Recently, a friend of mine reached out to me and said, “Hey! I noticed you started a blog and it’s really great! Can you give me some advice on what you did?”
It was something to that effect. It got me thinking about what a journey it has been for me since I started a blog back in 2013…
Holy moly was that forever ago.
Short history: I started this blog as a way to talk about the Peace Corps, the application, the life, and a little bit of the life after. Of course, the Peace Corps blog didn’t last long, because, shocker, I wasn’t in the Peace Corps anymore.
I still had things to say and was still passionate about traveling and writing. So I decided to keep on keeping on with my blog.
I didn’t narrow my focus and niche until I went to TravelCon last year, which was a big eye-opener for me. The blogging community is truly spectacular.
Then, recently, I moved my website to a new hosting site, and as a result, had to import and format all my blogs.
Boy, if I had done this years down the road, I would be in trouble. Transferring 91 blogs is tedious enough.
As I went through my blogs, I was amazed at how much I have changed and improved as a blogger and a writer. Just the format alone had changed a lot.
I got to thinking, that I have learned a lot over just this past year (when I started taking blogging seriously).
So what did I learn? I’ll tell you in hopes that you don’t make the same mistake that I did in the beginning.
Select a Hosting Site.. *hint BLUEHOST hint*
I can tell you I went through about every hosting site possible until I reach this point and I spent hundreds of dollars in the process.
I started out on Tumblr, moved to Wix, then to WordPress, and now I am with Bluehost.
Why Bluehost you ask?
Well, for my one website, I am paying around $60 a year. With Wix, you pay around $120 a year, and with WordPress, you pay about $300. HUGE difference in price.
Don’t get me wrong, WordPress is the BEST option for a website, hands down, no argument, but you can host through Bluehost and still build a website in WordPress. Make sense?
Save yourself the time, trouble, and money, and just host with Bluehost from the get-go. You won’t be sorry.
Choose a Wicked Theme
The design aspect of a website is probably more intimidating than coming up with content that is useful to someone on the world wide web, but I have a method that will make it easier and you won’t have to hire anyone at all.
Theme Forest is a website FULL of awesomely pre-made templates that can help you create an original website — until you become a blogging superstar and can afford an awesome coder to do a one-of-a-kind website for you in the future.
If you are internet or computer savvy enough, you can poke around the template and eventually get the design you bought on Theme Forest up and running. It will seem like a lot of work and you may want to throw your computer in the trash, but I promise, once you figured it out, you’ll be a webmaster.
The templates not only come with a design, but they also come with all the necessary plugins that make it look awesome, so you don’t have to worry. And most of the templates range from $10 – $59
Learn Some Basic SEO
These days, it’s not enough to just post content that is interesting, you have to make sure you’re blog is popping up in the right places on a search engine so people can find you.
Learning to add Headers, Page Titles, Alt Text, Keywords, etc. will be massively helpful in getting the right eyes in front of your content.
When you are using WordPress, make sure to download Yoast. It is an SEO plugin that allows you to implement SEO into each and every blog and page you complete for your website. It is my absolute favorite plugin on WordPress and it’s so easy to use, you’ll feel like a pro.
The Average Ranking Blog Post Has ______ Words!
It is debatable and everyone says a different number, but you can likely count on successful blog posts ranging anywhere between 1,000 and 1,800 words per blog post.
WHEW! That’s a lot, I know. So make sure your content is heavy with valuable information that your readers will definitely use.
It’s a challenge to create long posts without rambling on and boring your reader to death. But I promise it helps. That being said, you want to appeal to your user more than anything. So find a nice healthy balance between good SEO and between valuable content your user will enjoy.
But try to hit somewhere in between the 1,000 and 1,800-word mark and you will be golden.
Go to Some Conferences
So you’re a poor blogger, maybe you’re hoping to make some money off your blog in the next few years, and you need to invest in learning some new things.
That’s when you attend conferences.
The two single greatest conferences I’ve been to that have significantly benefitted me and my blog were TravelCon (if you’re a travel blogger) and Digital Summit.
These two conferences have incredibly valuable information on how to create good digital content and how to create things that last and things that your readers/consumers actually want. They are 100% invested in telling you secrets that will improve whatever goals you are trying to achieve.
They are costly, but they are also 100% worth it.
Post Content Consistently
I know it seems tedious, and there are some days you won’t want to do anything and even some days when you’re like, “I don’t know what I have to contribute to people today.”
Don’t worry, that’s all normal. But try to add something new in a consistent way. Whether it be every day or every week, stay consistent.
Google LOVES consistency and activity. So whatever you do, post something regularly and try your best not to miss a single post.
Don’t You Dare Quit
At TravelCon, the very wise Nomadic Matt said something that was really important, which I will get to in a minute. But first I have to say…
Don’t you dare quit!
Just because things aren’t working out for you now, doesn’t mean they won’t ever. Keep working your hardest and hustling, because the good stuff comes after you feel like you’re failed and done for.
Nomadic Matt, at TravelCon said, “I’m not any better a blogger than anyone else. I just lasted longer than everyone else.”
Matt kept going when everyone else quit, and now he is the king of travel blogging.
So, whatever it is you have to say, get it started now! And the most important thing to remember is that, if you quit, you’ll never know how good things could get.
Do you have tips on piloting or starting a blog? Leave your comments below and let’s start a discussion!
