Top Blogging Tips

My top blogging tips can help you make the most of your blog, whether you are blogging as a business or you are an entrepreneur blogging to promote your business.

I’m an award winning blogger based in the south of England and this year (2022) marks my twentieth blogging anniversary. It has been an incredible journey, and both blogging and I have changed exponentially. Today, in celebration of that milestone, I’m sharing my top blogging tips.

Top Blogging Tips

1. You Can’t Do Everything All By Yourself

This is probably one of the most important top blogging tips. It’s all about collaboration, not competition.

When I first launched my website, I was super protective of everything I did. If someone shared a blog post or recipe that was even vaguely similar to one of mine, I’d spend ages feeling a bit miffed about the whole thing. I didn’t reach out to other bloggers for collaborations because I was afraid it would be detrimental to me. I couldn’t have been more wrong!

You can’t do it all by yourself. Collaboration lifts us all up. Whether it’s a link party that boosts your traffic and expands your reach, a shared promotion, or helping another blogger, author or business owner publicise a book or course they have written, helping others is always a good thing.

Promotions and collaborations have led to many opportunities, opened lots of doors for me, and have sometimes even led to friendships in real life.

2. A Well-Designed Website Is Essential

Your website needs to look professional, reflect your brand personality and function well. But what can you do if you want a beautifully designed website but simply don’t know where to start?

My friend, website designer Pauline Wiles, has just launched a range of beautiful and affordable website templates, designed specifically for coaches, service providers, consultants and authors. Created to get results in your industry, these premium Squarespace templates enable you to launch your new site quickly and easily. Every template includes step-by-step video tutorials showing you exactly how to customize the site and make it your own.

Every template contains 15 pages already designed for you, including a new blog that’s set up and ready to go. You’ll simply change out the colours, text, and images to make it your own. Plus you will also get 20% off your first year with Squarespace.

3. It’s Important To Reinvent Yourself and Your Website Regularly

When I first started out, I was a thirty-something writer, housewife and mom. One of the first mom bloggers, I launched The 21st Century Housewife® to encourage and support other housewives and stay at home moms like myself.

Today, I’m still a writer and a housewife, but now also an entrepreneur and an empty-nester. The blog – now AprilJHarris.com – has evolved into a leading lifestyle website sharing delicious home cooking, travel stories and tips, ideas to help readers make the most of their homes and help them embrace their own unique personal style.

Through 5 redesigns, 2 web designers and 3 hosting companies, both the blog and I have evolved into our best selves. It’s been a fun and challenging journey, and I’m really proud of both of us.

4. Don’t Be Too Quick To Work For Free

In the beginning of my blogging journey, I’d get so excited if a brand wanted to work with me, even if it was just in exchange for product or ‘shares on our social media pages’. I’d put in hours of work, and get virtually nothing back – especially if the brand wasn’t very ethical about crediting or tagging the work.

Creating a social media and sponsored blog posts takes time, and the latter occupies space on my blog. Now, if a brand wants to work with me, they need to have a budget. I worked hard to build my following, and brands can’t expect access to them without compensating me. I may help my colleagues as I mentioned above or do pro bono work for charity, but in general, my time, effort and influence are chargeable. Yours should be too.

5. Good SEO is Vital

It’s important to plan blog posts carefully with keywords and SEO in mind. Keywords are the words that define what your content is about. (For this blog post, the keywords are “Top Blogging Tips.”) SEO is search engine optimisation, a set of practices to improve your site to increase visibility in Google and other search engine results. Don’t ignore SEO because it seems complicated; it’s vital to making sure that your website and blog are seen by your readers and customers.

Need a little help? Check out my Blog Coaching offer.

6. Integrity Is Crucial

When it comes to sharing a product or service, honestly is the only policy. If I don’t use or believe in a brand, I won’t work for them. I do turn down a lot of work, and I’m grateful I have the luxury of doing that.

If I recommend something, I really do believe in it. Your trust means everything to me. That said, we can’t all like the same things, and I can’t guarantee that everyone will love the same products or services I do. However if I say that I use or believe in a product, that is the absolute truth. Definitely one of the most important of my top blogging tips, integrity is crucial.

7. A Mailing List Is Even More Important Than Social Media

This is another one of the favourite top blogging tips. Capricious algorithms can make social media really unreliable. It is important and useful, but you have to think about what would happen if it all disappeared. At that point, all you would have is your mailing list.

Devote a little time and energy to what you are offering your readers in terms of a newsletter and free bonus content. Both are a wonderful way to really connect with your audience and also offers a way of highlighting any paid offers you may have. It can also be a lot of fun. Developing my mini ebook “5 Vintage Family Recipes” was a real pleasure, and I’m working on more offerings to share with you soon.

8. Have Some Fun

These were the last words of advice in my late Dad’s speech at my wedding, and his advice is also one of my top blogging tips. While blogging has changed exponentially over the last twenty years, it should still be fulfilling personally and professionally – whether you blog as a business or blog to promote your business. Most of all, it should be fun.

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