So, why wouldn't you want to make someone else feel that way? 

I don't comment on other people's blogs because I want them to come check out mine. I get why people do that. But I comment because I honestly what that blogger to know that I read and enjoyed/agreed-with/disagreed-with/love/wished-I'd-written that post. Yes, leaving comments will often get you comments, but that shouldn't be your motivation for commenting because it's usually really obvious that's all you want. I also try to leave comments that actually say something. I strive to leave the kind of comments that people look forward to reading.

3. Don't Do It Unless You Love It

This may sound like a weird tip, but it's an honest one. If you don't love reading and books, don't blog about them. If you don't like writing, then maybe a blog isn't the best venue for you to express that love. Will you enjoy every single minute of blogging? Heck no! But if you don't love it starting off, you won't love it when it takes even more work.

Go into blogging for the right reasons, and that's NOT to get free stuff. Your blog should come from a place of loving books and wanting to share that with others. If you don't have that love, maybe book blogging isn't for you. Would you want to keep your blog, even if you knew you'd only ever have like 5 readers? I could have have any more readers, and I'd still want to have this blog because I love it.

4. Make Friends

What was one of the best things about going to summer camp? Making new friends! The one bad thing about working at a real job and getting into a routine is that it can be hard to meet new people. I spend a lot of my time either at work or with my husband, so I don't necessarily have a ton of time to make friends outside of people I already know or work with.

One of the best things about blogging is having the opportunity to make friends all over the world. Another great thing? You've already got stuff to talk about - BOOKS! And then you can find other interests that you have in common, and your friendship can grow from there...

5. Read What You Like

People have an awful lot of opinions on what defines quality literature and what books are worth your time. You know what I have to say about that? Read whatever the heck you want!

Does that mean you shouldn't stretch yourself? Not at all. Does that mean you shouldn't try new genres? Nope. But I think you should try them only if you want to! If you read what you like, you'll be passionate about what you're reading and you'll be excited to share that with others. I'm not saying you'll like everything you read - but read the books that remind you of why you love reading.

6. Don't Get Caught in the Comparison Trap

I think this can be a huge issue, especially for new bloggers. When you're a new blogger, you've got a pretty small audience... but you've probably decided to become a blogger because of another blog. If you're anything like me, you fell in love with the book blogging community before you ever joined it.

Because of that, you probably follow quite a few establish blogs. The only bad thing about following really established blogs? It can be easy to start comparing your blog to theirs. Don't do it! Resist the urge to fall into the comparison trap! That doesn't mean you shouldn't strive to build your blog, and it doesn't mean you can't learn from the bloggers you admire. But it does mean that you shouldn't compare yourselves to them. Chances are, they've been doing it a lot longer than you have. And what builds a blog following? Consistency over time.

7. Blog Design Matters

I was just talking about this on Twitter the other day, but I think it bears repeating. There are few things that bother be more about some blogs than their design. I don't think everyone needs to have professional help to have an attractive and appealing blog design.

I have a really hard time falling in love with a blog if it's poorly designed and has way too much going on in the sidebars. I love sidebars, and I think some things should always appear on your sidebar (archive, search, subscription options, etc.). And I think there's even a place for other things if you so desire them. However, I think some sidebars need editing.

Look at your blog with a critical eye every few months. Ask yourself:

• Is everything up-to-date?
• Is it easy to navigate? 
• Is it readable?
• Is there anything that isn't necessary that you could remove?
• Is there something missing that you need to add?

No matter how good your blog content is, people won't be able to focus on it if something about the blog design makes it hard to focus on or enjoy the content.

8. Learn a Little HTML

I don't think you have to know everything there is to know about HTML to run a good blog. In fact, you barely even need to know anything these days because Blogger/Wordpress makes it so easy. However, I do think you need to know enough to make simple changes and updates.

For example, Blogger doesn't always format my posts correctly. Sometimes there are extra spaces or things aren't lining up the right way. Those are the moments when knowing a little bit of HTML is invaluable.

You don't have to know everything, but know enough to make minor edits. And if you don't know how to do something, Google it! I've learned how to do many things just by Googling it and following simple step-by-step directions. Beyond that, you can always ask someone who knows!

9. Create Original Content

I've found a lot of blogs that seem to rely on memes for the majority of their content. Don't get me wrong, I love memes (hello, Top Ten Tuesday!). But, I would offer some caution: choose one or two memes that are the most interesting/appealing to you. Don't try to do everything.

And if you do choose to participate in a meme, make your contribution meaningful. I hate when I'm visiting other blogs that are participating in memes, and it seems like they only participated to get blog traffic and visitors. Participate only if you actually have something to say! Just don't rely on those to provide you with all the content for your blog.

My absolute favorite blogs are the ones that have original content. Original content shows me that you have a unique voice and have something worth sharing. Work on creating original content, and I guarantee people will be attracted to your blog!

10. Use Social Media

Here's a final tip to round out my list: get on social media! I think social media is a great way to get your blog content out to a larger audience, but that's not why it made my list. I cannot say enough about the potential to make friends and start conversations using social media. For example, I have been able to talk to some hilarious ladies on Twitter - and I'm starting to make new friends that I never would have been able to make just through blog comments. Not only that, but I've developed an even deeper appreciation for those people's blogs because of the conversations we've had on social media.