Knowing how to start a blog is one thing, but knowing how to start a blog and do so with some great blogging habits is another.
It’s like learning to drive. Not everyone that learns to drive is a safe driver. It will depend on how they learnt and whether they learnt any bad habits along the way.
Whether you have been blogging for a long or short time, you will have developed blogging habits (whether you realize it or not).
We are all creatures of habit and it doesn’t take long to form one. Some may be good whilst others not so good!
The trick is to identify what you are doing and learn how to start blogging with great habits right from the word go.
(Image courtesy of pakorn / FreeDigitalPhotos.net)
Now that has been established, let’s get straight into the tips!
1. Spend time on your post layout
An un-formatted blog post not only looks unattractive, but it will instantly put off readers.
You are building your reputation with each and every post you write, so think about the type of reputation you want to build.
There are so many things that go into formatting a blog post, and we certainly can not cover them all here. You can read our post about blog post formatting, if you would like to know more specifics.
But in summary the main elements are;
- Lots of white space
- Well thought out placement of SEO
- An outstanding headline
- Good use of spacing including paragraphs and sub headings
- The use of images
- Interlinking of your older blog posts
- Linking to relevant authority sites
- Easy navigation tools
Can you see how there is more to formatting than meets the eye?
You should continually be paying attention to the formatting of your blog posts to ensure that you are building a strong, healthy and appealing blog.
2. Check that your post flows
A great habit to get into with each and every post is to read it aloud before you hit the publish button.
Reading aloud means you are focusing on each word that has been written. Our eyes can literally skim words on a page and reading in your head is a common way for missing errors on the page.
Reading aloud will slow you down and force you to read each word. This will help identify whether the post flows well, and whether there are extra words that could be deleted.
You may feel slightly odd reading your own work aloud, but who is going to know! Is it not better to be sure that you have a post that is the best that it can possibly be?
Try reading your next blog post aloud before you hit that publish button and see whether this helps!
3. See what your post looks like before you publish
I know that you are really keen to publish your new post, but just WAIT!
Have you previewed it? If not…why not?
If you want to know how to start a blog with great habits, then one of the things you must ALWAYS do is preview your work.
Preview, preview and preview again. When you are 100% happy with it, then you can publish!
Previewing your work will show you exactly how it will look to others. If it doesn’t look good on the preview, the publish button is not going to magically change this.
Preview is your last chance to making sure your post is 100% up to scratch.
Things to pay attention to in your preview are:
- Are you links working?
- Are the images displaying correctly? Are they aligned?
- Are paragraphs showing correctly?
- Is your article broken up with sufficient headings?
- Does the article flow or does it look disjointed?
- Are your fonts all consistent?
- Do you have large spaces where there shouldn’t be?
The preview will allow you to check the visual appearance, but it will also allow you to check all the finer details and read the post again checking for last minute changes.
I often preview after preview and it is amazing how many errors i still find on the 2nd or 3rd time.
Everyone is going to make mistakes at some point in time, but the preview will help keep those mistakes to an absolute minimum.
4. Share, engage, share, engage
One habit to get into straight away is to share your posts on social media.
By sharing your posts, you are letting the world know that you have new and exciting content. It will draw readers to your site that otherwise may not have come.
However sharing without engaging will only get you so far.
Let’s say for example you have a couple of blogging buddies that you share posts with.
One of these blogging buddies constantly comments on the blog posts, shares on their networks and helps promote you.
The other blogging buddy shares their content and then……nothing. They may hit the odd +1 on Google Plus for you, maybe even the odd Tweet or Facebook like, but you never see them comment on your site and you never see them actively share your content.
How do you feel about these two blogging buddies?
I am guessing that the first buddy who actively engages with you is going to enhance your blogging experience.
The second buddy however will start to annoy you, and soon you will see their post sharing as literally just being spam.
If you are not engaging with others, then it will only be a matter of time before others stop trying to engage with you.
Sharing should be a mutual process.
What on earth makes you think that your content is much more worthy of a blog comment, than someone else’s? Why should people comment on your site if you never return the courtesy?
Of course if you are in the league of the Pro Bloggers like Darren Rowse and Neil Patel, then you may not have the time to comment on everyone’s blog, but I can guarantee that they have spent considerable time building their networks and engaging with others.
So remember, share, engage, share, engage and repeat.
This is a great habit to get into from the moment you start blogging, and if you continue to do this, you will surely reap the benefits.
Now it’s your turn:
What other blogging habits would you give to someone that would like to know how to start a blog?
Remember…sharing and engaging is a GREAT blog habit to get into!!
