{"id":3988,"date":"2015-11-12T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-11-12T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/elbowglitter.com\/blog\/?p=3988"},"modified":"2015-11-12T19:41:29","modified_gmt":"2015-11-13T00:41:29","slug":"blogging-tips-that-work-for-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/elbowglitter.com\/blog\/2015\/11\/12\/blogging-tips-that-work-for-me\/","title":{"rendered":"Blogging Tips that Work for Me"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Unsplash<\/a> \/ Pixabay<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I’ve been blogging for way too many years to count, and blogging regularly on this site since the summer of 2012. \u00a0I’ve learned a lot along the way, and it’s high time I share the blogging tips and tricks that I’ve learned.<\/p>\n

First off, write about what you want to write about.<\/h1>\n

You’ll see some blog advice saying that you should research what blogs are popular and then write about that. \u00a0No! \u00a0That will never work! \u00a0Sure, home improvement blogs may be popular, but I have zero skills in that department. \u00a0How could I ever write about that? \u00a0No, write what you want to write about. \u00a0Write what you would like to read. \u00a0Write about what you’re passionate about.<\/p>\n

Does your blog have to have a singular focus?<\/h1>\n

Well, no, but I think once you get started, you’ll end up settling in on a particular subject. \u00a0My blog is mostly running and triathlon related, though I write about other things and events as they pop up. \u00a0Why? \u00a0Because I want to. \u00a0That’s the joy of having your own blog. \u00a0You can do whatever you want to do.<\/p>\n

How often should you post?<\/h1>\n

Conventional wisdom says that the best blogs keep some sort of a schedule, be it once a week or once a day or five times a day. \u00a0I aim for one post a day on the weekdays, but that doesn’t always happen. \u00a0If life gets away from me, I miss a post here and there. \u00a0If I’m out of town, sometimes I get some posts scheduled, sometimes they don’t. \u00a0This blog isn’t my job and I refuse to let it get in the way of my life.<\/p>\n

Should I post about EVERYTHING?<\/h1>\n

Well, if by that you’re asking if you should talk about everything in your life, then my answer is no. \u00a0There is such thing as an overshare. \u00a0And this is coming from a runner and triathlete who has had conversations with near strangers about poop. \u00a0I think there’s something to be said about balance. \u00a0And be cautious about talking about work. \u00a0Not every employer wants you to talk about your job online. \u00a0And if you do, make sure you only say positive things. \u00a0I mean, we all have stressful days at work, and that’s fine. \u00a0But talking about how your boss is an idiot (note – mine is not, and I say this not just because she knows about my blog) is a terrible idea.<\/p>\n

What if no one reads my blog?<\/h1>\n

They will eventually. \u00a0But you have to tell people it’s out there. \u00a0Share your blog on Twitter (but don’t tweet your links constantly – that drives people nuts). \u00a0Go to other blogs and leave comments. \u00a0I know that I like to visit the blogs of commenters to this site, and most of those blogs end up in my feed reader as well. \u00a0Check out linkups, which is where a bunch of bloggers write on the same topic and then post the links to a single place so everyone can read them.<\/p>\n

But don’t have a blog just because you want readers. \u00a0You have to want to write as well. \u00a0For me, a big reason for having a blog was to track my training. \u00a0I’m terrible about keeping a training journal. \u00a0Ask my Coach. \u00a0I’m still not great about the detail in my Wednesday Workout Recaps (which I haven’t posted this week, whoops). \u00a0But at least with the blog, I’m putting some serious thought into my race recaps and talking about where training goes really right or really wrong. \u00a0And it’s a great way for me to look back.<\/p>\n

What are some good blogging resources?<\/h1>\n

I do my blogging on a self-hosted Word Press<\/a> site. \u00a0I like it because of the freedom it allows me. \u00a0The hosting isn’t free, but it’s under $10 a month, and I think it’s worth it. \u00a0You can also have a free blog on WordPress.com or Blogspot. \u00a0Whatever is easiest for you.<\/p>\n

One huge advantage to Word Press is all of the great plugins you can use. \u00a0Some are free, some cost a bit of money, but they can make your blogging so much easier.<\/p>\n

To help me with scheduling and social media posting, I use CoSchedule<\/a> (affiliate link). \u00a0I like the ability to move my posts around to fit my whims and to schedule social media links. \u00a0I have a day job – I’m not on the blog monitoring things all day.<\/p>\n

I use the Pixabay<\/a> plugin to help me find images for the post, like that high quality image up there at the top. I know a lot of bloggers like to spend time personally crafting images for their posts. \u00a0Ain’t nobody got time for that. \u00a0Well… I guess they do. \u00a0I don’t have time for that.<\/p>\n

I like the Yet Another Related Posts Plugin,<\/a>\u00a0which, as you can tell by the name, is what creates the list of related links\u00a0at the end of each post.<\/p>\n

I don’t love my current commenting system, but I haven’t found one yet that I do love, so that’s that. \u00a0But there are a lot of options out there.<\/p>\n

So that’s about 900 words on what I know about blogging. \u00a0What are your favorite blog tips? \u00a0Have a comment plugin to suggest?<\/p>\n

\"Blog<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’ve been blogging for way too many years to count, and blogging regularly on this site since the summer of 2012. \u00a0I’ve learned a lot along the way, and it’s high time I share the blogging tips and tricks that I’ve learned. First off, write about what you want to write about. You’ll see some […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nBlogging Tips that Work for Me - Elbowglitter<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A few blogging tips learned over more than a decade of blogging.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/elbowglitter.com\/blog\/2015\/11\/12\/blogging-tips-that-work-for-me\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Blogging Tips that Work for Me - 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