Recently I’ve received multiple emails about blogging:
How to start one and how to grow your readership.
(subtitle: You Really Shouldn’t Be Asking Me)
If I was a good blogger, I’d write out a post with all sorts of tips, but I’m not and I don’t even like to write so I’m directing you to other bloggers; so many topics are covered which means I can get back to doing what I do best: eating candy and taking pictures of myself.
{Yeah, these are “big” bloggers I’m linking to; so sue me, call me a brown noser (again). If you want information, you ask the people who know what they’re doing. You wanna learn about singing, you go to Celine Dion not Milli Vanilli… which begs the question why anyone asks me in the first place.}
**Julie from pbfingers has a whole page of blog posts with everything from how to increase your readership, how to deal with negativity and how she made blogging her full-time job.
**Tina from carrotsncake also has a page with tons of blogging-related posts including how to start a blog, improving your photos, blogger responsibility, tips and how it became her job.
**Katy Widrick has so much technical social media information on her site; most of it is so far over my head and to be honest, I’m not interested in anything technical, but she has a lot of blogging, twitter and facebook tips including the Do’s and Don’ts of Guest Posting.
**Monica, the one I just asked to marry in my love letter post, did a Fitbloggin presentation on Blogging 101. She also has a post on mean comments and how to respond with grace (something I should probably learn instead of my normal, Oh you wanna go to Fist City? Good cause I just bought 2 tickets!)
My own personal “tip” if you want to call it that…
Be prepared to put in the time.
Blogging takes time, lots of it. I’m in awe of those of you who can daily blog, work full-time and keep your family out of jail.
I’ve said this before, blogging isn’t hard work but it is work. Sometimes you won’t want to answer the 115th email about your Garmin, how to lose weight or how to come back from an injury, but you do and you do it appreciatively because someone cares enough to read your crap and email you.
Do you have any blogging advice for someone wanting to start a blog?
Twitter
Facebook
{ 44 comments… read them below or add one }
GREAT post! Ive been a fan of hlb’s for awhile and I am finally taking the plunge to start my own.. I’m sure it will be a challenge to get started but thanks for being so honest!
Great post. I’m new to this blogging thing; big thanks for pointing me in the right direction
Great post! It’s very true that life goes on & doesn’t stop when your blog does. It’s a huge time commitment, but I think you have to view it as a hobby (if that’s what it is) that is a positive influence in your life. If you’re getting paid to do it, then all the power to ya! I think something that’s really important is to blog about what YOU are passionate about; that way, you’ll really enjoy the process & the readership will eventually come
Great advice SR. I think the biggest thing is not to stress over it. In teh real world, it doesn’t matter even though it feels like your life is crashing down if your readership declines or no one comments but really it doesn’t flippin matter. I say just be who your gonna be and people with either like you or not! end of story!!!!! greta post SR~!
Great post and great info. Brand new to the blogging world and certainly will take any advice I can get
SO HAPPY FOR JENNIFER ANISTON! Now that I got that out of my system
I usually like to say that people should pre-plan their blogs. I’m really new to it, but when I have time to sit and write various posts it helps instead of posting the day of all the time. Also splitting up posts into multiple keeps things from being too ‘congested”
Great post SR! I’ve been trying to pimp out my blog for a little bit now, and am finding those tips to be quite helpful. want to do a cat lady on me? Hehe. No really
Thanks for this post! Lots of helpful tips. I think you are the first person to say blogging isn’t hard work! I guess you’re right in a way, it’s not back-breaking labor, but it is time consuming and tricky as far as technical stuff goes, and I consider that hard work.
My tip would be consistency. My pet peeve is when one of my buddies begins a blog, tells me to go read it, they post for a week, then disappear forever. I mean at least if you truly hate blogging leave a farewell post so I know to remove you from my google reader
The chola in me prefers your fist city approach to mean comments
i knew i liked you in my corner for a reason.
Good tips! I just started blogging and I need all the advice and knowledge as possible! Thanks!
Good advise. I have found finding the time to be hard but still want to stick with it for some reason.
I’m so glad I stumbled upon this! I always feel super intimidated asking all the big bloggers for advice, but I guess they all started somewhere too. Thanks for sharing all these tips in one place
I think a big thing is so stay true to your blogging identity. A lot of new bloggers who start out try to copy bigger blogers way of writing/blogging in hopes of making it big. I’m sure most of us are guilty of that at times but once you get into your own personal groove it’ll come more naturally. Write your own blog and one you would want to read!
Blogging takes up so much time. Good thing I dropped Facebook, otherwise I’d be attached to my laptop.
Wait, run blogging is about more than eating junk food and taking pictures of feet propped up in compression socks? I want my money back.
Love these tips<–and links! It helps to get some of those helpful ideas!
I have plenty of blogging advice but I’m just here to see your pictures.
Actually, you already gave the best advice for anyone thinking about blogging, “Blogging takes time, lots of it.”. In fact, lets call that the best quote of the day.
I love blogging and deal with bloggers all day, everyday and the biggest reason so many quit is because they didn’t realize how much time and effort would be needed.
Glad I found you on scoop it
thanks!
“Not loving Jenn as much anymore”? Gonna need you to take a moment and elaborate on that one, sista! She is a scorned woman! LIke I tell my husband every time we have a fight about my girl JenA… Brad messed her up, royally. So whatever she does from 2004 on is all his fault. Your entire insightful post about blogging and all I care to comment on is your little inset about Jennifer. Hahah! I do love your blog. Obsessed with your running and your doing so in SoCal.
So new to blogging! At first I had a hard time finding bloggers in their 40s but I have found several and I am not the only one!! Thanks for all the advice and for emailing me back when I had some running questions!!
Great tips! As a new blogger, they’re mega helpful!! Nice to remember that even the big-time blogs started as lil’ blogs.
i had 6 pageviews when i first started. not 6 followers, 6 PAGEVIEWS TOTAL!
now i have like 16 and my mom contributes to about half that.
JENNIFER! that’s my hopes anyway, rub it in brangelina’s face. but on another note can someone explain to me what Miley was thinking chopping her hair off what does Liam think about this?!?!?
i know, bold move on her part. but it sorta looks cute on her in a “i would hide for 3 years in my house if i did that to my own head” sort of way.
TEAM JENN!!
I like to tell myself that blog is overrated. It’s true. Lol.
Ha Ha. You are so much better than me. While I have blogged for a companybefore and know the back end work, I could never in a million years have my own blog. I am a do-whatever-the-heck I want type of personal and would have a hard time putting up with some of the BS that people shell out in the comments sections. Not that I would be scarred for life or anything. I would just have a tendency to call them out and not be as nice as I could be about it
I used to read a lot of blogs but you are one of about three I read regularly. I like yours because you are more realistic, you don’t show every.single.thing you put in your mouth and you just lay it out there. Oh, and I also eat a lot of salads with pickles on them and can drink anyone under the table, in coffee that is.
One of the best pieces of advice I was given is to comment on many blogs…frequently (but not annoyingly). Its worked for me, thus far, and well…you like pickles as much as I do so I guess I’ll keep reading you!
It’s funny you posted this today, since Julie just posted another great piece with blogging tips today. I think my biggest piece of advice is just do it because you enjoy it. If people read, great. But don’t do it because you think you’ll make money or become famous or something. Because the odds of that are not in your favor.
100% correct. the time you put in never equals the money or even free product you get “paid”.
SR great tips and advice!! I think time, patience, and consistency, finding your own voice in writing and Great Content!!
This was a great post and so nice of you to provide such lovely publicity to your fellow bloggers. I appreciate ANY advice I can get my hands on. Thanks for giving “the biz” such a humorous twist.
I think you do blogging the right way….you stay true to who you are. that’s what is so great about your blog. you don’t change to please anyone. You make no apologies for who you are and you shouldn’t because you’re fabulous. as for any negative comments you have gotten it’s always one thing that drives those comments in my opinion. JEALOUSY. so keep on doing what you’re doing and being who you are! Your blog is loved by many and inspires people daily!
I really enjoy your blog becaus enough don’t write about things you don’t want to. If you wanna talk about your dog, you do. If yo don’t wanna talk about running, you don’t. I like how you tak about things when they Are appropriate to you
I’m so BAD about responding to reader emails! Gah, thanks for the tips!
I am working on remembering that if I don’t have time that day to blog it is not the end of the world. However, luckily I do love blogging and reading blogs. Especially ones like yours with a rock star sense of humor.
I love reading your blog…adore your sense of humor. And Jenn will get married first.
haha I’m a passive middle child as well and I’m not one to even comment ever, but I do enjoy reading your blog. You have got me hooked on Click, and make me feel kinda feel better about myself when I eat my candy or red velvet cake, so any tips you got are legit in my book.
Thanks for the links!
One tip from a new-to-the-scene blogger: write something you’re passionate about.
As a new blogger, I love love LOVE this post – definitely the most helpful “not-helpful” post I’ve read on the subject
You crack me up!
Thanks for the post–I’m trying to get my blog out there, as I’d love to create a resource that stimulates some conversation and ideas about healthy living. I want to engage in discussions with people that are interested in the same things as me, but I’m not exactly sure how. So, I’m working on it–slowly but surely. And so far, I’m enjoying the process.
Girl you are too funny! It like that you gave others a little blog love and shared their tips. They are all so useful!
Awesome tips and referrals! I’ve been meaning to do some research on how to increase readership, but you know, life tends to get in the way. So thanks for doing the research for me!
I’ll get around to reading these suggestions once I make dinner for tonight, make dinner for tomorrow night, do the laundry, clear the yard of dog poop (and we don’t even have a dog!), clean the bathrooms, vaccuum, pick up little man from school…you get the picture. eesh.
{ 2 trackbacks }