Tag Archives: Business Blogging

Not enough people reading your blog posts? Here is what you can do

How to write and publish blog posts people love to read

How to write and publish blog posts people love to read.

You don’t write and publish your blog posts so that they can exist in a meaningless space just to improve your search engine rankings.

You want people to read them. Even your search engine rankings depend on people reading your blog posts.

If they don’t read, they don’t respond, they don’t convert, and they don’t share your content.

The Google algorithm knows when people do or don’t read your blog posts and accordingly it increases or decreases your rankings.

Very few people read complete blog posts

Very few people read complete blog posts.

Here is the problem:

  • 8 out of 10 people read just your headlines and nothing else.
  • Average attention span on the Internet is down to 8 seconds from 12 seconds that it used to be a few years ago.
  • 55% people coming to your blog spend less than 15 seconds on particular blog posts before moving on.

Why is it so? Why don’t enough people read your blog posts?

To understand why people don’t read your blog posts, introspect. Do you read every blog post you visit? How much of it do you read?

When was it that you completely read a blog post? Try to remember what the reason was. What compelled you to read the entire thing instead of quickly skimming or moving on to something else?

There was something that hooked you.

Did it entertain you? Did it give you information you need to solve a work related problem? Did it satisfy a strong ideological opinion you subscribe to? Was it a review you need to go through before purchasing expensive item?

15 Reasons Why You May Read a Blog Post With Great Interest

Why you may read a blog post with great interest

Why you may read a blog post with great interest.

You may read a blog post for various reasons. Listed below are 15 compelling reasons why you may spend your time reading a blog post in its entirety. There is a reason why I have expressed all the ideas with subheadings and bulleted points (it makes the text scannable)

15 compelling reasons why you might read blog posts, written in a conversational tone:

1. Seeking Practical Information and Tips:

  • You read blog posts to find practical information and actionable tips on various subjects.
  • Blogs offer insights, hacks, and strategies that you can apply to your life.

2. Learning New Skills and Hobbies:

  • You turn to blog posts to learn new skills or explore hobbies that interest you.
  • Blogs provide step-by-step guides, tutorials, and resources to help you develop your interests.

3. Finding Inspiration and Motivation:

  • When you need a dose of inspiration or a motivational boost, blog posts can be a great source.
  • Blogs share stories, personal experiences, and uplifting content that resonate with you.

4. Solving Problems and Seeking Advice:

  • Blog posts are your go-to for finding solutions to challenges you’re facing.
  • Whether it’s troubleshooting technical issues or seeking advice on personal matters, blogs offer helpful insights.

5. Exploring Your Passions and Interests:

  • You read blog posts to delve deeper into your passions and explore your interests.
  • Blogs cater to specific topics, providing in-depth content and allowing you to immerse yourself in what you love.

6. Seeking Entertainment and Relaxation:

  • Sometimes you just want to relax and enjoy engaging content, and blogs can provide that escape.
  • Blogs offer entertaining stories, humorous articles, and enjoyable reads to help you unwind.

7. Staying Informed and Updated:

  • Blog posts help you stay informed about the latest news, trends, and developments.
  • Whether it’s industry insights, current events, or emerging ideas, blogs offer fresh perspectives.

8. Getting Product Reviews and Recommendations:

  • Before making purchasing decisions, you rely on blog posts for genuine product reviews and recommendations.
  • Blogs save you time and money by providing honest insights and helping you make informed choices.

9. Connecting with Like-Minded Individuals:

  • Blog posts create opportunities for you to connect with others who share similar interests.
  • Through comment sections and online communities, you can engage in discussions and build connections.

10. Personal Growth and Development:

  • You read blog posts focused on personal growth to learn and develop different aspects of your life.
  • Blogs offer self-improvement tips, advice on well-being, and strategies for achieving your goals.

11. Exploring Travel Destinations:

  • If you’re passionate about travel, blog posts are a treasure trove of destination inspiration and travel tips.
  • Blogs provide firsthand experiences, itineraries, and recommendations to help you plan your next adventure.

12. Gaining Professional Insights:

  • Blog posts offer valuable insights and industry knowledge relevant to your professional growth.
  • You read blogs to stay updated on trends, learn new skills, and gain perspectives from experts in your field.

13. Parenting and Family Guidance:

  • As a parent or caregiver, you rely on parenting blogs for advice, tips, and support.
  • Blog posts cover topics related to child-rearing, parenting challenges, and fostering strong family relationships.

14. Exploring Health and Wellness:

  • Blog posts focused on health and wellness provide guidance on maintaining a balanced lifestyle.
  • You read blogs to find tips on fitness, nutrition, mental well-being, and self-care practices.

15. Enjoying Thought-Provoking Content:

  • Blog posts often delve into thought-provoking subjects, sparking intellectual curiosity.
  • You enjoy reading blogs that offer unique perspectives, deep insights, and engaging discussions.

Why is it important to make it easier for people to read your blog posts?

Why it is important to make it easier for people to read your blog posts

Why it is important to make it easier for people to read your blog posts.

Listed below are some important reasons.

Enhanced User Experience:

  • When you make your blog post easier to read, you improve the overall user experience for your readers.
  • They can navigate through your content smoothly, find information effortlessly, and stay engaged longer.

Increased Engagement:

  • Easier-to-read blog posts tend to capture and hold readers’ attention.
  • By presenting your content in a reader-friendly manner, you encourage readers to engage with your post, leave comments, and share their thoughts.

Improved Comprehension:

  • When you make your blog post reader-friendly, you help readers better understand and grasp your message.
  • Clear language, concise paragraphs, and logical flow contribute to improved comprehension.

Higher Retention:

  • By optimizing readability, you increase the chances of readers remembering and retaining the information you provide.
  • This can lead to a stronger impact and a higher likelihood of them returning to your blog for future content.

Better Accessibility:

  • Making your blog post easier to read ensures that it is accessible to a wider audience.
  • Consider using legible fonts, appropriate font sizes, and sufficient contrast to accommodate readers with visual impairments or reading difficulties.

Enhanced SEO:

  • Search engines value reader-friendly content, as it aligns with their goal of providing valuable information to users.
  • By optimizing your blog post for readability, you improve its chances of ranking higher in search engine results, increasing visibility and organic traffic.

Increased Social Sharing:

  • Reader-friendly blog posts are more likely to be shared on social media platforms.
  • When your content is easy to read and understand, readers are more inclined to share it with their networks, expanding your reach and driving more traffic to your blog.

Establishes Credibility:

  • When you present your content in a clear and organized manner, it enhances your credibility as a knowledgeable source.
  • Reader-friendly blog posts reflect professionalism and expertise, building trust with your audience.

Encourages Repeat Visitors:

  • When readers have a positive reading experience on your blog, they are more likely to return for more.
  • By consistently making your posts reader-friendly, you create a loyal readership and foster a sense of community.

Better Time-on-Page:

  • When readers find your blog post easy to read, they are more likely to spend more time on your page.
  • This increased time-on-page signals to search engines that your content is valuable and engaging.

Reduces Bounce Rate:

  • Reader-friendly blog posts help reduce bounce rates, as readers are more likely to stay on your page and explore further.
  • Engaging content, clear headings, and a well-structured layout keep readers interested and encourage them to click through to other posts.

Builds Authority in Your Niche:

  • By consistently publishing reader-friendly content, you establish yourself as an authority in your niche.
  • Readers recognize your expertise and are more likely to seek your blog as a go-to resource for reliable information.

Enhances Mobile Experience:

  • With the increasing number of users accessing content through mobile devices, optimizing readability for mobile screens is crucial.
  • Reader-friendly blog posts adapt well to different screen sizes, ensuring a seamless experience for mobile readers.

Supports Skimming and Scanning:

  • Reader-friendly blog posts make it easier for readers to skim and scan the content.
  • Clear headings, bullet points, and concise paragraphs enable readers to quickly find the information they need, improving overall usability.

Promotes a Positive Brand Image:

  • Making it easier for people to read your blog post demonstrates that you value your audience’s experience and respect their time.
  • This fosters a positive brand image, making readers more likely to engage with your content, trust your brand, and become loyal followers.

Investing time and effort into optimizing readability pays off by providing a better experience for your readers, increasing engagement, and driving the success of your blog.

Some key ways you can make it easier for your readers to read your blog posts

How to make it easier for people to read your blog posts

How to make it easier for people to read your blog posts.

Making your blog post reader-friendly is crucial because it directly affects the overall user experience and engagement.

When you visit a blog, you want to find content that captures your attention, keeps you interested, and provides value, right? Well, your readers are no different.

Think about it this way: when I land on a blog post, I want to be able to quickly skim through it and get a sense of what it’s about.

If it’s a massive block of text without any breaks or headings, it becomes overwhelming and discouraging for me to even start reading it.

But if the post is well-structured, with clear headings, subheadings, and paragraphs, it becomes much more inviting.

When you make your blog post reader-friendly, you’re essentially making it easier for me, your reader, to consume the information.

You’re organizing your thoughts and presenting them in a coherent manner. This allows me to grasp the main points, follow your arguments, and understand your message.

Another aspect of reader-friendly blog posts is using a conversational tone. Just like we’re having this conversation right now, when I read a blog post, I want to feel like I’m having a friendly chat with the writer.

If the language is too formal or technical, it creates a distance between you and me, making it harder for me to connect with the content.

By using a conversational tone, you can establish a more personal connection with your readers.

It helps you relate to them on a deeper level and makes the reading experience more enjoyable. It’s like having a knowledgeable friend sharing valuable insights or information with you, rather than a dry and impersonal textbook.

Here are 20 ways you can make blog posts reader-friendly.

1. Clear and Concise Writing:

  • Use simple and straightforward language to make your blog post easy to understand.
  • Avoid jargon or complex terminology that may confuse readers.

2. Use Subheadings:

  • Break your blog post into sections with descriptive subheadings.
  • Subheadings help readers navigate your content and find specific information quickly.

3. Short Paragraphs:

  • Keep your paragraphs short and focused.
  • This makes it easier for readers to digest the information and prevents overwhelming blocks of text.

4. Utilize Bullet Points and Numbered Lists:

  • When presenting lists or key points, use bullet points or numbered lists.
  • This format makes information more scannable and helps readers grasp important details.

5. Incorporate Relevant Images:

  • Use visually appealing images that complement your content.
  • Images break up the text, make your blog post more engaging, and aid in conveying your message.

6. Write in a Conversational Tone:

  • Imagine you’re having a conversation with a friend while writing.
  • Using a conversational tone helps establish a connection with your readers and keeps them engaged.

7. Highlight Key Information:

  • Use bold or italic formatting to emphasize important words or phrases.
  • This draws readers’ attention to essential points and improves readability.

8. Break up Text with Subheadings:

  • Break your content into smaller sections with clear subheadings.
  • This allows readers to skim through the post and find what they’re looking for more easily.

9. Incorporate Relevant Examples:

  • Use real-life examples or case studies to illustrate your points.
  • Examples make your content relatable and help readers understand complex concepts.

10. Provide Clear Transitions:

  • Use transitional words and phrases to guide readers through your blog post.
  • Smooth transitions help maintain a logical flow and improve overall readability.

11. Use a Readable Font:

  • Choose a font that is easy to read on both desktop and mobile devices.
  • Sans-serif fonts like Arial or Verdana are often a good choice for online content.

12. Include White Space:

  • Leave ample white space between paragraphs, images, and other elements.
  • White space helps readers focus on the content and improves overall readability.

13. Break up Text with Block Quotes:

  • Use block quotes to highlight important quotes or key insights.
  • Block quotes provide visual breaks and draw attention to significant information.

14. Add Relevant Headings and Subheadings:

  • Use descriptive headings and subheadings throughout your blog post.
  • Headings help readers understand the structure of your content and locate specific information.

15. Write Short Sentences:

  • Keep your sentences concise and avoid excessive length.
  • Short sentences are easier to read and understand, improving the overall flow of your blog post.

16. Provide a Table of Contents:

  • For longer blog posts, include a table of contents at the beginning.
  • This allows readers to jump directly to the sections they’re most interested in.

17. Use Call-to-Action (CTA) Buttons:

  • Incorporate clear and compelling CTA buttons within your blog post.
  • CTAs encourage readers to take desired actions, such as subscribing, sharing, or commenting.

18. Add Relevant Links:

  • Include links to external sources or related articles within your blog post.
  • This provides readers with additional resources and enhances their understanding of the topic.

19. Proofread and Edit:

  • Ensure your blog post is free from grammatical and spelling errors.
  • Proofreading and editing improve the professionalism and readability of your content.

20. Encourage Feedback and Interaction:

  • Conclude your blog post by inviting readers to share their thoughts or ask questions.
  • Encouraging interaction creates a sense of community and helps build relationships with your audience.

Remember, making your blog posts reader-friendly enhances the overall user experience, improves engagement, and keeps your readers coming back for more.

Ultimately, making your blog post reader-friendly enhances the chances of your message being understood, appreciated, and shared.

It helps you build a loyal readership, encourages people to spend more time on your site, and increases the likelihood of them returning for more.

So, whether you’re writing about your passion or promoting a product or service, remember that a reader-friendly blog post is the key to engaging and retaining your audience.

15 ways you never run out of blogging ideas

Image showing a long road captioned never running out of blogging ideas

Whether you’re running a personal blog or a business blog the success of your blog lies in the fact that you are able to publish regularly without running out of blogging ideas.

Regularity may differ from person to person and business to business, but the more you publish, the better people remember you.

Topics discussed in this blog post include

  1. Take ideas from your existing blog posts
  2. Ask questions from your customers and clients
  3. Use newsjacking to make your blog posts more relevant and topical
  4. Maintain an editorial calendar
  5. Maintain an ideas file
  6. Write multiple blog posts at a time without worrying about completing them
  7. Ask your blog visitors
  8. Use Quora to do research on blogging ideas
  9. Create Google alerts
  10. Use keyword research tools
  11. Use the FAQs of other websites in your niche
  12. Use social media and social networking websites
  13. Use news aggregators
  14. Use Google analytics data
  15. Invite guest bloggers to write for your blog

Although, ideally, it is the quality of your blogging that leaves an imprint on people’s minds, it should also be mixed with frequency.

For example, great blog posts published every day are better for your business rather than great blog posts published every week, every fortnight or every month.

This is slightly an old survey but the challenge of producing great content on an ongoing basis remains around 65% (source).

This means that when it comes to implementing a result-oriented content marketing strategy, the biggest challenge faced by small as well as big business remains continuously coming up with great stuff to write about or talk about.

You may have an awesome beginning but soon you start wondering, okay, what to write about?

You begin to run out of blogging ideas.

This problem isn’t just faced by novice bloggers or bloggers who are blogging half-heartedly just because they think that blogging is good for their business without understanding why.

Even seasoned bloggers, the so-called a-list bloggers also now and then run out of blogging ideas.

What do they do?

They have a system.

The same system I use as a professional content writer while coming up with great blogging ideas for my clients.

These 15 ways will make sure you never run out of blogging ideas

1. Take ideas from your existing blog posts

Many of your blog posts have subtopics and you can always stretch the subtopics into full-fledged blog posts.

Even the bulleted lists may contain new blogging opportunities.

For example, I can use this very bullet point to write a blog post on “How to create new blog posts from your existing blog posts”.

2. Ask questions from your customers and clients

In fact this is the best way of coming up with new topics because as long as customers and clients are doing business with you they are going to have one or another issue and some concern that needs to be looked into.

Ask them questions, turn them into blogging format and create new blog posts providing answers to those questions and this is one of the best way of never running out of blogging ideas.

3. Use newsjacking to make your blog posts more relevant and topical

News is always happening.

If somehow you can create a spin in order to contextually attach the news to your business topic it can do wonders to your inbound marketing efforts.

Suppose a big snowstorm is coming up and the news is all over.

Suppose you sell batteries.

How about creating a blog post that advises people how to prolong battery life during such emergencies?

Here is a blog post that explains what is newsjacking and how to use it for content marketing.

4. Maintain an editorial calendar

Sometimes you run out of blogging ideas because you don’t know what to do on a particular day.

If you have an editorial calendar you always have a topic to write about.

In the beginning of every month chart out your editorial calendar and then stick to it. Read here about the importance of maintaining a content marketing calendar.

5. Maintain an ideas file

This is something like an editorial calendar but you can also do it roughly.

You can use Evernote or Google Keep or even something like ToDoist to maintain lists of blog post ideas that you would like to work on.

6. Write multiple blog posts at a time without worrying about completing them

It slows you down when you worry too much about completing a particular blog post.

Once you have lots of topics with you just keep on adding your thoughts as they hit you.

Evernote can come quite handy in this regard.

Create a dedicated note to particular blog topic and then keep on adding text to it or the research data that you need to use with the blog post.

7. Ask your blog visitors

Many bloggers have a dedicated form on their blogs to ask the visitors what all they would like to read.

This is something like crowdsourcing the generation of your blogging ideas.

8. Use Quora to do research on blogging ideas

People post great questions on Quora – the crowd sourced question-answer website with immense wealth of knowledge.

You can go through the questions being asked in your niche and instead of answering those questions on Quora you can answer them on your own blog.

9. Create Google alerts

People are constantly posting content on the Internet and as this content is posted, you can immediately get email alerts with the links and description of the content.

Just Google alerts can keep you going for many months without running out of blogging ideas.

10. Use keyword research tools

By using these tools – some free and some premium – you can find various combinations of keywords relevant to your niche and this can help you create blogging topics.

Remember that it’s important to create blog topics with your main keywords as much as possible without needlessly stuffing them.

A good example of an online keyword research tool is the Google keyword planner.

11. Use the FAQs of other websites in your niche

Regularly visit the websites of your competitors and see what all topics, especially in the FAQs section, they have covered and then create blogging topics out of those questions and answers.

12. Use social media and social networking websites

You can use something like Hootsuite to create a dedicated column posting updates about your niche.

For example, I’m constantly getting new updates on “content marketing”, “content writing”, “SEO content” and so on in a separate column and from that column I get lots of blogging ideas.

13. Use news aggregators

News aggregators like Feedly, Alltop, Prismatic and Flipboard can constantly supply you with new blogging ideas in your niche.

Some of these platforms also tell you how popular some of the topics are and you can create your blogging ideas accordingly.

14. Use Google Analytics data

If you have a blog you also must have Google analytics script on it that tells you what sort of traffic comes to your blog.

One section in your Google Analytics also tells you what keywords and search phrases are drawing traffic to your blog and you can use this information to create blog content.

15. Invite guest bloggers to write for your blog

This happens when your blog has become a bit known in your niche and people would like to highlight their content on your blog.

For this you need to cross a certain threshold level but once you have done that, it is a great way to make sure that you never run out of blogging ideas.

In fact, once you start inviting guest bloggers you will have to exercise discretion and be careful about what to publish and what not to publish.

Once you have seriously started blogging it’s just a matter of being sensitive towards receiving new blogging ideas.

I have personally observed that when I am blogging regularly I rarely run out of blogging ideas because consciously and subconsciously I’m constantly looking for new things to write about.

Can you immediately start blogging?

Can you start blogging immediately

Can you start blogging immediately

Yes, and it depends.

The starting part is not difficult.

Whether you want to host your own blog under your own domain or you want to use one of the existing blogging platforms, and depending on your Internet speed of course, you can start blogging within the next 10 minutes.

You can start both business blogs or personal blog based on your preference.

You can start blogging immediately in two ways:

  1. Install a blogging platform such as WordPress under your own domain name.
  2. Use a third-party blogging platform by simply opening an account with them.

Immediately starting a blog with WordPress

Installing the WordPress blogging platform may seem like a daunting task because it involves “installing”.

WordPress is a set of PHP files that you need to first download from WordPress.org, and then using an FTP program, uploaded to your web hosting server.

But it doesn’t have to be this complicated.

Most of the web hosting companies allow you to install WordPress on your server with a single click.

Well, single click is just a way of putting it; it takes a few clicks.

But the interface is quite friendly and even if you have never installed WordPress on your server, you can install it and start blogging immediately.

Web hosting companies like GoDaddy also offer dedicated WordPress hosting services.

If you opt for a WordPress hosting package, WordPress comes pre-installed.

Once you have made the payment, you are given a WordPress username and password.

You can immediately log into the dashboard and start blogging.

You don’t even have to install anything.

You don’t need to deal with FTP servers.

You don’t need an FTP program on your computer.

You will simply need to go to the URL recommended by the web hosting company and once you are on that URL, you will be able to log into the dashboard and start blogging immediately.

Don’t you need a custom WordPress theme to run a blog?

Not necessarily.

Yes, a theme matching your main website does look good, but the focus of my blog post is telling you how to start blogging immediately and for that, I’m going to skip the part of installing a WordPress theme.

The default installation comes with standard themes that you can use to display your blog.

After logging into the dashboard, you can use one of the default themes.

After that, there is a very neat WYSIWYG editor that you can use to write and publish blog posts.

There are many tweaks that you can make to your WordPress installation, but right now that doesn’t matter.

What matters is, how fast you can start blogging.

Even if you want to start a business blog and you don’t want to waste time getting a custom theme designed, the default theme is sufficient enough.

The important part is creating content.

It may take two or three months to get a nice theme but in the meantime, you should start writing and publishing blog posts as soon as possible, and this is the quickest way.

Don’t worry about the theme yet.

The content is the important thing.

Just set the ball rolling.

Immediately starting a blog with third-party blogging platforms

I’m not going to discuss multiple blogging platforms because that becomes confusing.

The difference between a self-hosted blogging platform and a third-party blogging platform is that when you use a self-hosted blogging platform like WordPress, it is under your own domain.

A self-hosted blogging platform like WordPress is good for your search engine rankings.

With a self-hosted blogging platform, when the traffic begins to build up, it comes to your own domain name rather than another website.

The only problem is that it may take you many months to build decent traffic.

This brings me to the topic of third-party blogging platforms.

One of my favorite third-party blogging platforms is Medium.com.

You can immediately open an account with Medium using your Twitter account or Google account.

In fact, it may take less than five minutes to start writing a post on Medium.

One of the biggest benefits of publishing your blog posts on Medium is that you can get exposure faster, unlike a self-hosted blog.

The Medium platform is ready-made.

People can follow you and receive notifications whenever you publish new blog posts using Medium.

You can build traffic faster on your Medium blog, but the only problem is that most of the traffic comes to your Medium blog instead of your own website.

For building faster visibility, Medium is a great platform.

If by chance your blog post is picked by their editorial team and featured on the homepage, your blog can get massive exposure in terms of hundreds of thousands of views, in a single day.

It also makes it easier to immediately start blogging.

What about other third-party blogging platforms?

LinkedIn allows you to publish articles using its platform.

Publishing LinkedIn articles or blog posts is a good way to build your leadership over the professional networking platform.

It is said that LinkedIn promotes blog posts and articles published on its own platform more than the usual smaller updates.

Aside from Medium and LinkedIn, there is also a WordPress.com, but somehow, I have never liked it.

It doesn’t look professional.

If right now you don’t want to immediately start blogging under your own domain the best options for third-party blogging platforms are LinkedIn and Medium.

You can use LinkedIn for professional blogging.

You can share your thought leadership blog posts using LinkedIn.

LinkedIn these days also allows you to run a newsletter.

This way, whenever you publish a post over LinkedIn, your newsletter subscribers immediately receive an email with the contents of your blog post.

Medium too has such a facility.

What do I recommend if you immediately want to start blogging?

If you ask me, I would highly recommend the self-hosted WordPress blogging platform.

It may seem difficult in the beginning, but it will be worth the effort.

Your search engine rankings will improve if you publish regularly.

All the traffic that your blog generates will come to your own website.

You will own the content – all the blog posts are stored in a MySQL database and anytime you can take backup of this database and store it locally on your computer.

Even for self-hosted blogging platform, you don’t face many hurdles.

As mentioned above, WordPress hosting is available with every hosting service these days.

All you need is access to the admin/dashboard, and you can immediately start blogging.

Third-party platforms definitely have their benefits, but I would recommend that you first publish your latest blog posts on your own, self-hosted blog and then share them or syndicate them on the third-party blogging platforms.

10 tips for starting a successful blog

10 tips for starting a successful blog

10 tips for starting a successful blog

A successful blog can be defined in multiple ways. You may have a successful blog in terms of traffic and advertising revenue. You may have a successful blog in terms of building your brand. Success can also be gauged by the amount of business your blog generates.

Every individual, every business has a different definition of success. The moot point is, does your blog help you achieve your goals, and if it does, it is a successful blog for you.

Blogging brings you many benefits but just like any venture, it also comes with its own set of challenges. For example, 70 million blog posts are published each month just by WordPress users. You can easily imagine how much competition an average blog faces and how difficult it must be for Google algorithms to crawl, index, and rank blog posts based on their relevance and quality.

If it is so difficult to generate visibility of your blog, why am I advising to start a new blog? Isn’t blogging already saturated?

Blogging is saturated for people who want to make a quick buck, or people who don’t have enough patience or a desire to work hard.

Yes, in the beginning years it was easier to get enough visibility for your newly started blog and now it may take a few months before some decent traffic begins to trickle down, but it all depends on your niche, how much competition you face, and what is the quality of your content.

Besides, many people think that starting a successful blog means getting millions of visitors and generating lots of advertising revenue. Even a small blog with 200-300 visitors per day can be successful if it generates business for you. A successful blog can help you

  • Improve search engine rankings of your main website.
  • Generate leads for you.
  • Enhance your brand presence.
  • Establish yourself as a thought leader.
  • Increase your social media visibility.
  • Keep your audience engaged and informed.
  • Build you a platform where you can tell your side of the story in case of a controversy.

Listed below are 10 tips for starting a successful blog

1. Clearly define your niche

The narrower it is, the better it is. Remember that you are not looking for millions of visitors. You are looking for visitors who will do business with you. 200 people coming to your blog and 10 among them submitting your contact form is much better than 5000 people coming to your blog and just 5 among them submitting your contact form.

It is also easier to start a successful blog if your audience is selective. It means there is less competition.

I’m publishing a blog on content writing and copywriting. This is not a narrow niche because in the field of content writing and copywriting there are multiple fields, but when I started it was a niche because there were very few content writers.

Suppose you start a blog on digital marketing. Again, it is a broad topic and many people might be covering many things in the field of digital marketing. How about just creating a blog on podcasting for digital marketing, or digital marketing writers? Or even graphic designers for a select few graphic design tools?

2. Blog about something you love (or hire a blog writer)

I know, this is a clichéd advice. You love different ice cream varieties, and you would like to start a blog on ice cream recipes, but you are into finance and your business requires a successful blog in the field of finance.

Since you are into finance, you must be passionate about your topic (unless fate has entrapped you).

Love for the topic will enable you to work on your blog every day even when you don’t encounter success in the beginning. The ongoing effort can be daunting especially when you don’t see any improvement in your blog traffic.

Most of the people who started a successful blog are passionate about the topic. Every day I write on content writing copywriting, and blogging, because I am interested in these topics. I have learned a lot. I like to share. Also, my website is my bread-and-butter and this keeps me motivated enough to stay put and work on successive blog.

Even if you’re not passionate about the topic but still you want to start a successful blog on your chosen topic, and if you have the budget, the next best option is to hire a blog writer or a professional content writer.

Since he or she is a trained writer, and since he or she will be paid, which is a good incentive, you will get a regular supply of high-quality blog posts.

3. Choose the right blogging platform

Currently my favorites are WordPress and Medium. WordPress gives you independence (I’m talking about WordPress.org). You can install it under your domain name either as a subdomain or a directory. Your design, your layout, your images, and all your blogging content belong to you.

A good thing about WordPress is that it gives you complete customization. You can have custom themes. You can search engine optimize your blog. You can install plugins to achieve various tasks and get different features.

If you want to move to another host all you need to do is take backup of your entire content (images, themes and blog posts) and take it to the new host.

I have been using WordPress for more than 15 years and I believe it has been an excellent choice.

There are many more content management system but WordPress is the best, both for managing website as well as blog.

Medium is a third-party blogging platform. Which means, all the blog posts that you publish belong to Medium. It is basically a content publishing platform that can generate lots of traffic for you. It already has a great following. You don’t have to build everything from scratch. There is a standard template and people are accustomed to the template. Medium allows you to take backup. There is also provision for publishing Medium blog posts appearing under a custom domain but you will need to figure out how to do that.

Both WordPress and Medium have their individual advantages and you will need to weigh your pros and cons. The only problem with Medium is that a third party owns your content and the traffic that comes to Medium may remain on medium and not come to your website. It is good for branding though.

You should also keep an open mind towards LinkedIn blogs. Just like Medium you can use the LinkedIn platform to publish blogs. Again, the content that you publish will remain on LinkedIn and the traffic that you generate will be secondary, but just like Medium, you can increase your visibility faster.

My personal take: Install the blog on your own website through WordPress and keep Medium and LinkedIn secondary options for additional visibility.

4. Publish blog post with greater frequency in the beginning

This will help you get your content crawled and indexed faster by Google. How fast Google crawler crawls your content depends on how often you publish. If your publishing frequency is quite low, the crawling frequency too is quite low.

For example, if you publish just one blog post every week it may take you anywhere between 5 to 6 months to get some traffic and visibility. On the other hand, if you publish a blog post every day, at least for the next two months, your content will get indexed faster and your search engine rankings will improve quicker.

Even if every day is not possible, keep your target 2-3 blog posts every week.

 5. Pay close attention to the search intent of your visitors

Why you want people to come and read your particular blog post? What should they get out of it? This can be gauged by knowing their search intent.

Although search intent is SEO specific it can also help you write and publish targeted blog posts to help you start a successful blog without wasting much time.

Are your visitors looking for humor? Are they looking for a specific solution to a particular problem? Do they want to read a review so that they can say something based on your decision or based on the information that you have presented?

Paying close attention to search intent will help you generate highly targeted traffic faster.

6. Create great, high-quality content

The quality of your blog posts is going to be the backbone of your successful blog. No matter how great your template is, no matter what blogging platform you use, no matter what is your frequency, unless the content is great, unless it serves a strong purpose, it is of no use.

I advise my clients to focus on quality at the cost of quantity. Yes, quantity does matter but it is of no use if it is not backed by quality. If you need to compromise based on budget or effort, compromise on quantity, but not on quality.

What does quality mean in terms of starting a successful blog? Here are a few things you should keep in mind:

  • Write for your readers.
  • Provide applicable solutions and advice.
  • Satisfy their search intent.
  • Make it easier to read your content by using appropriate formatting.
  • Do enough research and find credible data to back up your claims.
  • Always be accurate when you are presenting statistics.
  • Try to write mostly on searcher’s query.
  • Make your content readable on all devices.
  • Write in a simple language people can easily understand.
  • Add your own perspective to trending topics.
  • Whenever possible, use your own experience and anecdotes to explain concepts.
  • Write on niche subtopics.
  • Create a knowledge wealth.

7. Don’t ignore promotion and marketing

Your blog is just another business venture, or a subset of a business venture. To start a successful blog, you need to promote it regularly. Simply publishing blog posts won’t do. How can you market your blog?

Maintain a vibrant presence on social media. Promote your links over there. Start a mailing list. You can promote your links with your mailing list. You can also create shorter versions of your blog posts and then post them on blogging platforms like Medium and LinkedIn with a link back to your original blog post. You can also run paid promotions for certain blog posts on Facebook and Instagram.

8. Maintain a repository of blog post ideas

When people try to start a successful blog, this is one of the biggest challenges they face: how to keep coming up with interesting blogging ideas that would serve their audience? You need to brainstorm constantly. You need to keep your eyes open when browsing the Internet.

You can use apps like OneNote or Google Keep to maintain a list of blogging ideas or you can maintain an Excel sheet.

You can also use Google alerts to come across trending topics and interesting ideas for your blog posts. I have set up Google alerts for content writing, content marketing, online copywriting, and other terms for which I want to get regular blogging ideas.

Here is another trick that I follow: when I start adding blog post ideas to my repository, I don’t use them unless I’m hard pressed against the wall. I keep them when I completely don’t find any new ideas. I keep adding ideas to the repository but then for the upcoming blog post I try to find or come up with a new blogging idea by myself.

9. Publish guest blog posts

Once your blog begins to generate decent traffic, people will approach you to publish guest blog posts for your blog. This is a good way of publishing fresh content and bring in fresh perspective. The only caveat is that they will want backlinks to their own blogs.

Some guest writers will want to publish on your blog to get extra exposure from your blog and some will approach you for backlinks because they want to improve their search engine rankings. You can decide whether you want to use the no-follow tag for your outgoing links but if you do that, do let it be known to the guest bloggers.

I provide do-follow link from the author profile section but not from the main blog body content. Anyway, that’s a different issue.

Make sure when you get guest blog posting ideas you maintain the same quality standards that you maintain for your own blog posts.

10. Prepare for a longer haul to start a successful blog

You will need to be patient. You will need to persevere. There are months of struggle behind overnight successes. No matter how narrow your niche is, someone is already writing on the topic because there are billions of web pages being created and published on the Internet every month.

What the others don’t have his persistence, which you have to start a successful blog. This is where you stand apart. Most of the people give up after a month. Be prepared to continuously publish your blog for at least six months without experiencing any success.

That’s why it is important to choose a topic that is close to your heart so that even if you don’t experience much success in the initial months, at least you enjoy writing about it.

Why is it difficult to publish a blog regularly?

Why is it difficult to write a blog post regularly

Why is it difficult to write a blog post regularly

You want to, you need to, publish a blog regularly for multiple reasons.

When you publish a blog regularly, you regularly engage your visitors. You improve your search engine rankings. You get to demonstrate and share your knowledge. Your readers have a reason to come back to your website repeatedly. You have fresh content to share on social media websites and other platforms.

Most of the clients who approach me to write for them regular blog posts are looking to increase their organic traffic. This is the best form of traffic. Once your blog post begins to appear in search results, you don’t pay for every click. It is high quality traffic. It is free after you have recovered the cost of publishing the blog post.

How often should you publish a blog post?

Depends on what you’re trying to achieve. Websites like Hubspot recommend that businesses that publish 2-3 blog posts every week get 13X more traffic than businesses that publish 1-2 blog posts every 15 days. Ideally, you should aim for at least one or two blog posts every week. Again, it depends on what results you seek.

Let’s say you want to improve your search engine rankings in the coming two months. Then, I would recommend you publish a decently long blog post – 1000-1500 words – every day.

I have personally experienced good success by publishing even 400-500 words every day for a couple of months. Rankings improved. Targeted traffic improved. New content got crawled faster.

Why do businesses find it difficult to publish blog posts regularly?

Many reasons. You run out of ideas and topics. You feel demotivated by the lack of success that is hard to come due to competition and millions of web pages and blog posts being added to search engines and social media platforms every day. Writing every day can be a Herculean undertaking.

Some of the biggest challenges faced by individuals and businesses wanting to publish blog posts every day include

  • Lack of interesting topics.
  • Not knowing where to start and where to end.
  • Not enough time due to the core professional obligations (you may be a lawyer, a designer, a programmer or an architect and writing is not your main occupation).
  • Not having a content calendar or a clearly-defined plan.
  • Inability to come up with original content.
  • A sense of boredom – initially you may be full of excitement but as blogging becomes a usual business chore, it tends to become a boring activity.
  • Not knowing what to prioritize – writing what you love or writing what your core audience finds useful.
  • Not getting enough traffic – organic traffic doesn’t come in a few days. It may take a couple of months before the traffic begins to trickle.
  • Finding the perfect niche – if you don’t know your niche you are simply beating around the bush and wasting your time and precious resources, and this further leads to inertia.
  • The absence of the writer’s discipline – writing is a discipline and only professional writers seem to have it.
  • Not working with a professional writer – since writing is better done by a professional writer it is better to assign the task of writing a regular blog post to a professional blog writer.

How to make it easier and more profitable to publish a blog regularly?

You have two choices: become a prolific writer yourself or assign the task to someone who himself or herself is a prolific writer, preferably, a professional writer or content writer.

Why is it so?

A professional content writer is a dedicated writer who is everyday writing blog posts for different businesses. For a professional content writer or blog writer, writing is not a chore, it is a professional undertaking, it is a livelihood. Hence, the interest that a professional content writer shows in your blog writing, it may be difficult for you to show.

For your blog to be successful it needs to be relevant, regular and effective. Day after day it must deliver value. Your visitors must have a strong reason to come back to your website and check out your blog.

If your blog is not delivering value, it will fail to draw targeted traffic.

The problem with organic search engine rankings is that everything is interconnected. It is like an old motorbike – you need to keep kicking until the engine cranks up and your bike starts.

Somehow you need to make people come to your blog and enable them to stay there. If you don’t have quality content, people won’t stay and Google has a way of finding that out.

Here is an example:

You find one of my links on Google and come to my website. You don’t stay even for a few seconds. You go back to Google and start checking out other links. What does it tell Google?

It tells the Google algorithm that you didn’t find useful information on my website and consequently, the current rankings that the link enjoys should be degraded for the keyword that you used.

On the other hand, if you stay on my website for 3-4 minutes and you read a major portion of my web page or blog post, it tells Google that my link contains useful information and as a result, my rankings for that keyword for that link further improve.

These attributes for a successful blog can be delivered by a professional content writer or a professional blog writer. A professional content writer delivers

  • High quality blog posts regularly.
  • Quality research.
  • Engaging writing.
  • Publishing of your blog posts as per your calendar.
  • Targeted topics.
  • Search engine optimized content.