11 Blogging Tips for Beginners

Starting a blog is a fun and exciting experience. Chances are you have a lot to say and you will need to build up your audience to get your message across to your readers. It doesn't matter what topic you have to blog about, here are just a few tips you can follow to help you become a better blogger if you're a beginner. 

1 Niche down 

There are so many great topics out there like blogs about blogging, fashion, food, travel, and your dog. However, it's not a great idea to talk about all of these things at once because it will ruin your SEO with Google. Choose a niche that you enjoy writing about and stick to that. This is a lifestyle and travel blog. I focus on looking for budget-friendly ways of living and traveling for the average person. 

2. Know your audience

Decide who your audience is early on because it will make it easier for you to write. Are you writing to college female students with a dog for companionship or are you writing to working adults who need quick and budget-friendly ideas for recipes? Once you figure out who you're writing to it will be easier to come up with ideas that target that audience and Google will reward you. 

3. Write great content 

Maybe you have heard the saying, "Content is King" and it's true because when you write great content your audience will come back for more. Blogging is all about helping the reader. Think of topics that will bring value to the reader and help them solve a problem. Maybe you can write a story for a college student who has a pet and needs to know the best chew toys and dog food for her small dog. Create a blog post that answers these questions and your readers will appreciate that. 

4. Write a long form 

Shoot for 800 - 1000 words blog post because blogging is meant to be read. Google will reward you in search ranking for long and detailed blog posts about a specific topic. 

5. Use keywords 

When stumped for thinking about great ideas to write about, use Google to find keywords to help you find topics that people usually search for. Use the recommended search results at the bottom of Google's page and input keywords into Google's keyword planner to help you target search terms that people are searching for SEO-friendly content. 

6. Write great headlines 

Write brief headlines that explain your article in concise words. Include the keywords in your headlines for SEO targeted search terms and Google will rank you for them. 

7. Use great images and Alt text

Studies show that people are more likely to read blog posts with images in them. Take your own pictures or find creative common images on websites like Unsplash or pixels for beautiful photographs that add a visual element to your blog. Adjust the alt text in your settings to make your post more discoverable on Google. 

8. Use good grammar and spelling 

Always be sure to use great grammar and spelling in your blog posts. No one likes to read poorly written blog posts and it's good for Google because it will recognize that your blog posts are professional and well written. I like to use Grammarly to help me proofread my blog posts. 

9. Create an email list early on

Creating an email list is a great way of building an audience that is your own. It's not like social media because even though social media's audience is more sporadic, you get to collect emails from people who want to hear from you. Give them something of value in return for their email, like a free ebook, a PDF, a checklist, or a course and when they sign up they permit you into their inbox and become your tribe. You might even be able to convert them into customers in the future. 

10. Write lists 

Google loves lists. Write a list like this blog post and expand your readers' knowledge with valuable content. Google will reward you for the SEO-driven list article with more traffic to your blog. 

11. Have fun

Write about topics that are meaningful to you. When you write about things that you care about people will notice the passion in your tone and appreciate your writing all the more. Be sure to be friendly and conversational in your blogs because this isn't a professional setting it's just a place for you to build your audience around a topic that you love. So go and have fun following these tips for beginner blogs. 

If you liked this blog post and you thought it was helpful try signing up to my email list at the top of this blog. You will get a 100 FREE lifestyle blog post ideas to start your blog in 2021. 

How to set up labels in Blogger

In a previous post, I showed you how to set up pages in Blogger. If you haven't already, check out the Label, "how to set up a blog" where you will learn how to aesthetically make a blog on blogger. For this post, I'm going to touch on something important because I don't know if it is just me but blogger does not have sister links like WordPress does. That is the part of the blog where when you set up a page at the top cross column and you get cascading links to that main tab. 

Well, blogger has something similar and that is labels. I have been making use of the labels in blogger for some time now and I just learned that you can set up something similar to sister links. I want to show you hot to get it up and started so you can do the same thing too. I like labels because Blogger sets it up like a cloud or lists. If you want something more general you can set up a general cloud to store all of your similar blog posts. The more blog posts that you write with that label then the bigger and bolder the font becomes with the number of posts labeled next to it. So the more posts you write with the label say, "How to start a blog" the more obvious it becomes in my label cloud on my blog. That way it becomes all the more easier for you to find all of my blog posts with the same labels. Of course you don't have to use a cloud, you can use the list version for multiple label groups (like I have it on my blog) if you so desire but it is a good alternative to the sister links that I was talking about before. 

Now lets get started. 

To add a label to your blog post all you need to do is add it to the existing blog post that you are making. To do that head over to the right side menu within your blog post. 

1. Click add label. 

2. Type the label you want and 

3. Click the checkbox next to it to activate it. 

Now go to Layout. 

1. click add widget

2. add Labels

3. A box will come up for you to use the preferences that you want. 

• You can show selected labels. Chose the icon for selected labels and click edit. From there you can choose the labels you want to show. 
• You can show the labels in alphabetical order or by frequency. 
• You can also have them show the number of posts next to each label.

When you are done click save. 

Adjust the widget wherever you want it to be. I keep mine in the sidebar because it looks fancy enough to stand on its own and neat enough to show off like sister links.

And you're done!

How to start a blog

So you want to start a blog.

This page will help you get started with your blog.

There are a few things you can do to help you do that. All it takes is just a little patience and know-how. After reading up on all the information I can give you you you will have a better understanding about how to start your own blog on blogger. While others prefer to use WordPress or blogger I will later talk about why I chose to use Blogger as my website platform for this blog instead of others. Moreover, as I get started in explaining how to start a blog, I just want to tell you all that I am not an expert in blogging but I have done a lot of research and have experience getting a website up and running. This very blog is made with my own experience with trial and error. I have followed similar methods that other bloggers have taken/ I have even read up with other bloggers to see what they have done to create successful blogs and taken a few courses to help me better understand what they do as well when it comes to gaining traffic and building an audience.I am just still in the process of learning how to put these techniques to use to gather my own blog traffic and that is a journey of its own.  

If you're interested in following me on this journey and want information about how to get your blog up and running you can subscribe to this blog at the top right-hand corner of the home page screen. Click on the label "How to Start a Blog" in the label cloud to follow along. Also, you can subscribe to receive newsletters to your inbox in the top right-hand corner for step by step guides to help you understand how to get a blog up and running. In these posts, I will help give you tips that I have learned from other bloggers. like whatmommydoes and mommyonpurpose and Billionareblogclub blogs who help others get their blogs up and give advice about how to keep blogs up and running. It is a nice adventure as one decides to embark on their blogging journey, and if you're interested in joining in with me we can both learn and succeed together. 

Feel free to leave questions and comments in the comment section of this page. I will respond as soon as possible.

For now just read on to get your blog up and running on blogger. 

1. Sign into blogger and click on the title arrow above New Post. 

2. Click on New blog

3. Type in a title

4. Create a blog address. This is the URL that will show up on your blog when people search for you.

5. go to Theme in the menu. Choose from the 12 Theme options available. Each theme has an assortment of themes and colors you can choose from. You can edit them accordingly to your preferences. 

Choose Contempo Light for example. Click apply.

6.  Go to layout. Here you can edit the widgets you want to show on your blog. In another post, I can show you how to add pages and external link pages to your blog to take users to social media and other pages within your blog. For now, just click on add widget. Search the widget for pages.

7. Click add external links

8. Write a title for your page 

9. Include the link to your social media like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter for example. 

10. Repeat until you are done. 

You're done for now!

 If you want to learn more about how to get your blog up and running you can follow and subscribe at the top right corner of this blog for more blog posts and email newsletters. 

How to set up Pages in Blogger

So you've come here today because you want to set up your pages on blogger. Even though it sounds complicated it is very easy. No need to worry. Follow along here and you will have your pages set up in no time. 

Before we get started it is important for you to know that blogger has two types of pages. The pages you make from the left panel on your menu and the pages you will assign from the widgets. If you want to see future posts about how to start your blog you can like and subscribe to this blog here at the top right-hand corner for new blog posts and newsletters.

Now to get started.

It's very easy for you to head over to the left panel menu and click on pages. Find the button that lets you create a new page. Fill it up with your text and click save. Done. 

But you're not done yet. 

1. Go over to layout.

2. Click on add widget. 

3. Choose pages. 

4. Click external link.

5. Add The title of the page and then add the URL of the page you want to send the user to. 

I like to use this feature when I want to add my social media or a link to my portfolio website. It will take the user directly to my website. 

Now you will see a list of internal pages, such as your about me and any other pages you make directly in blogger. You will also have a list of external links such as your social media. 

6. To get the internal links to show up on your blog all you need to do is click the checkmark in the box next to them. You can adjust the order in the slide under the check marked boxes to put the tabs where you want them to go.

7. Click Save. 

8. You can adjust the widgets in your layout anywhere you want them. I like to adjust mine in the cross column at the top where everyone can quickly see them. 

Enjoy!

How to use Instagram to boost your blog traffic

Instagram is a great place to share life experiences and photos. As a travel and lifestyle blog, I find that using Instagram helps me share my experiences with a community of people who also love using images to tell a story. The added benefit that Instagram lets you use filters to color your photos any way you like makes it all the more interesting when sharing pictures. 

However, Instagram is a great tool for promoting your blog. Not only can you take pictures but you can use hashtags and promotions to get your blog noticed by many people. I will breifly explain to you how I use Instagram's SEO as a tool to drive organic traffic without promotions to my instagram and blog site. 

After watching a Skillshare video by Sean Dalton, Travel photographer, I learned how to use Instagram's SEO to help me get my pictures noticed by thousands of people. All it takes is a little strategy and patience it all starts with counting your hashtags and then getting involved in the community. 

When you count your hashtags, Instagram will let you post up to thirty hashtags per post. That means you can use any number of hashtags within those thirty hashtags to target the description for the subject that you want to highlight. If you use targeted hashtags you will get more eyes on your photos. For example, if you go into Instagram's search engine and type in a hashtag for #sunsets you will get a list of other hashtag suggestions that will also target sunsets in your interest. You want to shoot for a hashtag that gets at least 1 million views so that you do not have an over-saturated audience. That way you will get a chance for people to see your photo.  

After choosing your target hashtags you can place them in the description of the photo after the caption. That is what Sean Dalton does. Then you can get involved with the community and like and comment on other people's photos within your target community. That way you will get more traffic to your Instagram and hence your blog. Always remember to answer comments and questions within one hour of posting. This is a good way of getting more traffic to your blog. 

Another way of making sure that you get people to look at your blog is by remembering to add a link to your blog in the description of your Instagram account. If you don't already know how to do that you can head over to your Instagram settings and choose Edit Profile. Then you will find a place that lets you add your website. Copy and paste your blog URL here and hit the check mark at the top right corner; now it's saved. You will definitely get a lot more views following these SEO strategies for Instagram. I hope you have fun blogging! 

 

How to use Metadata for Blogger

by A blog post about how to set up metadata for blogger.

How do you get your blog posts noticed on google? One good way is by using metadata descriptions. Metadata is really the part of the blog's description that shows up in google search results right under the title. This is the part where you want to edit something that is quick, concise, and enticing to readers to click on your link to see more. As Google sees keywords in your metadata it will scale it up on the search results for readers to see. Depending on what you place in the metadata you can really make your blog pop on search results. 

As we begin, you will want to head over to the settings page in your blogger window. 

Then you will want to scroll down until you see the option for meta tags. Click on the grey button to turn it green/

Then you can write a captivating description for your blogs with keywords into the box. 

Click Save. 

Next, open a new blog post and go to the right panel. You will see the search description under location. This is the opportunity to write a description of your recent blog post. You have 150 characters, so you can make it good. 

Blogger Vs. Wordpress

by A blog about how I choose blogger vs. wordpress.

When I began to blog, I needed to decide what fit my needs. In this blog post, I will briefly talk about the pros and cons of blogger and WordPress and why I feel that blogger fits my needs now. No hard feelings, I just like the design of it. All in all both designs are nice but I like the interface that Blogger has. 

 To begin, I feel that I needed something to let me start out my journey on a budget-friendly stance. I am just coming out of college, I do not have that many funds to dedicate to a blog so anything that says free, sounds good to me for getting a blog up and running. So after looking at a few other websites, like WordPress, and Squarespace, I feel that blogger gives me the ability to do most of the things that I like to do on a free based budget. Not only did I need something free, but I needed something that let me use creative liberty with my blog. 

Blogger is nice because it lets you choose the themes from its selection. WordPress has the same thing but I really like the variety that blogger gives to users when choosing. Have you seen the selection that Blogger has? The theme I am using is Awesome Inc. Artsy. However, there are lots of other really nice themes to chose from like Contempo's selection, Soho, and Dynamic Views. These themes all come with a variety of selections that you can choose from without having to know a lot of HTML. You can preview the wone that you like and apply it to your blog for free. I really like that I do not have to know a lot of technical things to install it. All it takes is a couple of clicks and now you have a customizable template. That's all it takes; no hassle. 

Furthermore, since I only know basic HTML, I really do not want to see it. If I have to use HTML I can, it's not something that I want to banish forever. However, it is a tool that I like to use to enhance my blog. This is another aspect that I was looking for when I wanted to build my blog. I know that some aspects of building a blog take knowledge of HTML so I needed a program that let me do that with minimal hassle. I know WordPress has plugins. WordPress has plugins for EVERYTHING, but to me, this can get confusing so I want to stay away from it as much as possible if I can. Blogger's Layout settings let you embed HTML into the site and move it around in a widget wherever you want it to be. Its an elementary concept but it makes my blog look so nice. I really like this feature and I'm glad blogger lets me play around with my layout like this. 

Here are some pros and Cons for using Blogger

Pro: 

• Its affordable for everyone 
• everyone can be creative with it
• It has an app -- you can take it with you on the phone
• You can easily sign in with google
• and comes with google AdSense for monetization purposes of the blog

Cons:

• There aren't many cons to it except that I can't find where to build sister links.

Sister links are the cascading links that fall under a main link in the top section. So, I have conformed to using labels on the cloud to tag a topic to a certain category.

Pros and cons of using WordPress

Pros

• It has two websites
• one website can be connected to a host domain
• its still affordable if you can afford it
• everyone has creative liberty
• it has an app
• it has more plugins than blogger

Cons: 

• The plugins part can get a little complicated especially if you do not know how to use WordPress

All in all, the final decision is up to you. I can never tell you which site to use for your website because that is something personal. I could help you get started on any platform but out of thankfulness for blogger's beautiful blog that it has created for me, I will talk about how to start a blog on blogger to begin with. It's quick and easy and this is my personal decision. I think I like the themes blogger has more than WordPress. Or maybe I'm biased. I think its fun. I hope you enjoyed this post and it helps you choose which blogging interface you would like for your own blog. If you have questions do not hesitate to leave a comment below. Also, like subscribe for more blogging content and newsletters at the top right-hand corner of this blog for future posts. 

Sincerely, 

Caro Rose