How to: Improve your Blog and Gain Readership!

When I first started a blog, I had no idea what the fudge I was doing. I was inspired to do it by an amazingly talented gal named Sere (Check out her awesome blog!) but found myself lost in a sea of confusion. 

Widgets, stats, SEO, HTML, CSS....omg.

Naturally, like all newbies I stuck with Google search and found answers to all my questions. I started blogging a few years ago and haven't stopped since.
My first blog was pretty successful and reached nearly 100 readers in less than 4 month span. Now I am starting all over with my baby Furiously Fab. If you are new to blogging or if you like to accept non-expert advice from unofficial people like Moi, then take a read and see if any of these tips can help ya Improve your Blog and Gain Readership!

Rule 1-Stop drop and think…

The best advice I read offline when beginning to blog is to figure is to question yourself “why and for what purpose?” This will inevitably steer you towards whatever path your blog is meant to have. 

Some people like to vent or express themselves and use their blog like a journal, others like to gain notoriety or develop popularity and blog about a specific subject like those famous hijabi fashion bloggers (you know who you are ladies!!) 

Whatever is your cup of tea, know it from the get go because it will help you stay focused in your future. It is always best to stick with what you are passionate about, because whether you have lots of readers or not, you are fulfilling a deep desire inside of you…how satisfying is that?

Rule 2-Be concerned about structure.

I love it when I am reading a blog and it gets a facelift. I love it when bloggers take time to customize their sites. It feels refreshing; it makes me feel appreciated as a reader. Take care of the overall look of your blog.  Make sure it fits with your theme because it helps support your daily blogging. Blogs are better when they:

·         Attractive

·         Cohesive

·         Easy to navigate

·         Fit with the theme

·         Do not take thousands of years to upload!

There are plenty of templates and sites on how to improve your blog. Take some time to educate yourself about these things and implement them where possible. 

Rule 3-Show care to your readers.

I love all my readers; they make blogging feel more rewarding whenever I receive any kind of feedback. 

Thanks to all of you who are reading right now!

I try to pay my readers back by visiting them as well and getting to know them as people. They inspire me, teach me, and make me laugh. I have realized over the years that I would rather have a deep relationship with a few readers then a superficial one with hundreds.

One thing I try to do is to thank and respond to my blogging comments. If I don’t do it immediately I try to do it eventually. I once visited a blog often who had interesting posts and great photos, unfortunately this person almost never responded to comments. It really bothered me. I felt that no matter how nice the blog was I lost my desire to support that person because it felt like they just wanted to show off and get attention and not appreciate their readers.

Rule 4-Differentiate

There is always someone who can do it better! But there will never be someone who can be a better “you.” 

Does that make sense? 

One of the biggest branding tactics is differentiation. It is purposeful tactic where you show people your unique position compared to the rest of the competition. You can’t win everybody over but, there should be something unique that you can offer that draws in your most loyal and loving readers. For blogging your differentiation could be your personality, your unique point of view, or style or fashion sense (if it is your own) or your expertise and perspective. 

Rule 5-Try to be consistent.

Take a look at the most popular blogs on your list. It is not hard to see why some blogs have gained more popularity in a short amount of time. These bloggers are usually very consistent when it comes to their unique content and posting. 

If you blog every other week, then you will be read every other week. But if you post every day or every few days, than that is how much more you are offering up to the world. I wish I could post every day, but being a mother, looking for a job, starting a business, and just trying to handle being so fabulous (joke) prevents me from doing so. As a result, I try to blog every other few days, and hopefully would like to stabilize my posts to specific days of the week so readers will know what to expect. If you are going on a break or will be busy, drop a line out. If you are striving to post every other day, communicate that with readers so they know what to expect. Don’t get overwhelmed though, because it can lead to burn out. As long as you recognize your limitations and schedule, you can figure out how to be a more dedicated blogger.

Rule 6-Expand and work together

This is one of the most effective ways to gain exposure. Let others know you are there and what you have to offer! You can do this by submitting articles or adding your blog to other searches and sites. Also, you can create relationships with other bloggers by participating in challenges, answering their questions, promoting them by linking back to them, and signing up for community sites. Its fun, it livens things up a bit, and it is mutually beneficial!

Now folks, it is your chance to give advice! Tell me what rules do you hold for yourself when it comes to blogging. Was any of this helpful? Again, thanks for reading!!!