7 Ways to Improve your Blog For The New Year
Can you believe 2018 has already come to an end? They say time flies when you’re having fun…. But seriously, how fast did that happen? 😬
The end of the year is definitely the time when you can pat ourselves on the back and celebrate our accomplishments and achievements, but not only is it a time of celebration, it is also the time to plan how your blog will grow and improve in the coming year.
The new year is right around the corner and it is time to come up with new ideas and set new goals. So what’s your plan for 2019? Your goal might be to finally launch your blog which you’ve been dreaming of for so long, or maybe you’re ready to take your already-existing blog to the next level, expose it to a wider audience and enrich it with new content.
You could also be feeling lost and don’t really know where to start and how to improve your blog for the new year… You know that your blog is not quite where you want it to be, but you’re not sure you can put your finger on the things you would like to do to get it there.
🌟This is exactly why I decided to write a post about the things you should do this year if you want to take your blog Pro 🌟
Now, take into account that it might take you a while to properly implement some of the things presented in this post, some might even take a couple of months. So you really shouldn’t expect to check off all of the items on the list so quickly, during the first week or month of the year.
The road to success it truly an adventure, full of wonderful opportunities and challenges as well. These challenges, I believe, make us stronger and better, and the journey is no less important than the final destination.
As a blogger opportunities come my way all of the time – if you’re a freelance blogger, many of your readers can one day become clients who are interested in your services, if you own a business you can promote your products or services, and, of course, even if you aren’t offering any products or service, you can passively earn money from your blog. But, aside from all these material benefits, blogging has benefits that can be assessed on a level that it is beyond a financial exchange – cooperation, acquaintance, networking with people in the field, and strengthening of one’s image. I must admit that the fact that as bloggers we learn so much about so many different fields is simply amazing… It’s one of the things I love most about this profession!
Not long ago I came across a quote on Pinterest “The moment you are ready to quit is usually the moment right before the magic happens”. I totally agree with this concept, the best moments usually occur after difficult challenges.
Perseverance is what all successful bloggers have in common, so don’t give up if you don’t see your work bear fruit right away. I highly recommend that you read this post from start to finish, and set priorities for yourself according to what order you would like to act this year in order to upgrade your blog. Don’t rush, do things at your own pace, and eventually you will reach your destination.
#0 Go Self-Hosted
I promised myself I wouldn’t repeat this tip because I’ve written about it so many times, but even though I repeat it over and over again in my guides, my inbox is still full of emails with the same question: “Do I really have to opt for a self-hosted blog if I want my blog to succeed?”
A self-hosted blog is at the base of every successful blog. P e r i o d.
True, starting a self-hosted blog doesn’t mean your blog will become a success overnight, but a self blog is necessary if you expect your blog to earn you money. The reason I titled this ”#0” is because I imagine that if you take your blog seriously you’ve already done the first step, in which case, well done, and you’re welcome to move on to the next paragraph ?
If you’re still not sure why having a self-hosted blog is what you need instead of a free platform blog, and you’re worried about the extra headache – I can assure you that it’s not as bad of a headache as you think {and like anything – the first step is the hardest 🙂 } and it is most definitely not unnecessary!
Take action – with the help of my guide you can learn how to start a self-hosted blog in less than 15 minutes {I offer a step-by-step explanation of how it all works, and added screenshots to make the process as clear as possible}. In the past year, I have received tens {maybe hundreds} of emails and messages from people sharing their stories of how concerned they were at first regarding all things technical, and how in such a short time they were able to understand how it all works, and were very satisfied from the new and professional platform of the self-hosted WordPress site and the possibilities it offered them. So you really shouldn’t rule out switching to a self-hosted platform, and the new year is the perfect time to reconsider the switch.
#1 Set Clear Goals
Listing clear goal and objective for your blog will make it easier for you to stay focused and motivated, and will keep up your spirits when you’re met with unsuccessful times or other challenges. Have you tried writing your goals down before, and yet you haven’t achieved them? Like the majority of mankind, you were probably doing it wrong 🙂
Take action – I recommend you try out my 5-year plan I have written about in this post. I promise that if you insist on implementing it this year, you will be able to achieve more goals than you think!
#2 Understand The Basics Of SEO { & Start Applying It To Your Blog}
As a blogger who spends lots of time on the internet I have no doubt that you’ve encountered the term SEO. SEO actually stands for Search Engine Optimisation, meaning, the promotion of websites on search engines. The term Optimisation refers to the various techniques that can be applied in blogs {or websites in general}, to raise their ranking on search engines, eventually leading to your site appearing on the first page of search results for certain keywords. Improving your blog’s SEO will cause people to easily find your blog in their search for the topics you write about, and can significantly increase your chances of boosting the amount of readers that follow your blog.
There are plenty of methods to promote your blog’s SEO, though I recommend to concentrate at first on one or two of them. Only when you begin to do them ‘automatically’ will it be worth your while to delve deeper into the subject.
My favorite method, and the one I use most on my blog, is using keywords, and luckily it requires minimal knowledge of SEO so you can implement it today. Keywords are words and phrases that people type in a search engine when they are looping up a certain topic online. Every time I write a new blog post I try to think which words people who want to find my post will search for and then I plant those words in the text {reasonably} as many times as possible. Now, proper and correct use of SEO keywords does not start and end with text – to reach the best results, it is important to plant the keywords in the titles of photo files that you upload to the blog and also in the Alt text section.
Take action – One of my favorite plugins for WordPress is Yoast SEO. It is a free WordPress plugin that helps you see where you stand in terms of your post’s SEO ranking. Besides checking how many times the keywords you've chosen appear in your post, the plugin also reminds you to write paragraphs that are pleasant to read, think of a good title for your post, add a post description that appears in the search engine under the title, and lots of other cool tools.
#3 Improve Your Photography Skills
In the visual age of internet, a time in which people prefer to consume content in a visual format rather than the written word, photography skills are more important than ever. Today, competition for the time and attention of internet surfers is enormous, and most users will probably leave your blog immediately if they do not like the visual aesthetics of your blog. Posting high quality, professionally edited images will help attract attention to your blog and the content you publish.
Take action – Surround yourself by inspiration and practice photography, styling, and photo editing as often as you can. If you practice but still aren’t pleased by the results, you should consider attending a class or a workshop that will provide you with the right tools and shorten your learning curve so that you can improve the quality of your photos faster, and with less on-the-road frustration.
#4 Promote Your Blog With A Media Kit
One of the very best ways to communicate professionalism and attract brands and companies to begin working with you is to send them an email with a clear offer for a collaboration and attach a ‘Media Kit’ filled with style and your blog data. A Media Kit is actually a document meant for advertisers and parties interested in a particular media, and includes informative details about the business and the means at its disposal with regard to advertising. Now, this is not a document for bloggers only, but for any scale of marketing – from blogs and large content sites, to newspapers and television channels. But if you want to distinguish yourself from the herd, and show not only that you are professional but also your creativity, {obviously, as a blogger, this feature is worth highlighting…}, you need to create an eye catching Media Kit. One that also presents the blog's statistics and is also designed to match the brand’s color pallette and displays your abilities to create high-quality visual content through the images you incorporate.
Take action – Gather all of the important data on your blog, for example the number of monthly views and demographic data, and take high quality pictures that will best convey the spirit of your blog. I promise to share a detailed post about this very soon, so stay tuned! 😊
#5 Start A Blog Newsletter { & Treat It As Your Second Most Important Digital Asset}
Starting a blog newsletter and its constant upkeep is a step you must take when your blog becomes a business. Despite all the changes in the online world, almost everybody still checks their inbox on a daily basis, which is why a newsletter is an amazing tool for causing blog traffic and building a high quality community.
Take action – Click here to read my full post on a blog newsletter, where I explain was exactly is the meaning of a Newsletter, why it is so important, and which free {!} platform do I use to run my newsletter.
#6 Add A Side Menu To Your Blog
I was in a love-hate relationship with my blog sidebar. I couldn’t understand why it was necessary and thought it made my blog look outdated. So I preferred templates that give my blog a clean-cut look, without a side bar display…. Besides, the sidebar doesn’t appear when using mobile, so I figured why work hard and invest in this type of menu if almost nobody comes across it. Though I realized along the way that although many of my followers read my blog on a mobile and don’t see the side bar that appears on almost every one of my blog’s pages, it is important not to leave out this menu for the sake of the audience that does read the blog on a computer screen. As someone who browses blogs on the internet a looooot, I discovered that a sidebar is a super functional and important feature that helps the readers easily navigate their way around the website, and helps me, as the blogger, to highlight certain content that I want people to notice.
Take action – If you do not already have a side menu on your blog and your template allows a layout with such a menu, choose this layout. If the template you bought does not include any side menus, you should consider changing a blog template to one that already has this feature {Here, you can find here more tips for choosing the perfect template for your blog}. After you add your side menu to your blog , here are some things to add to it :
1. About – When I enter a new blog I always like to read a brief bio about the blog’s writer. It should catch the reader's’ attention and explain what they will find in the blog and why it’s worth sticking around. And of course, a picture is worth a thousand words, so don’t forget to add a good pic.
2. Show your social networks in the side menu – use extensions that show a scaled version of the social networks you're a member of, or at least buttons that will lead to your social networks.
3. Popular posts – The ones that readers visit over and over again, so you should present them very clearly in case any of your readers might have missed them.
4. Promote your offers – Whether free content, downloadable courses or graphics, or an e-book you sell or the service you offer – you should create your own adds {easiest to do on Canva!} and then add them to the sidebar menu with a link leading to the right place.
#7 Don’t Stop Learning
Whether you are a beginner blogger or you are in the business for years now, the best advice I can offer you for the new year is to continue learning new things. Never lose your curiosity to learn new things, the one that made you start a blog in the first place.
Take action – Read blogs and self-help books, listen to podcasts, and sign up to courses teaching subjects you would like to grow and develop in. No matter what choice you make, don’t stop learning, blogs are constantly changing and the last thing you want is to be left behind.
And finally – the world of blogging is an amazing world, but it can also be quite crazy. One day you can feel on the top of the world and another day you can feel completely lost. This is normal. Just keep going. Keep up with what you love to do and always remind yourself of why you started your blog in the first place.
Blogging is my dream job and I'm so glad I can do what I love for a living, which is why I wrote this post in the hope that these tips will help you take your blog to the next level.
The rest is up to you !!
I wish you lots of luck, and a happy new year filled with the fulfilment of goals and dreams ⚡?
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28 Responses
These are some good tips. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks 🙂
I think the side menu is great tip. When I am looking at someone’s blog, I want to have the option to either look at more articles or learn about the person/company writing them!
Thanks for the input! 🙂 I absolutely agree
SEO is definitely something everyone writing blogs should be using. Thanks for the tips!
Glad you found them useful! 🙂
Hi! Yesterday I tried to subscribe to the free E course about blogging, but have not got any letter or confirmation yet. Is E course still working?
Yes! Have you checked your Spam/promotions folder?
Yes, I have checked the both, but alas, there is nothing.
Send me your email address to [email protected] and I’ll add you manually 🙂
It was very helpful and useful.
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♥♥♥♥
Hello,
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Glad you enjoyed this! 🙂
nice topic. very insightful thoughts.
Thanks ??
Very helpful and useful..
I’m glad you found it useful 🙂
Thanks for sharing these tips! BTW I already did some of them, but there are others you pointed out that would be good to start.
Great Share!
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Thanks Rony!! ??
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This should help me fix my blog flaws. I see 2 -3 already. Thanks for writing.