Tips-for-bloggers

Exist as a real person and not as a bot


Since a blog is a place where you need not be formal, you need to be very casual, as this will let you connect with the reader really fast. You need to put up your experiences as though you were telling your friends about it and not as you would report on a news website..


Be topical


Try not to go off topic on your blog if your blog is about certain specific topics. For example, you should not post a travel experience on a blog which is all about technology. Posting off topic tends to drive people away from the blog, as the reader may be put off if he/she visits your blog for certain topics and finds out that there is something else posted there. To ensure a loyal reader following, you therefore need to stick to the topic.


Stick to a schedule


If you are a regular blogger who is supposed to post blogs at certain regular time intervals, then you need to stick to that schedule. Not being able to stick to the schedule tends to drive readers away because of the disappointment they experience when they do not see an eagerly awaited new post at the planned time. In such cases readers usually try to find if there are other similar blogs and you are more likely to lose loyal readership.


Be the master of your blog topic

For those who want to post blogs about serious topics, being authoritative is a must. Always make sure to double check what you post, as your reputation depends on it. Checking all the facts before posting will make sure that you will not get caught with your pants down. Pay proper attention to the grammar, because if you don't, it creates an impression that you are not a responsible blogger.


Stay current

A blog is something that should never appear to be stale, it has to remain fresh. Frequently updating your blog will make sure that its popularity will soar, with more readers visiting your blog looking for something new.


Interact with your readers

A blog is a very personal piece of your opinion that you put online to share with others. Reader opinions can therefore vary, with some agreeing, while others disagreeing with you. Interaction with the readers is necessary in improving the popularity of your blog. Make it a point to regularly reply to comments wherever and whenever possible.


Interact with other blogs

It goes like this, if you want to be helped, you must help others too. In a similar way, make it a point to visit other blogs and comment. You will soon see that other bloggers will return the favor.


Advertise on social networking websites

If you are a blogger, it is almost certain that you already use social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Orkut, etc. Trust me, there is no better free way of advertising your blog and pulling in more readers than these social networking websites. Try it and you will soon see how much of a difference it makes.


Make adequate use of plug-ins

There are different plugins available for blogs and you must make proper use of these. There are plugins such as gravatar and Flashy titles which make your blog look more appealing to the reader. Plugins such as Akismet can filter spam. You must also use recent posts, popular posts and related posts, which increase the popularity of blogposts other than the one the reader is reading, even though that post may not be on the main page.


Make use of adequate keywords

To pull in more traffic to your blog, it needs to be more visible to search engines such as Google. Search engine optimization in itself is a huge topic, but you can simply include relevant keywords to make your blog appear near the top in the search engine. You can set the page title as a headline for example. Using proper page title is one of the keys to attract readers


Keep it simple and clear

AA blog is meant to be read and understood by anyone and everyone, so the language used has to be kept simple. Try to avoid complicated terms and idioms and go an extra mile to give explanations wherever possible.


Keep adding and refreshing content

Like any other website, a blog needs constant replenishment of new content to keep people interested in coming back. Old blogs can be archived and categorized into similar themed content, which will be easy to find. Refreshing the content regularly means that the web spiders will crawl pages at regular intervals to increase page ranking in the search.


Make use of RSS

Including your blogs contents in an RSS feed in your blog will maximize the reach of your blog and increase the chances of it being distributed over a larger readership.