I can't quite believe that I've been blogging for over ten years now. (I even had some
diary-style blogs before that, but they never lasted long.)
In that time, I've learnt a huge amount about everything from HTML to marketing. Today, I wanted to share ten of my best quick tips. None of these will take more than a few minutes (and some will actually save you time).
Tip #1: Write Specific Titles
If I could only share one tip with you, it'd be this one. Learn to write good, specific titles for your blog posts.
Compare these title options:
a) Blogging Tips
b) Ten (Quick) Tips from Ten Years of Blogging (the title of this piece!)
a) Tantrums
a) Time Blocking
In each case, the (b) option sounds much more
interesting, because it's specific. You get more of a sense of what you're going to get from that post. But too often, I see bloggers writing titles that sound more like (a) – a bit too abstract and vague.
Tip #2: Post Less Frequently
When I started blogging, the
conventional advice was to post every day (or at least every weekday). You definitely don't need to do that.
One or two posts a week – or even one or two a month – can be more worthwhile. You'll have time to produce your very best work, plus you won't be overwhelming readers with too much content.
Tip #3: Have a Conclusion / Call to Action at the End of Your Posts
When a reader finishes one of your posts, what do you want them to do next? Too many bloggers never give this any thought – and they miss out as a result.
The end of your post is a great opportunity to:
- Sum up what you've said, so readers are clear about your main point
- Encourage readers to take action in some way – ideally something that benefits them and you (e.g. invite them to join your newsletter and download your free .pdf)
Tip #4: Quote Other People (Especially
Bloggers)
Whatever you're writing about, chances are, someone else has said something intelligent about it too! Do a Google search for your topic, or search on some of your favourite blogs, and see if there are any posts you want to quote from.
Quoting other people helps you look good: it backs
up your own words, it demonstrates that you read within your field, and it shows that you're willing to give credit to others for their ideas and words. It's also a great way to get on a fellow blogger's radar.
Tip #5: Link Back to Your Previous Posts
Like including a call to action, this takes just a few minutes, if that ... but it's a powerful way
to draw readers into your blog.
Any time you write a post, look for opportunities to link back to posts you've already written. These might, for instance, go into more detail about something that you only have space to mention in the current post.
If you don't have any relevant posts to link to, plan to
write some! You can then go back to your post and edit it to include a link to the newer post. Which leads me on to...
Tip #6: Go Back to Older Posts and Update them Periodically
Over time, blog posts tend to become outdated – whatever your topic. You might find that you have a reference
to something that's changed, or that you want to include something new (when I started blogging, the Kindle was very new; a few years on, it had completely changed the shape of the publishing world, particularly self-publishing).
You may also find that your own writing style has changed. Perhaps you used to write short, pithy posts but now you prefer longer, more nuanced ones.
It's a good idea to occasionally go back to older posts – particularly ones that get significant traffic – and update them.
Tip #7: Make Sure You Have Google Analytics Working
This is one I learnt the hard way!
I did have Google Analytics working from very early on, and used to check my stats obsessively in the early days of blogging. After a while, I became less stats-obsessed and more focused on things like my Twitter and Facebook followings, my newsletter subscribers, and (the main one!) my monthly income.
However ... Google Analytics is a very useful way to see which posts tend to get
a lot of traffic, how your readers typically access your blog, and much more. And at some point on Aliventures, I changed the theme and didn't realise this had broken the blog's connection with Google Analytics. It was months before I even noticed.
So – get Google Analytics working on your blog (search for a tutorial if you're not sure how, or if you're on WordPress, install a plugin to
help). There's no need to obsess over your stats, but do use them as a handy tool when you want to (e.g.) figure out which of your past posts are the most popular.
Tip #8: When Guest Posting, Link to a Specific Post or Resource in Your Bio
Again, this is one I didn't get right early on. I
did a lot of guest posting during my first couple of years of blogging (and it was hugely helpful – in several cases, I landed freelance gigs as a result of guest posting for a blog). What I didn't do, though, was use my bio to full effect.
The guest post "bio" is a sentence or two that you get to write yourself. I used to have something along the lines of "Ali Luke also blogs at Aliventures about
writing." Sure, I got some people clicking through to see what else I'd written – but it was much less effective than a bio that offered a specific post (e.g. "If you enjoyed this post, check out Ali Luke's piece How Do You Divide Your Novel Into Chapters?") or a specific resource (e.g. "Do you struggle to make time to write? Click here to get your copy of Ali Luke's Time to Write: How to Fit More Writing Into Your Life, Right Now").
Tip #9: Use a Content Calendar
Many bloggers sit down to write whatever post comes into their mind. I used to do this too, but I found I spent a lot of time thinking of (and rejecting) ideas. I'd also end up in a bit of a rut with lots of posts on the same kind of topics, or lots of posts that followed the
exact same format (e.g. multiple "How to" posts in a row).
These days, I create a content calendar at the start of each month, with a rough title for each blog post and newsletter article (4 - 5 of each per month). This means I can balance out the types of content I'm writing, I can plan for short series (like the "Blogging Worries" series in the newsletter that I did last month), and most
importantly, I don't end up struggling for inspiration every time I sit down to write.
Tip #10: Batch Produce Your Posts
This links with the content calendar: I break down the writing process into stages, and "batch" multiple posts together at each stage.
So, instead of sitting down on Monday to come up with an idea, create a plan, draft a post then edit a post, I do something more like this:
Monday: Come up with 10 or so ideas for blog posts and pick four or five for the content calendar.
Tuesday: Plan out two or three of those
posts.
Wednesday: Draft a blog post.
Thursday: Edit the post.
(In reality, I usually end up spreading this process across several weeks.)
It works really well because each stage is relatively small, and I can get
into the "idea zone" or "planning zone" to produce multiple ideas or plans at once. Plus, ideas in particular are easy to do on paper, so this is something I can fit in when I'm not at my computer.
I know there's a fair amount here! The tips that will save you the most time are:
#2: Post less frequently
and
#10: Batch produce your posts
... so those are great ones to begin with. Best of luck with all your blogging, whether you've been at it for ten years or ten minutes ... and do take a look at my Blog On
course if you think it might be a good fit for you. :-) 
