Since one of the most popular emails I receive is asking about starting and growing a successful blog, I figured I’d share the few things I do know that have made a big difference for me.
I don’t write often (um, at all) about blogging itself. Why? Well, I guess it’s because I prefer the topics of food, life, and cute kids. Still, I have been blogging for several years now and have picked a few solid tips along the way. Since one of the most popular emails I receive is asking about starting or growing a successful blog, I figured I’d share the few things I do know really make a difference.
Disclaimer: Please note that some of the links below are affiliate links and I will earn a commission if you purchase through those links. I have used all of the products listed below and recommend them because they are helpful and are companies that I trust.
Set up your blog correctly from the start. I started blogging at blogger and while easy to hop right into, it created quite the frustration when I switched a few months later to Wordpress. Wordpress is the industry standard and you’ll want to use that platform. Here’s how you do that…
Buy your domain name. My domain name is ahealthysliceoflife.com and I purchased it through Bluehost. I highly recommend them. They make the process of setting up and maintaining a blog super simple. Bluehost has a technical support line that is open 24/7 and available by both phone and live chat.
Here are the steps to signing up with Bluehost:
Go to the Bluehost site to start and buy your domain name.
Type in the blog domain you want to use, then you will purchase the blogging package that you want.
You will be taken to a screen to activate your newly purchased domain name through Wordpress. Simply select Wordpress under website builders.
Then you are all set to start blogging! Trust me, it’s so much easier than transferring down the line.
Title Your Posts for SEO. In the beginning I often titled posts with cutesy titles like ‘I Ran on Sand!’ While they may sound fun, if the post is really about an exercise beach routine you created, you will want to title it more appropriately. This means using key words. If people were wanting the information in your post, what would they search for? Exercise on vacation? Beach workout routine? Use these key words (and help find others using Google Insights) in your post title.
Write about Topics that Interests You/ Stay True to Your Voice. I’ve found that if I’m writing posts that I’d want to read myself, I get more engagement. For example, I was really unsure about incorporating motherhood into my blog when I became pregnant with Hailey since I started my blog to talk about health coaching and healthy living. However, motherhood is such a big part of my life, it would have been awkward to not include it. Write what you know and care about. Also, you can admire another blogger’s style but stay true to your voice. Judy Garland knew what she was talking about — Always be a first rate version of yourself and not a second rate version of someone else.
Ask yourself these questions: Is this helpful? Is this entertaining? I’m busy. You’re busy. It’s best to write about something that will add value to your reader’s day, whether that is entertainment value, inspiration, or useful information.
Love Your Readers. And I do. You guys are so awesome. I appreciate you stopping by, reading and contributing to the conversation. David often jokes about me having virtual friends, but it’s true. I really feel like I get to chat with my friends every morning! I also really value your feedback, so if there is ever something you want to see more (or less) of, holla.
Along with this, I’ll add respond to questions. I’ve been really turned off before when blogger has flat out ignored my question after I attempted to ask it more than once. If you’ve reached out to me and I haven’t responded, I promise I didn’t receive your question. I always respond to questions, even if it may take me a few days right now. (My computer time is a little limited these days!)
You may also like: Seven Inevitable Truths About Blogging
Be Consistent. People are much more willing to check back in if they know when they can expect a new post from you. Whether you blog once a month, once a week or twice a day, consistency is really helpful!
Rename Your Pictures Before Posting. This helps with SEO too. Instead of that delicious looking cookie picture being titled DSC00341, change it to ‘healthy oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe.’ Bonus: this helps me locate old photos in my media library for future reference and use. For free editing software, you can use Picmonkey.com. I used it for years before upgrading to Lightroom.
Get Social! I love social media. I share a ton of meal and family pictures on Instagram and enjoy asking you questions and sharing stories on Facebook. Don’t be shy! Jump on it and chat. It’s more fun when it’s a conversation.
Keep Learning. There are so many helpful sites out there to learn from. Some of my favorites are Katy Widrick, ProBlogger and Food Blogger Pro.
Have Your Contact Info Easily Accessible. It’s amazing how many times I’ve wanted to email a blogger or follow them on Instagram and can’t find their contact info. Try to make your email address and social media handles easily accessible. You don’t want to miss out on cool opportunities because someone can’t reach you.
Make it Easy to Comment. Chances are if a name/url option isn’t available or I have to fill out a captcha code, I’m not commenting. Yes, I realize it only takes an extra 30 seconds, but it stops a lot of people from adding to the conversation, especially since so many of us read blogs from our phones. Some people claim that comments are dead, and though I know people read blogs differently and are busier now, comments are still one of my favorite ways to engage.
Let’s help each other out…
What is your best blog tip that you’ve learned?
Brynn says
Great tips, and I would share the same! I think one of the biggest tips I learned out of the gate was to come out from behind your blog. It is easy to think of a blog as a “build it and they will come” situation. However, that is the exact opposite of reality. Networking and connecting with other blogs, bloggers and groups is so much fun and helps you and your blog grow!
Brittany Dixon says
Definitely! Plus, it’s such a perk of blogging (to get to connect to so many awesome, like-minded people).
Parita @ myinnershakti says
The biggest I’ve learned is to stay true to myself. I’ve never blogged for views, comments, etc. I blog because it makes me happy, and I only blog about things that I’m passionate about. I think this is why I’ve been able to make it 3.5 years without any major breaks in between!
Marjorie says
This is SO true! Thumbs up!
Brittany Dixon says
Great point Parita! I often wonder why I’ve never wanted to take an extended break but I bet it’s because of what you said. I sometimes I feel like I want blogging more than it wants me, haha! I love having this outlet.
Jaclyn @ BumpSweat says
Thanks for this! So far, I’ve found getting social and staying true to my voice to be the most-helpful.
Christina says
I don’t have a blog myself, but I will say that all of the tips listed here are exactly why I enjoy reading your blog so much! I know that every morning, when I sit down at my desk with my cup of coffee, there will be a new post from you that I can read through in a few minutes, with lots of fun tips, pictures, and info. Keep up the great work Brittany!
Brittany Dixon says
Thanks so much! I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the feedback 🙂
Jodi says
I second what Christina said!! Always an enjoyable read, makes me smile, I learn something new, reaffirm an emotion of motherhood… I swear your blog has taught me so much more practical things than medical school somedays !! Haha!! Great job, Chica! Keep up the awesome work!!
Maureen says
I’ll totally agree with this too! I don’t have a blog, but I’ve really come to enjoy that I can count on your consistency and routine of blogging and having a post up first thing in the morning. It’s appreciated given that we know how busy you are in your life right now. It’s always clear that you write about only those things that are important to you and you’ve found (what appears to be effortless) balance between meal posts, children and family updates, weekend recaps, etc.
Maureen says
I’ll totally agree with this too! I don’t have a blog, but I’ve really come to enjoy that I can count on your consistency and routine of blogging and having a post up first thing in the morning. It’s appreciated given that we know how busy you are in your life right now. It’s always clear that you write about only those things that are important to you and you’ve found (what appears to be effortless) balance between meal posts, children and family updates, weekend recaps, etc.
I’ll also add that it’s clear how much time and effort you put into your blog, that you take the time to respond thoughtfully to questions and comments. There is nothing that turns me off more to even reading a blog if they don’t ever take the time to respond to readers. It makes me feel like they don’t appreciate my reading enough to answer a question or even a simple response to a comment so why should I bother reading.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
I hate when people don’t rename their photos! I pin a lot and when I come across a photo (which is a lot of the time) that is not already named…I get so upset!
Erica { EricaDHouse.com } says
#4 for sure! I’d say the majority of my friends I haven’t even met IRL.
Sam@PursuitofHealthyHappiness says
Great tips! I love the Judy Garland quite. It’s so easy to admire people and strive to become like them when really we need to strive to achieve those likable characteristics while being ourselves. Thanks for the reminder!
Gabi says
Great post! I am actually fairly new to blogging (1 year) compared to your 4 years. I am with Word press right now and am thinking about moving over to self-hosted. Do you know if it is an easy switch?
GiselleR @ Diary of an ExSloth says
One of the most important things I’ve learned is to focus on the content i.e. quality not quantity.
When I first started blogging, I tried to blog every day but eventually I ran out of things to say and/or got burned out from trying to produce something good everyday.
Focusing on writing about things that will interest your readers even if you only post once a week is so much better than turning out any old thing at 12am every morning.
My traffic, comments, followers etc. actually IMPROVED when I started posting less.
Crazy, I know, but it’s so true.
Brittany Dixon says
Hey Gabi- it shouldn’t be too difficult! I won’t pretend to know exactly how to do it, but the folks at Bluehost can certainly help you out. Since you are already on wordpress, it should be very simple. Plus you already know the system! Let me know how it goes if you check it out.
Marjorie says
Great tips! I love your tips on SEO…I am just starting to get into that a little bit. I have done a horrible job with SEO up to this point.
One tip I would expand upon is the social aspect. It can get SO overwhelming & time-consuming if you try to be everywhere all at once. I would advise to figure out a couple of platforms to focus on (where your audience is) and go there. This will be different for everybody, depending on who your audience is. And it may take some trial and error. For me it is YouTube and Instagram.
YouTube was a HUGE surprise to me! I hate the way I look and sound on video, so I was very hesitant to get started. I get great traffic to my website from there with very low bounce rates (for non-bloggers, this means they stick around your website a lot longer). Plus it is a fun and highly personal way to connect with others.
Navigation is another one I have been working very hard to improve. Making my existing content easier to find has been a priority. And it has improved my bounce rate quite a bit as well.
Lastly, I would say just keep learning, improve as you go and don’t be afraid to try new things! If something flops, it is no big deal. Just keep trying new things and see what works best. Analytics are your friend!
Brittany Dixon says
I think it’s so funny that you say you don’t like the way you are on camera; I think you are awesome on video!! And great point about focusing on certain platforms instead of all of them. I remember spending a whole afternoon trying to figure out klout until I finally just said screw it. It was taking the fun out of things for me 🙂
Sarah@creatingbettertomorrow says
Oh I LOVE these types of blog tip posts as I feel I am learning every day. My favorite thing I learned was to always have links open in a new window…not in the same window so people STAY on your site.
Brittany Dixon says
Oh Sarah, that’s so smart! How do you change that setting?
Sarah@creatingbettertomorrow says
Each time you put a link in (at least in Wordpress) at the top (same with pics) there is a check box that says open link in new window…you MUST always check it as the default is to always open in the current browser!
Brittany Dixon says
Thanks!!
GiselleR @ Diary of an ExSloth says
In my almost 2 years of blogging, I’ve learned to focus on the content (quality not quantity)
When I first started, I tried to post every day but eventually I got burned out from trying to produce something good everyday or just ran out of things to stay (Enter the dreaded blogging hiatus)
Writing about things that will interest your readers even if you only post once a week is way more important IMO than turning posting any old thing at midnight.
My traffic, comments, followers etc. actually IMPROVED when I started posting less.
p.s. this may be a duplicate comment, not sure where the original one went -_- lol #bloggerfail
Brittany Dixon says
Your other one is further up, haha, but good comments are worth repeating 😉 GREAT point! Posting for posting sake (which I’ve been guilty of before) isn’t much fun to read!
Danielle says
Thank you so much for the picmonkey recommendation. Several years ago before I had my daughter I used to love using my “big fancy camera” to take pictures but always struggled with finding an easy to use, relatively inexpensive photo editing software. Great tips! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Ashley @ My Food N Fitness Diaries says
Excellent tips! I actually have ZERO insight into SEO, so some of the tips you mentioned relating to that is really helpful for me.
Tina Muir says
Great tips! Content content content is what I hear over and over, kinda relates to your be true to yourself post. I think that is really important, and a trap bloggers can easily fall into as they try to copy others that have been successful. Thanks for sharing, keep doing what you do!
Nicole H. says
I don’t comment much, but do feel compelled to say that I really appreciate how you respond to comments & questions. While I mentioned I don’t comment much (but read your posts every day!), on the few occasions I have posted, you’ve always commented. That goes a long way! There are way too many blogs out there where I have left questions for the author and they go unanswered. Not cool! It had led me to abandon reading those blogs. What’s the point of reading if the blogger isn’t going to pay attention to the readers and things they are commenting about.
Also, I read a blog post recently where the author stated that part of blog etiquette includes answering questions left in the comment section and also giving shout-outs to other blogs you read. That said, ever since you posted about the blog ‘Camp Patton’, I’m addicted to reading her blog. She’s hysterical!
So, well done on your blog and following etiquette. 😉 I enjoy your topics, writing ability and humor!
Brittany Dixon says
Oh my gosh, isn’t Grace hilarious? Especially since I call her Grace like I know her when I don’t at all- HA! 😉
Thanks for the positive feedback! I try my best to follow the etiquette, though I’m sure I’ve slipped up more than once. I sure try! 😉
Maria says
I think I MAY do one or two out of this entire list. Oops! My husband’s job is in SEO, so he would always give me tips on that and make me follow them, but otherwise, consider myself a blog rule breaker 🙂
I think being true to yourself is really apparent when you read a blog. I’ve written about five blog posts in the past month and they just didn’t sound like I wanted to, so I ditched them. Writer’s block is a real thing!
Brittany Dixon says
I’ve been wondering what you’ve been up to! I actually sent you a text a couple weeks back but when you didn’t respond I felt like a creepster 😉
Tell Brandon to send some SEO smarts my way- I’m clueless!
GiGi Eats says
YES TIMES 5 MILLION!!!! My tip that you listed – LOVE WHAT YOU WRITE ABOUT! If you love it, others will love it too!!!! And focus on friendships when it comes to blogging! I don’t focus on anything but building friendships!!!! 🙂 🙂
Amanda says
I don’t have a blog, but if I did I’d write about my kids too . . . and the dog, they provide so much entertainment. I recently stumbled upon your blog through peanutbutterfingers.com and I’m enjoying reading your posts on motherhood, newborns, and organization. I just returned to work after my second child (4-month-old boy and 10-year-old girl), so I’m really enjoying your tips on healthy, quick meals. Thanks for sharing!
Elle says
These are extremely helpful hints! I’m excited to implement some of them!
Ali says
These are all good tips! I think consistency and being social/commenting is the best thing.
char eats greens says
This was SO helpful and kind of perfect timing. I need to renew my domain soon, and I was actually thinking about switching hosts, and Bluehost sounds like a fantastic fit! I just hope it’s easy enough because I cannot tackle the coding stuff of a blog being down!!
I need to gain more insight into SEO seriously! I don’t even think about that kind of thing. AND, the picture thing. I wish when my pictures uploaded into iPhoto, I could rename the files. I’ll figure it all out someday. Awesome tips!
Laura @ FitMamaLove says
Renaming my photos has helped a lot with SEO. I was reluctant to do it because it’a an extra step, but it’s been worth it!
Danica @ It's Progression says
I think these are awesome tips!
Paula says
Great post Brittany!
Sarah@creatingbettertomorrow – thank you so much for putting this tip out there!
I don’t have a blog myself (I read tons) but I can’t tell you how happy it makes me when I click a link and a new window opens, it’s so frustrating to navigate back towards the post you were reading (particularly if you are mid-way through).
Brittany @ Delights and Delectables says
these are so good… okay, so I need to start renaming my pics! I am with you, it takes me several days to get back to people now…
Jen says
Great tips! I totally forgot about picmonkey – I used to use it! Wow. I blame my children for the memory loss!
Kris says
I don’t have a blog, but my tip would be for bloggers/writers to edit their blog posts. When I read a blog riddled with spelling mistakes, I always think, “why am I taking the time to read this when the writer can’t even take the time to edit it.”
Brittany Dixon says
I appreciate proper editing and grammar myself, but I won’t lie, when I type out my thoughts (and always read back through to edit!), I’ll still make mistakes from time to time.
Julia G says
Thank you for this informative post! I just got started in the blog world so I am trying to learn as much as possible. I really appreciate this. 🙂
Courtney says
I have a blog on blogger and I want it to grow. Wondering if you know how if I can transfer my blog to my own domain outside of using blogger.
Brittany Dixon says
I am really not great at the tech stuff, but the people at Bluehost could help answer your questions and they can actually do the transfer for you if you prefer! Let me know how it goes.
Jen says
I’m thinking about starting a blog but don’t want to pay to host it for now in case I decide it’s not for me (since I have no idea what to do) do you happen to know if I start on a free site if I can review products or if it will be easy to switch later? Thanks
Jen
Brittany Dixon says
Hey Jen! I understand. If you start on a free site, I recommend using wordpress.com (which is different than wordpress.org). It uses the same platform so it will be easy to switch down the road if you want to. You can review products on a free blog, but you won’t be able to monetize via ads. I hope this helps! Also, if you have any further questions, reach out to the people at Bluehost. They are really helpful with this kind of stuff. I know because I have had to ask a bajillion questions myself 😉
CYNTHIA A D BROWN says
Hiiii Brittany! I am a newbie to the blog sphere, like literally I just started. I have so many ideas on recipe posts, DIY tips, an just excited to share what I know and what I learn about food in general. I love your blog and I am wondering about PicMonkey. What camera do you use to take your food pics? Do you also use and edit your iPhone pics using PicMonkey? I hope we can meet one day (I live just outside of Charlotte). Thanks!
Brittany Dixon says
I use a sony nex-t5 for most of my pictures, though David has a Canon 40D that I’d love to learn how to use! I love picmonkey and use it everyday to edit. I’d love to meet one day- I’m just north of Charlotte myself! Welcome to the blogosphere 🙂
Rachel says
I am so glad I found this post on your blog! I have followed your blog for a few years now and I really enjoy reading your posts! You have a beautiful family! I do not have a blog but have been thinking of just going for it and starting one and this post really helps! I have heard blue host is the best. I think one thing that is holding me back is the safety of it. I feel like if I put my name and where I’m from on a blog it gives too much info but I know that’s what readers want to know 😄 Do you have any tips? Thank you!
Brittany Dixon says
It’s a really tough call and deciding how much to share is really personal choice between you and your family. You can always make your blog private and only let people that contact you and ask to read be part of it, but if your goal is to grow it and reach a lot of people, public really is the only way to do that. You can always start on the more conservative side and share more (or stop blogging) depending on your comfort level. Good luck with whatever choice you make and thank you so much for reading for so long! <3
Rachel says
Thank you so much for your fast reply! I may just be really conservative at first. 😊 Have a blessed day!
Bethany says
Love these tips! Thoughts on ads?
Brittany Dixon says
Personally I try to keep them as non intrusive as possible, but it’s not feasible for me to go completely without them.
Bethany says
Thank you for your reply! What ads do you find the best?
Brittany Dixon says
I’m with Mediavine now and have been really pleased!