Happy Monday everyone! This week, I decided to focus only on blogging content. I get asked questions all the time about having a blog. So I figured it would be easier to have a few blog posts focusing on content creation and what it’s like to manage a blog. Let’s start with the most important things to know when you have a blog.
When I first started my blog, I didn’t quite knew what I was doing. At that point, I’ve been reading so many blogs, I felt like I also had a voice that needed to be heard. Some of my favorite blogs had content I loved to read and such similar perspectives. That incentivized me to actually start my own journey. I’ve had a blog before, but it was mainly text and sort of a personal journal.
The single most important thing is to actually start. It doesn’t really matter the look and feel because that evolves with you. I’m certainly not the person who started this blog 3 years ago. But I’m an improved version of it. And so is my blog. The key is to understand how it’s always going to be a work in progress. And after almost 3 years, of doing this consistently, I figured what are the most important things to know when you have a blog.
Target audience.
You have to understand who your target audience is. Of course this won’t be possible into the first year of having a blog. But you’ll come to understand what they like, their focus, which posts they respond better to, their age and interests. Using Google Analytics is crucial. Having a target audience will help you focus more on content people actually want to read.
Consistency.
After figuring your target audience, consistency is imperative. Your readers have to know how often they can expect content from you. Whether you decide to post once a week or every single day, they’ll know when to go to your blog for fresh content. There are some blogs I follow that are not consistent at all and I keep bumping into the same last post. It can get frustrating.
Research.
When writing a post, it’s important that you’re giving out relevant and recent information. I always research a lot prior to writing any post, to make sure my sources are relevant. There’s no point in writing an article that’s out dated. Make sure you have a few places to fall back to for research (e.g. other blogs, news, magazines, books).
Clear aesthetic.
When you think about the biggest and most successful bloggers/blogs in the world, they have something that you can identify. Exactly like the Nike logo, there’s a spot on visual reference. Whether it’s their clean aesthetic, amazing images, creative type or strong voice and sense of style. Your channels should reflect the same aesthetic and convey a similar story (your blog, Facebook page, Instagram, Pinterest).
Voice.
After all the above are figured out, your blog should be your voice. Which is one of the most important things to know when you have a blog. Try to write as you would actually speak. Don’t be afraid to speak your mind or give your 2 cents. Your experience is unique, which makes your message unique as well. Specially in such a crowded place nowadays. But understand that, this too, can be hard to figure out. I still don’t think I’ve found my unique voice, or at least how to convey it. But know that you’ll get there eventually.