My blogging tips part 6 – How to make your blog better & what to avoid

Hello everyone and welcome to the 6^th part of our blogging tips. If you’ve already read all the previous ones, you can continue to this one, with general tips on how to make your blog better, and what you should avoid doing (Για να διαβάσετε αυτό το άρθρο στα ελληνικά πατήστε εκεί που λέει: Language: Greek).

How to make your blog better

1.      Read a lot of informative articles

Blogging is a hard work, no matter what most people think about it, so it requires a lot of effort, and determination along with reading. Yes, you read right. I wrote reading. If you want to succeed in a field, you need to learn from the best, and that means that you have to read many articles to understand what you should do and how to make things right. Blogging isn’t just about writing a post, and visiting other blogs to leave your link. It requires much more time and knowledge if you want to really stand out from the crowd.

2.      Join communities like IFB.

For the above point to be easily achieved, you need to join communities like Independent Fashion Bloggers, where you will learn most of the things you need to know about blogging and how to become a professional in it. IFB is a great place to interact with other bloggers, who have the same niche and interests with you (note that this doesn’t mean spamming them with messages about following each other).

3.      Be consistent.

Be consistent with your posts; write often and around the same time of the day. Find what’s the best time to publish your posts, in order to have the most readers. Readers prefer bloggers that are consistent, and don’t leave their blogs without any content for too long. If you’re blogging as a hobby, it’s okay to write on your blog whenever you like, but if you’re trying to be more of a professional, you should keep a schedule, and have new content for your blog at least 3-4 times a week. On the other hand, it’s also better to avoid updating your blog more than twice a day. Once a day, is the best for those of you who want to update their blogs often. Don’t clutter your readers’ feeds.

4.      Blog organization / Editorial calendar

I don’t know how I managed to do anything before I started using an editorial calendar. I was lost and didn’t even know it before I read this post about “How to tame your blog with an editorial calendar” by Joanne a couple of years back. It has really helped me manage my time better, write better content, organize my posts and thoughts, and be a more consistent blogger. Try it now, thank me later. hehe

5.      Take your own photos | Edit them | watermark them.

Taking your own blog photos is really important. First of all, it’s your own work, and it’s unique, and most importantly you don’t “borrow” someone else’s work, which could have serious repercussions if you’re not careful enough (read more about that below).

Even the best photos need a bit of editing to become even better, so edit them sparingly to have a good result.

Another step I recommend is to discreetly watermark your photos. (Attention: Put your watermark on photos that were taken by you or for you only, and you’re the legal owner of them. We do not watermark photos we don’t own. This is copyright infringement). Not only to avoid getting on the other side of copyright infringement (most people will tell you that they didn’t know where to give credits to, which, most of the times, is a lie), but also as a way to promote your work. By putting your (discreet) logo/watermark on one corner of your photo, you give credit to your work (without depending on someone to do it for you, when re-producing it) and advertise it at the same time (so if anyone likes what he sees, he knows where to find you).

6.      Be open to new ideas & constructive criticism.

I have my own difficulties in this field, since I’m “allergic” to changes and criticism (I blame my sign), but these tips are not only for you, but also for me to read and get better in what I’m doing.

Sometimes, criticism is good, when it’s done with a good intention, in a way to help someone become better. Accept constructive criticism of your work, to help you overcome your obstacles and become a better blogger. Criticism can sometimes be a gift in disguise, as it can broaden your mind and make it open to new ideas that will help you achieve your goals.

Of course this doesn’t mean accepting all kinds of criticism, since we live in an era of cowards/haters hiding behind their computers, and evil trolls. Unfortunately, these come with the territory of becoming more well-known, and we should all accept it, ignore them, and go on with what we do.

For more practical tips read this post: 10 Things You Can Do to Make Your Blog Better in 10 Minutes.

What you should avoid doing

1.      DON’T spam other blogs

It’s been written many times in this blog, but I’ll write it even more in order to get the message through. Don’t spam on other blogs you visit, by leaving your link (or worse: links) everywhere. No one loves spammers or blatant self-promotion of bloggers. If someone is interested in finding your blog, or your social media links, they will…no need to leave these everywhere you comment on.

2.      Don’t use the “Follow me” technique.

The same goes for the “follow me and I’ll follow you”/”let’s follow each other” technique. If you’re really interested in gaining a following, start growing genuine relationships with other bloggers, by reading their blogs and leaving thoughtful comments on them. Believe me when I say this: more people will click on your name/blog link if your comments are sincere/thoughtful, and don’t contain the above words or self-promotional links.

3.      Don’t steal/borrow photos from other sites.

As I wrote above, you should really try using your own photos instead of stealing/borrowing photos from other sites. There are certain regulations about using someone else’s work (more on that below) and you should be very careful when you’re reproducing anything you don’t own, since this can have serious repercussions, such as lawsuits.

4.      Avoid doing copyright infringement.

Using someone else’s work on your site without permission is copyright infringement and you should be really careful because you You CAN Get Sued For Using Pics on Your Blog. This article says everything you need to know in detail, but note a few really important things.

Everyone has the copyright of their work, and unless it’s stated otherwise, you CAN’T use it/edit it/re-produce it without permission and especially without linking to the source. To be safe, use your own photos or search for free to use photos from Creative Commons licensed pics, Wikimedia Commons, and public domain.  If you’re not sure about the copyright of a photo, you should contact the owner, and ask for his permission to use it.

And with these tips our 6^th part of the series comes to an end. We really hope you found this article interesting and our tips useful. Unless you have more questions regarding blogging that we can help you with, by writing another part, we probably have one last part left. Stay tuned for that! Until next month, keep yourself busy by reading the articles below.

Interesting reads for you:

–          50 Online Tools to Better Your Blog

–          Bigger, Better, Bolder: Establish Your Editorial Calendar

–          Bloggers Beware: You CAN Get Sued For Using Pics on Your Blog – My Story

–          7 Blogs That Will Make You a Better Blogger

–          10 Sites Brands Visit to Learn More About Your Blog

–          How to Be Your Best Self Online

–          How to Fake Your Way to Becoming an Expert

–          6 Simple Design Tweaks to Make Your Blog Better

–          10 Things You Can Do to Make Your Blog Better in 10 Minutes

–          Killer Fashion Blogging: 50 Ways to Take Your Fashion Blog to the Next Level

Για να διαβάσετε αυτό το άρθρο στα ελληνικά πατήστε εκεί που λέει: Language: Greek

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