Five on Friday: Five Favorite Blogging Tips
May 1 marked six months for Hayes Days. My little baby blog is growing up. (tear) I’ve met so many amazing other blogging gals since I’ve started and I owe many thanks to them as to those of you out on the Interwebs reading all this! Thank you guys! Exciting things are brewing! Since I’ve started blogging, I have received some great tips that I wanted to share, so for this Five on Friday I wanted to share the five best blogging tips I’ve been given over these past six-ish months.
CREATE A PINNABLE IMAGE:: I wanted to list this one first because I’ve learned that Pinterest is a big ol’ honkin’ deal. Immediately, I fell in love with the website when it busted onto the scene, but I’ve had to learn to to pin with a purpose and create pretty pins for the blog. My second most popular post of all time is connected to my most repinned and liked image. There is no denying that the two are dependent on each other. The more Photoshop and Illustrator savvy I have become, the less time this takes, but every single minute I spend on making that pinnable image bright, big, and bold is worth each and every page view.
FINDING A CONTENT BALANCE:: My feeling is that this is going to be on a post by post basis, though I’ve read that your paragraphs should be short and skimmable. I’m all about skimming, but I think that’s relative. Of course there are exceptions to the rule, like if you’re a photography blogger you’re obviously not going to have too much to say other than captions. Your goal should be just to create content with a balance that your readers respond to.
REPLY TO YOUR COMMENTERS:: I try to respond to every single comment. Even if they never read my blog again, I hope they always remember that I responded. There are a lot of bloggers out there that don’t.
TAG YOUR PICTURES WITH YOUR BLOG INFO:: Again, this one roots back to Pinterest, Twitter and all the social networks out there. People share pictures and information they find on your blog. Make sure that there’s always something there to lead them back to you. I’ve also been including my website somewhere in the image so that just in case the info gets lost, my address is still there.
SHORT, SWEET, SEO TITLES:: So many times I’m guilty of too long and wordy titles. This is a tip I’m still working on, but I feel it’s a valuable one. Seeing what people search for and how they find my blog is so fascinating to me. One of my fellow blogging buddies told me just to plug the title into Google before publishing, just to see what else comes up and see how many results you get.
Here’s a quick rundown for you to save as a reminder:
- Allyssa Barnes web design :: Allyssa is a designer and optimizer. She also has a fun life & style blog called The Barn.
- Nicole at Designs by Nicolina :: Make sure you follow her “Tip Tuesday” series for all kinds of blog tips you probably never thought of.
- Lisette at Northern Belle Diaries :: Only recently did I find this gem and I’ve already soaked a ton of useful information up. She also does blog consultations.
- Marissa at The Modern Austen :: I love a good success story, especially when it involves blogging and Marissa is kind enough to share her experience and tips with others.
Such great tips!
xx Cara
thank you for sharing the tips! i've been blogging for a while, but i just recently started to get more serious about it. so i appreciate the helpful tips (:
These are great tips! I've been blogging for longer than you, but it's more recently that I've started really focusing. I really don't know how to grow my Pinterest following and traffic, which is something I need to do more homework on.
Today, I just bought my own domain, launched my new logo, and now I'm working on business cards. It's all a learning experience, but it's a lot of fun, too!
xo Jackie
Something About That
Ah – still learning how to use the domain –
Something About That
Such good points! I get a lot of traffic from Pinterest so pinable images are a must!
You do a fantastic job with Pinterest! I see your images every where!
Those are some very exciting and awesome steps! The blog is looking fantastic too. You new logo really suits your style. I still need business cards. Even though I haven't been blogging here long… I've been blogging since 2005, but let's not discuss the former blog. Oy! These tips just have helped me, but I am by no means an expert on the matter. There is so much more to learn! I agree. It is SO much fun though.
Pinterest is a tricky little social network. Some pins get a lot of action and some don't get bites at all and they feature the same content. Still trying to figure it out myself!
I hope they help! I've been blogging for a while too, but only got serious about it with this blog. Your blog is adorable! You're definitely on the right track.
Thanks Cara!
Ive been blogging for three months now and I always will take all the tips I can get. I totally agree with replying to comments! I really need like a photoshop tutorial because I think thats where I could get better, is my photos. Did you teach yourself it, use online tutorials like youtube or just learn by trial and error?
My newbie blogging mistake last year was underestimating the amount of traffic that Pinterest could pull in. I love the clear images that you feature in your posts (so pinnable) and the idea of including the url of the blog in each picture.
Brittney
http://www.anotherbeautifulthing.blogspot.com
Pinterest is quite baffling. I don't even have a handle on it yet!
I love your Blog Brittney! I just followed. When the first pictures were you as a cosplay Elsa, I was hooked. Your about me page is amazing too. I can tell your heart and soul is really it.
Justine, your blog is very cute! I love your vintage style. We're both little fledglings in the blogging world! It's great to meet you and thanks for commenting!
I'm going to send you an email of all the links that really helped me getting started and see if they can help you too. It would just be way too long of a comment, I know.
Thanks for sharing! While I've been blogging for nearly 6 years I was a bit of a late comer to pinterest. Then there was a while when ALL my private images on Flickr could no longer be pinned! But now I am completely addicted, and just wish one of my images from my blog would go viral, haha.
Chic on the Cheap
Wow! Six years?! That's incredible. I'm trying to convince a friend of mine that has a decent following and a years worth of work on her blog to stick with it. I really hope she does.
Pinterest can be such a pain but and the best all at the same time. I was addicted when it started and got to where I was using it very little. Now I have to step up my game more. I'm going to go pin a bunch of images from your blog right now!
Dear, randomly found your blog and Iād like to say that you have amazing design, beautiful photos and interesting posts! Iām also impressed by your style! Everything is magnificent!
would you like to follow each other?
will be happy to see you in my blog)
http://www.dianacloudlet.com
If you've figured all this out after only 6 months, you're doing great! I've been blogging for 2 years and I don't feel at all qualified to give tips to other people.
~Sarah of Sarah's Real Life
This is great advice, Meghan! I'm admittedly not great at helping my blog grow, but you've provided some helpful words of wisdom!! Thanks for the tips!
Oh but I love your blog! You probably have some great tips you could share. Two years is an incredible feat. I'm no where near qualified to advise, but these are my favorite tips that have helped me and I really wanted to pass them on! Thanks so much for commenting Sarah! I love your writing style and personal style SO MUCH!
It definitely isn't easy and takes a lot of time. Once I'm back in school this fall, who knows if I'll have as much time as I do right now. Most folks slack off during the summer, but that's when I have more time!
Thanks for commenting Diana. I will be happy to look at your blog.
I've been ignoring Pinterest for a while because mine is simply a mess. It's on my list of to-dos. Along with creating more reader-friendly content that isn't all about my family's happenings. I want my blog to be about me but to also be a fun space that people can come to for inspiration.
My blog calendar should help. Now I just need to make it work. š
My pinterest took forEVER for me to get it organized. It's still a work in progress too. That's an overwhelming task.
What kind of blog calendar are you using?
These are really awesome tips, Meghan! I definitely think Pinterest is so important! And I struggle with titles because I want to keep it interesting to people click, but I know simple is best. Such a struggle.
Loving your graphics by the way š
Thanks Ashley! I appreciate that. I'm trying to streamline the graphics so it's easy to see it's mine! lol.
Such awesome tips. We're always playing around with making better pinnable images!
xx 365hangers
Thanks! I'll have to check them out!
Amazing tips! I definitely need to work on creating more pinnable images and including my blog info in them. Thanks for this post!
Whoa, I wouldn't have guessed you've only been blogging for a few months! And thanks for the comment — great tip, indeed! — and I'm surprised Athens doesn't have a big food truck scene with all the college kids.
Even though I've only put six months into this blog, I've had a blog off and on since 2005. I did a lot of research on blogging before I started this one and spent a month doing set up.
Yes! I'm so disappointed. There are a few that show up late nights downtown in fall semester, but usually that's it. They aren't even that good either. A few of them come from Atlanta.
Thanks for commenting Katie! You take great pictures though! I love your outfits.
Great post! Any suggestions on places to make pinnable images? Or do you use photoshop alone? I am actually a photographer so I know how to use Photoshop/LR for those purposes, but not at all for the graphic design aspect!
Love your blog so much!
http://www.meganmyhoney.blogspot.com