Does anyone actually read blogs anymore? Well, you are reading this right now, so the answer must be yes but the truth is, it can be difficult to get people to read your blog.
I have heard a lot of people saying that nobody reads blogs anymore, even Amira from Gogglebox said it in an episode not too long ago.
My opinion on blogging is still a big thing is mixed. However, I do love writing my blog posts so either way, I am going to keep writing them.
The rise of video content
For me, it feels like a lot of people get their entertainment on social media through watching videos on TikTok and Instagram reels at the moment rather than reading through a whole blog post.
I really like making video content as well as writing my blogs, so I have been doing both to stay relevant online and to just make things that I enjoy making.
If you are a blogger who struggles with reader numbers but want to make a big impression online, I do think video content like this can reach a lot of new people organically.
I feel like with blogging, you have to put a LOT of effort into making it SEO friendly so that people can find your blogs through searching on Google. Also, a lot of my readership comes from sharing my blog posts on social media anyway.
Advantages of blogging
There are a lot of bloggers out there that are really successful at the moment and I think a lot of people don't realise the success you can make for yourself blogging.
Some bloggers I follow, have left full-time jobs to pursue blogging, and they can make thousands a month by doing freelance blog work. Paid opportunities include paid blog posts, affiliate marketing (which is adding links to your blog and getting a commission whenever anyone purchases something through your link), creating digital products to sell, and many more.
Although people may come to the conclusion that people don't read blogs anymore, the ways to make money online are definitely on the rise, so for this reason I would say blogging is still very much a thing.
Don't give up
If you are an avid blogger and love doing it - don't give up! I have to admit, since the world has started opening up more since Covid, I have been getting a lot fewer reads on my blog. I am not taking this as a negative though because I would much rather everyone be able to go out and do stuff than being stuck in reading my blog!
This also makes me more appreciative of the readership I have now, and even though the reads on my blog posts have declined a little, I am still getting exciting opportunities and growing my social media following.
My advice would definitely be to stay current and keep up to date with new platforms that come your way, but if you really enjoy doing something, there is no need to stop just because there are new things coming.
What are your thoughts on blogging in 2022?
Steps to creating successful reels
1. Watch reels
2. Be confident and go for it
3. Make a list of reels you would like to create
4. Create saveable content
5. Try to hop onto trends
6. Use trending sounds
7. Add text to your reel cover
8. Share your reel on your story
9. Trial and error
10. Be authentic
Related: How to create a media kit
You might be thinking, what is a media kit and why I need one? Well, I'm here to answer these questions and give you some advice on creating one, and what to include.
What is a Media Kit?
A media kit is a document that bloggers, content creators and influencers use to show information about their platform. It's usually shared to brands so they can learn more about the creators they are working with.
If you want to work with brands, it's important to have a media kit that you can keep up to date with your stats. This way if you are emailing a brand to work with them, you don't need to send a long email about the views you receive on your blog or the engagement you get on your social posts. You can keep all this information in your media kit and attach it, such a time saver.
I used Canva to create my media kit and made sure the branding aligned with the colours I have used across my blog and social media channels to keep it all consistent. Mine is also only 3 pages because I feel like for now, that is all that's needed but yours may be more or less depending on how much information you want to put in. I would try to keep it to around 2-5 pages though, to try and be concise.
What to include
- A short bio about what your platform/blog is about.
- A photo of yourself.
- Who your main target audience is.
- Your blog and social media platfroms and stats - I just included followers on my socials, my blog views and blog domain authority, but you may wish to include social engagement rates too. Make sure these are up to date before you send it to brands.
- Brands you have worked with in the past. This is optional, if you are new to this you won't be able to add this just yet but it's just a good way to show your experience if you have it.
How to use it
Bloggers you need to check out this month
Start by checking out these posts
Make sure you check out these blog posts by Sarah
Check out these posts
AD - This is a sponsored post.
This month marks 5 years of Wool of the King, so I thought I’d share my experiences over the years and the sort of things I have got from blogging and growing my social media channels, including gifted products and payment. I am hoping this post will encourage young people, bloggers or not, to pursue their goals.
Early years
When I first started my blog in 2016, I was at college and I
only really wrote blog posts occasionally. It was just a space for me to chat
about things I wanted to chat about as a hobby. When I started university, I still
only occasionally posted updates and one day, one of my posts got over 1000 reads.
I was so happy and this really motivated me to write more, but with assignments,
a part-time job and a uni social life, I found it really hard to keep up with
my blog so I stopped writing for a while.
It wasn’t until 2020 at the start of the pandemic that I
started to write weekly blog posts and really start focusing on my growth. At
first, it was just out of boredom, I had so much more free time so I decided to
use that time to grow my blog and social media.
Growing my online presence
Once I started blogging more regularly, I wanted to make
sure these posts were being seen and gaining an audience, so I focused on
growing my social media channels including Twitter and Instagram. As a result
of this, my blog views were growing each month and I began to partake in gifted
influencer campaigns on my blog and over on Instagram. I was so excited by this
because I never expected to be doing anything like that!
If you want to find out more about influencer marketing,
check out the Mindy Parisi Influencer Spotlight.
In this instance, engagement is key! The more you engage
with others, the more they will engage with you, it’s so important in growing
your blog and socials.
Onwards and upwards
This year is the first year I have started making money
through blogging and I never thought I would be able to say that. It may not be
a lot to some, and it’s not enough to make a living from at the moment but having
any extra money through blogging is crazy to me as it started out as just a
hobby when I was 17.
So far, I have made money through sponsored posts on my blog,
influencer ads, advertising slots on my blog and affiliate sales. Last month I
made a total of £184 which has been my highest paid month yet. I would love to
be able to write E-books one day and sell those.
I have spoken a lot about blogging in this post, but a lot
of my influencer campaigns are on Instagram. These days, lots of brands look to
collaborate with content creators on there. I used to think you had to have
over 10k followers to collaborate with brands but this is not the case anymore
as smaller accounts often have higher engagement.
Read more about the rise in influencer marketing.
I have really loved my blogging journey, but it hasn’t
always been easy. There have often been times where I’ve wanted to give up, or
thought no one was going to take me seriously and it’s fine for that to happen.
The trick is to just not give up when you feel like that, and keep pushing
through with whatever it is you may be wanting to do. I have been blogging for
5 years now, but it has only been in the last year that I have started seeing
signs of success.
When was a time that you wanted to give up on something but
kept going?
This product was gifted to me as a PR product but all views are my own and I will be honest in my review. This post also contains affiliate links, meaning if you purchase a product through the links I will gain a small commission at no extra cost to you.
So if you're in the blogging community, you will probably already know that Eleanor from Not So Modern Girl, recently released an E-Book called The Art of Blog Writing, and I am so excited to have a copy to review!
Even the most seasoned bloggers need advice on blog writing from time to time and it's always great to hear advice from different sources, so we can keep on top of our game.
The E-Book usually retails for £3.99 which is a great price considering Eleanor is a blogger with over 4 years experience. It includes a step-by-step guide on writing a new blog post as well as tips on creating great social media posts and advice on spelling mistakes to avoid and proof reading checklists.
Related: How to find out the best blogging niche for you
A lot of E-Books these days can have some scary jargon in that is intimidating for new bloggers but The Art of Blog Writing, in my opinion, has really straight-forward points that could easily be applied to blog writing.
The text also includes some great advice on writing social media posts as well as blog posts. If you are using social media to support your blog as many bloggers do, you will need to know how important it is to represent yourself and your brand across your social media channels and Eleanor explains this in the E-Book.
If you are looking for advice on writing blog posts and social media content then look no further. The Art of Blog Writing explains all the basics in a simple way, without any scary information or jargon that you may learn later down the line.
Related: Top tips for creating digital branding as a blogger
Have you read Eleanor's E-Book?
AD - This blog post features my monthly advertisers. If you would like to advertise with me or find out more then please contact me.
This is now my 4th month of featuring advertisers on my blog and I have been really loving it. I love reading posts like these too and discovering new bloggers so I hope you have been enjoying discovering these wonderful bloggers too! This month, I have 5 amazing bloggers to share with you, I also offer ad slots to small shops too so if you are a small shop or business owner wanting to increase sales or views to your website then let me know!
The first blogger I have to share with you is one of my favourites, it's Enviroline Blog. Caroline is not only a lovely person, but she also shares amazing content about the environment and eating disorder recovery. I always learn so much when I read her blogs and love keeping up with her content on social media too.
Check out these posts from Enviroline Blog
Start by checking out these posts
Here are a few of my favourite posts from Georgia
- 10 locations that should be your UK holiday destination for 2021
- 5 cost effective ways to make a visual impact in your home
Start by checking out these posts
Check out these posts from Miel and Mint
Some positives
Some negatives
LESSONS I LEARNT FROM JUGGLING BLOGGING WITH UNIVERSITY
1) Nothing's impossible and you can do anything you put your heart to
2) It's about finding the right balance
3) Me time is a must even when there seems to be too much on my plate
4) Passion is so so important
About the author
Socials:
AD - This post features my monthly advertisers. If you are interested in advertising with me then please contact me or find out more on my advertise with me page.
I have really enjoyed sharing some of my favourite blogs with you each month, it's such a good way to interact with and discover new people.
Firstly, we have Life of Morag, a fabulous blog all about travel, politics, health and life in general. I recently discovered Morag on Twitter and I'm so glad that I did, she has such insightful posts that are written from the heart. Be sure to check out her blog!
Start by reading these posts
- That's Where my Demons Hide: Understanding Anxiety
- Reflecting on a Year of Lockdown and How Whatever You Feel is Valid
Check out these posts by Tash
Make sure you read these posts by Lynn
Check out these posts from Sophia
This is a guest post from Sophia Patel.
Blogging can be a
challenge, especially when you feel like you are always scraping for content.
After 6 years, at times I can find it a weekly struggle to come up with content
good enough. There are, however, several tools and habits to stop you from walking
down this path - one of them is establishing your niche. Here's how.
Get To Know
Your Audience
Just like your blog,
your audience will evolve. You will gain some, lose some, and others will stick
with you along the way. Base your key topics of interest on your analytics -
what are my most popular posts within a particular time frame? What is the
demographic of your audience? Both your topic and audience have to work
together, otherwise, you will have no one reading your posts. For example, a
parenting blog would not be 100% relevant if your audience were 10-15-year-old
boys, would it? Establish your demographic first.
What Are You
Interested In?
Over the last few years, I had had so much inner conflict with this. I started as a beauty blogger (reviewing the likes of Benefit's They're Real Mascara). Now, you will see 3 beauty posts per year. Why? Because over time your niche will naturally change. I have always considered it an evolution because the ideas you come up with at silly hours in the morning is usually a clue as to what you want to post. And let's be honest, content is always better when it comes from the heart. That's why over time I have ditched the beauty and moved into blogging tips for beginners and home & finance. When the content slowly evolves, some will stick around, and some will leave - that's just part of the process.
Don't Try and
Blog About Everything
This is a mistake I
learned pretty late on. Over time, it is so easy to add a little bit of
everything. Been on holiday? Blog about that. Done some clothes shopping? Blog
about that. Cooked yourself a nice meal? Blog about that. Just in this example,
your blogging niche has expanded to travel, fashion and food. But it begs the
question of which one is your direct niche. I have been calling myself a
lifestyle blogger for years, yet what does it mean? If new audiences want to
gain a snippet from your blog and see a dozen blog posts in different niches
they may be slightly confused. Nail down your focus to a few interlinking
topics (I have linked blogging tips and home niches by talking about creating a home office to blog), and perfect
them. Chances are, there will always be someone else blogging about the niche
you ditched so no need to worry.
If You Cannot
Write About It, It's Not The One
If you have a niche
that you love, but cannot ultimately write content about, then it is not the
one. Increased competition means that posts need to be near 1000 words to meet
the requirements of Google. If your niche cannot meet that easily, you will
still struggle for content. When thinking of a niche, without any resources -
make a list of as many blog posts as you can. When I moved to home and interior
blogging, I came up with 50 ideas, meaning I could effectively have enough
titles for the next 6 months (excluding guest posts and exclusive content).
Bounce blogging ideas off one another and aim to interlink many of your posts
(a series / two part post). Not only will this help to create content, but
strengthen your niche.
What Blogs Do
You Read?
Chances are, your
niche and the topics you are interested in are going to be linked. If you are
still struggling to pinpoint your niche, look at it from a different angle and
self-reflect. Think about yourself - your hobbies, career path, the books you
read and the blogs you follow. Create a Venn diagram if need be and see where
it all overlaps.
Then look at the
competition. If the market is oversaturated, it is going to be difficult to
stand odd / offer content that Google doesn't have the answer to. E.g. Blogging
tips is a very large field with lots of high DA Bloggers competing. As this is
something I want to pursue, my niche has shifted to beginner level. We strip
back all the technical terms and start from scratch. The key is to find a
balance where you are offering content that has not been done a million times
before, and something that you have enough experience to talk about. After all,
list posts and how-to's are the most popular.
Give It Time
This is the number one piece of advice. Blogging takes time, finding your niche takes time. If you find it straight away then you are the lucky one - but more than likely a new blogging niche is caused by a love for something else and a critique of current work. If you ever have that dilemma, then it is time to change, because otherwise it'll be shown in your content.
About the Author:
I am Sophia - a recent marketing graduate who is blogging full time in lockdown. I talk about all things blogging; as well as the progress on renovation of an 18th century home on a budget, to boost valuation for sale.
This post contains affiliate links, meaning if you purchase a product through these links I will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Over the last couple of months, I have been trying to up my Instagram game and it's been paying off so far so I thought I'd share my tips with you. If you have Instagram already, you might know how frustrating it can be but don't give up! Most of my brand collabs are actually on Instagram and my blog is secondary to that so it can be a really good way to score collabs if that's what you're after.
First of all, you will need to think of why you want to grow your Instagram. It could be because you want to attract more people to your website or business, or you might want to collaborate with brands.
Before anything else, I just want to emphasise that follower count is not the be all and end all, engagement is what's most important!
You can follow me on Instagram here.
1. Take care in the images you upload
The main reason people will want to follow you or engage with you is because of the content you put out. You will be wanting to put out content that your followers will enjoy and content that says a lot about you. For example, if you love travelling then post some of your favourite travel snaps!
2. Engage with people
If you are wanting people to engage with your content, you should engage with theirs too. Don't be scared to comment, reply to stories and even DM people sometimes. The more you connect with an account, the more likely Instagram is to show your post to those accounts.
Remember to support your favourite creators by engaging with them and seek out accounts you think would like your content and engage with them too. You should be engaging with people before and after you post too!
3. Follow relevant people
Similarly to my point about engaging, if you are expecting new followers, you are going to have to follow some people to. If I see an account with over 2000 followers but they are only following 200, that says to me they don't really want to engage with other accounts.
If you keep following relevant people (by relevant I mean people that post similar content to you) then you are getting your name out there and hopefully you will gain some engaging followers too.
4. Utilise story features
Now, posting on your Instagram story won't gain you any new followers, but it will keep the audience you do have engaged. I would recommend using the features on your story such as polls and questions regularly. Let your audience get to know you and post stories regularly!
Related: 3 Tips for Staying Creative
5. Post reels
As reels are a relatively new thing, Instagram seem to be pushing them and they have potential to get a really high reach. Sometimes when I have been scrolling Instagram, I have seen just reels and nothing else on my homepage so it's definitely worth getting onto them if you haven't yet.
6. Hashtag research
Using the right hashtags is the best way for your images to reach new people. Generally speaking you should be using hashtags relevant to your image. For example, if it's an outfit image you will want to be using fashion hashtags. You will also want to be using different size hashtags. Smaller ones have 10k or less images in it whereas larger ones will have over 100k. A lot of hashtags such as #fashion will have millions of images so it's unlikely your image will be seen with those ones.
There are a lot of blog posts out there with hashtags you should be using for your niche so just do some searching. Also, remember to use 30 hashtags on each post!
7. Set goals
I find when I set realistic goals, it helps me to achieve them and set new ones. If I set myself a certain follower goal in a week, it helps me to work towards it. Now, Instagram can be tricky at the best of times so don't feel disheartened if it takes a while for things to change.
Check out this Instagram Branding Pack.
8. Be consistent with posting
The more consistent you are with posting on your story and on your feed, the more engagement you will get. Also, you will look active to new people discovering your account and they will be more likely to follow you than if you haven't posted in weeks.
It can be hard to find the time sometimes, which is why it's best to plan your content ahead. I use an app called Feed Preview on my iPhone to plan all my feed content. I do try to plan out story content too but a lot of the time life gets in the way - which is OK too.
I try to post on my feed every other day and a few times a day on my story.
9. Use your analytics
Set your account to a business account, then you will be able to see your analytics. You will be able to see which posts have done well in terms of hashtags and you will be able to see when your audience is most active. Mine is most active around 6pm each evening so I will try to post around then where possible.
Also, once you have been posting for a while, pay attention to the posts that have had the most engagement and see if you can post something similar.
Check out this social media template bundle for Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
10. Have fun with it
This is the most important step! Remember, you are posting your content for YOU so make sure you are posting what you enjoy. There's no point posting things that you hate just to impress people or brands. If you're authentically you, it will pay off!
Do you have any Instagram tips?
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As a blogger, not only do I write and share blog posts, but
I also have to make sure I keep my digital branding up to date. This is in
order to show my personal brand and my blogging brand off across my social media
platforms.
The digital branded content you may create as a blogger are as follows:
- Media kit
- Blog logo
- Social media templates
- Instagram story templates
- Pinterest pins
- Products in your branding such as Gumroad e-books
- Newsletters and emails
- Email signatures
In this post, I will be giving you some advice on how to
keep your branded content fresh and up to date. So without further ado, let’s get
into the tips.
5 tips for updating your digital branding as a blogger
1. Create a clear logo
The first thing you will want to do as a blogger is to
create an eye catching logo with your blog name on. Think about the colours you
use because you can use them in a colour scheme for your other content.
Once you have created a logo you are happy with, you can
then use this on other content you may wish to produce such as a media kit or
social media templates.
Related: 3 ways to stay creative
2. Pick a colour scheme
Choosing a colour scheme is what all brands do when creating
their content and products and bloggers should too. At the moment I tend to use
light pink as that is in my logo, and other light colours such as a muted blue
and peach. Admittedly, I need to work more on my colour scheme.
3. Choose fonts to use for different content
When creating different digital branded content, you will
need to pick some fonts to use. For example, I have one font for my logo but I
have a few other, more readable fonts for when I am writing more text like in
my monthly newsletters or for the paragraphs in my media kit. Once you have
decided what branded content you are going to create, I would suggest picking
different fonts that you will use for different things and try and keep them as
standard across your content.
Start your search for fonts by checking out this fancy fonts collection by font bundles. They offer a range of fonts for each occasion.
4. Standardise your content
Similar to what I was saying about picking standard fonts to
go across your content, you should try to standardise all of your branded
content using colour and any other signature effects you might use. This will
help people recognise you. For example, if you have a branded Twitter header
and one of your Twitter followers finds your Facebook page that has the same
branding, they may remember your branding from Twitter and be more likely to
connect with you on another platform too.
On social media, you should create pin covers for Pinterest
and Instagram story highlight covers in your branding. It is also a good idea
to create headers for Twitter and Facebook in your branding that contain your
logo. These are just small ways to make your social media channels look more professional.
If you are a blogger, your audience or brands will be more visually pleased
when seeing branding on your social media than if you don’t have any. It also
shows that you are serious about marketing yourself and blogging too.
Related: 100 Blog post ideas for every niche
5. Try and show you in your branded digital content
Try and bring yourself into your branding as much as you
can. It is promoting you and your blog so make it personal, and obviously
relevant to your niche. If you are a travel blogger, don’t be using makeup
brushes in your logo, for example.
Creating personal branding should be fun because you can
choose what you want everything to look like in a way that best promotes you,
your blog and your services.
When it comes to branding and creating content, play around.
It doesn’t have to be perfect straight away! I have had a range of logos
before, it’s all trial and error until you have found what you’re happy with
and it will feel really good when you do. I usually just play around with
things until I get it looking perfect, just try not to stress out too much
about it and have fun!
How are you getting on with your branded content? Do you
have any tips?
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