Skills & tips for new bloggers

We’ve put together a helpful list of skills and tips for when you’re just starting out.

Necessary skills

These are the fundamental steps to being a successful blogger.

1. Above all, enjoy writing.
2. Pick a subject you’re passionate about.
3. Before you begin, understand the ‘who, what and why’ of your blog.
1. Who: your target audience
2. What: the subject of your blog
3. Why: the reason you’re writing
4. Then, be sure to write well.
1. Your main focus should be on your reader’s needs.
2. Always check for correct spelling and grammar.
5. Be disciplined.
1. In the blogging world, persistence and patience is key.
2. Adding new content regularly is crucial for maintaining your blog’s momentum.
6. Improve your knowledge.
1. Keep up to date with your topic – readers can tell if you know what you’re talking about.
2. Increasing your know-how of your subject will make it easier to write about.
7. Use your network
1. Be open to new experiences and relationships in the online community.

Bonus skills

These skills are not essential but will make life as a blogger easier.

• Technical knowledge
• Being tech savvy will help you with hosting and content management.
• You’ll save time and money by not having to depend on external sources.

• HTML/CSS
• Independently refine and redesign your blog as it develops
• Small changes and optimisations can be made immediately
• Save money

• Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
• Make subtle alterations to your writing to improve your visibility and ranking on search engine results.
• See next article for more details.

• Social media
• Increase your site traffic.
• Build a relationship with your readers.
• Experiment with different social media platforms.

• Networking:
• Reach out to other content providers and potential business partners.

• Quality photos:
• Make posts look more engaging to your readers.
• Train yourself on image processing to optimise and enhance the images on your blog.

Conclusion

The best way to be successful? Learn by doing.

• Practice makes perfect.
• Always try new things.
• Remember that money does not equal value, as there are many free tools on the market.