10 Tips for Becoming a Better Blogger
To be completely honest, blogging has probably played one of the most important parts in the success of my online business. Within Empire Building, I spend a good amount of time talking about blogging, how and why it’s helpful and what you need to know when setting up your own blog, but one topic that I don’t think you can ever have too much information on, is how to become a better blogger. I don’t mean how to become a more successful blogger or a more profitable blogger, although those are very important topics that you can read all about in Empire Building, I am talking today about developing the skill of being a blogger. Blogging is a very interesting and dynamic form of writing that requires regular practice and immense creative skill to master. I’d like to think that after 7 years behind the keyboard of a blog, I know a thing or two about developing yourself into a better blogger. So, today I want to impart upon you 10 tips that can help you build your blogging skill and advance your blogging practice!
1. Write daily.
Just as professional writers of non-fiction and literature must write everyday to build the habit of good writing, so should a blogger write daily in order to build the blogging muscle. Writing, after all, isn’t easy, but the single way to make it easier- the best way to ensure you can quickly process a blog post with complete thoughts and well placed arguments- is to write daily. I’m not saying you need to write a full blog post everyday, but I do think that writing out your thoughts or ideas daily is a great habit to get into. You can write on a word processor on your computer or even in a journal, just get into the habit of stringing words into complete sentences on the regular!
2. Keep a notebook with you at all times.
Now, this notebook isn’t to write in exactly, but rather, to keep track of ideas and inspiration you get throughout your day. I will tell you that I get the best blog post ideas at the most random times, so having a reliable note taking method with me 24/7 is crucial to keeping my ideas safe. Never assume you will remember an idea, write it down and get it out of your head! I happen to use a note taking app on my phone as opposed to pen and paper, whatever you choose should fit your style and convenience!
3. Consider different points of view.
As a writer (because, really, that’s what you are if you keep up a blog) I think it’s enormously important to keep yourself familiar with different points of view on a number of subjects. Writers are most successful when they can see multiple sides of a given situation and navigate fluidly among different positions. To build this skill, regularly read the news and familiarize yourself with all the angles of a given subject or story you come across that interests you. You don’t need to become a current events expert, especially if your blog has nothing to do with current events, however, following news stories is often an easy way to expose yourself to different world views. You don’t need to incorporate these views into your work necessarily, however, you should aim to build your reasoning skills and empathy with a practice like this, which will indeed impact your writing in a positive way!
4. Keep an Editorial Calendar.
It’s not enough as a blogger to just start a blog and write whenever you feel like you have something to say, unless of course you don’t care about growing a following and using your blog to advance your business or career. On the surface, an editorial calendar is a great way to organize ideas and help you to plan your posts, but in a deeper level, an editorial calendar creates accountability for regular posting. Accountability to yourself is a major life and business skill that many people never seem to master, but once you have achieved it, you become a more disciplined and self respecting individual (which is a complete bonus for your career/business). Let’s use me for example. I have been blogging three days a week, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, since 2012. For over three years I have kept up the same schedule and I will tell you, on the few occasions where I have had to stray from this schedule, I have felt intense pangs of remorse and regret. So much so that whenever it does happen, I return to my craft with such an intense furver that I everything about my blog posts, from my writing, to my images, to my content, becomes better. All because I feel a sense of guilt for having broken a long standing tradition. If you can get yourself into a similar situation with your editorial calendar, you are going to be a master blogger in no time!
5. Set goals for yourself.
As with many things in life, goal setting is a great way to not only keep yourself accountable to a task, but also to monitor and track real substantial growth. Set yourself some goals for how many page views you want to hit in a month or how many new followers you want to see from Bloglovin’. Anything related to your blogging that you can then monitor and track to see your own progress. The great thing about goals is that even if you don’t hit them, they end up telling you so much about how you are doing. If you go weeks or months with no progress, you know it’s time to switch things up. But if you go the same length of time and see some small improvement, it’s validation that things are working slowly but surely and then you can attempt to zero in on what exactly is moving the needle!
6. Review your successful content.
Just as goal setting can help you identify what is working and what isn’t in your blogging, so can reviewing your most successful content give you major insight into how you should be approaching your writing. Make sure you have Google Analytics installed on your blog so you can keep track of page views and popular posts, because having this information is invaluable. You can even track your blog post activity on sites like Bloglovin’ and see what posts are getting the most interactions from your readers. These are most likely going to be the types of posts you should focus on or regularly feature on your blog for continued success!
7. Batch your writing.
Once you get into the habit of writing daily, you are going to start to notice that once the words begin to flow they are hard to turn off. Make the most of this and batch your blog post writing so that you can write a number of posts at once. This will help save you time in the long run and help improve your posts because you aren’t having to force yourself to write them when they are due, instead you are writing at a pace that works for your mind!
8. Brain dump regularly.
A brain dump is when you sit down in a quiet space with pen and paper and write out anything and everything on your mind. Any important events, facts, tasks, reminders you have been storing in your brain instead of on paper are to be written down. It’s only when your mind is free of mental clutter that great ideas and great writing can flow. Although I’m pretty good at writing down my thoughts, ideas and tasks so I don’t have to store them in my mind, even I need to perform a brain dump from time to time and when I do, I find that my mind feels so light and nimble that I get the best writing and ideas done immediately after. Try it! You won’t regret it, and then add it as a regular practice during your week.
9. Read articles from professional sites.
Just as it’s important to write daily to become a better writer, so is it important to read daily. But don’t spend all your reading time on fluff articles online. Instead make sure to make time to read articles from professional and reputable sources. Reading the blog posts and articles of skilled writers will help to positively impact your writing. It’s almost like “you are what you read!” So keep the pleasure reading of less skilled writers and sites to a minimum and instead spend some time each day reading articles that are well written, well informed and well edited!
10. Actively seek to improve your writing.
To be honest, I don’t do this one nearly enough! I know there are many ways to improve your writing, from taking courses to joining peer to peer writing groups, but those options are rather time consuming. I have actually been reading an excellent book on writing called On Writing Well that I actually think has had a definite impact on my writing and I’m not even finished reading it yet! Definitely check it out if you are looking to improve upon the technical aspects of writing, it’s very straight forward and easy to follow.
Follow these 10 tips and you will certainly see an improvement in your blogging skills in just a few weeks! Of course, if you are more than just a casual blogger and you are hoping to jumpstart your blog and presence online to support an online business or #sidehustle of yours, I invite you to join my Empire Building Online Business Program to get all my best strategies and personal advice for getting your blog and business noticed online. It’s literally like hitting the easy button for your business, I give you all the strategy and all you need to do is execute! Bet you never thought building an online business could be so easy!
xoxo,
