Some suggest that blogging is no longer the way to build a platform or find your tribe. Some point to podcasts as the way people consume content today. But I beg to differ – although perhaps I’m a luddite – as I like the medium of text and enjoy the ease with which I can search a blog for other content once I’ve discovered it.
When I was new to blogging, I printed a list of blogging tips from Chris Garrett . He called it: 41 Blog Success Tips from 10 Years of Blogging You Can Learn Today . By the way, he’s still blogging and says that Chrisg.com is where he posts tips, thoughts and advice on the business of content creation and marketing.
Here’s what still resonates for me after 11 years of blogging.
Be interesting & deliver on your promise – create fresh, valuable, entertaining, and remarkable information of value for readers. One of my blog’s taglines is ‘Welcome to the world of historical fiction’. I also state that the blog is ‘all about reading and writing historical fiction’.
Develop expertise – you might not be an expert when you start, but keep at it until you are and then share that expertise.
Share your experience – when you learn something new, tell others about it.
Be unique – if you’re the same as everyone else, who will visit your blog?
Make a great first impression – I took this to heart last year when I hired someone to help me redesign A Writer of History.
Build your reputation – know what you stand for and strive to consistently deliver that.
Interview – supplement your knowledge by interviewing experts. The blog has many interviews and guest posts.
Answer comments – make your audience know they are valued.
Make friends – developing friends is one of the pleasures of blogging.
And here are a few on Chris’ list that I need to work more on:
Go for keywords – find out what your readers are looking for and write about it.
Write compelling headlines – mine often seem rather boring!
Research, survey, and poll – the last survey I did was in 2018. It’s definitely time to do another one.
Monitor your stats – I don’t do this anymore. For a while, I look at my stats every week or so, but I tend to ignore them these days. Not sure whether this is good or bad.
Guest blog – I used to do this quite frequently. But these days I find it difficult to balance writing novels, the important things in life, and blogging.
Ask questions – more questions might like to interesting conversations about historical fiction.
A Writer of History remains a work in progress – but I’m happy knowing that the content reaches so many authors and readers and delighted with all the help I’ve had along the way.
In the spirit of asking questions, what do you think I need to do more or less of?
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M.K. Tod writes historical fiction. Her latest novel is THE ADMIRAL’S WIFE , a dual timeline set in Hong Kong. Mary’s other novels, PARIS IN RUINS, TIME AND REGRET, LIES TOLD IN SILENCE and UNRAVELLED are available from Amazon , Nook , Kobo , Google Play and iTunes . She can be contacted on Facebook , Twitter and Goodreads or on her website www.mktod.com .
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