74 Great Blogging Tips that will Pave Your Way to Success

Most bloggers, no matter how experienced, want to be successful with their blog. Very few bloggers will tell you, “I have too many pageviews,” or “I wish I was making less money.”

However, every blogger has different goals. For one, it may be making money and increasing readership. For another, their goal is to provide helpful advice, or to tell their story, or to get the motivation to improve their life. What constitutes success for one blogger means little to the next.

I will make a blanket statement here, though, that most bloggers want to consistently provide well-written, interesting, and informative content to their readers.

Here are 74 great blogging tips that will help you pave the road to success…however you define it. They may not all apply to your blog or your goals, but I promise you’ll find a tidbit or two that will tickle your fancy.

74 Great Blogging Tips that will pave your way to success

Set goals. If you don’t know where you want to go, how will you know when you get there?

Find out more about setting goals for your blog.

Post consistently. Your readers like to know when to expect you.

Connect with other bloggers. The blogging community will teach, support, and guide you.

Use an editorial calendar. Using a calendar to plan your posts will help you avoid writer’s block, keep you on track, and generally improve your organization.

Quality over quantity. One or two great posts per week > five or six mediocre ones.

Find your niche. Write about what you love and know. Yes, you can step outside your niche, but you will find your readers want consistency.

Spend money wisely. There will probably come a time when you’ll want/need to spend money on your blog. Pick the tools and investments that will do the most for you.

Find the best ways to invest in your blog.

Ask questions. If we stop asking questions, we stop learning. Ask questions of your readers, other bloggers, social media pros.

Find your voice.  Be yourself, write about your experiences, and you will be successful.

Get social. Building a social media following is all about getting social, not just about leaving links. Interact with others and you’ll find that you will get more followers.

Join a tribe. Finding and communicating with other bloggers, especially those in your niche, is helpful in building your following, learning more about blogging, and expanding your blogging community.

Respond to comments. Interacting with your readers and showing your appreciation for them is one of the most important things you can do to build (and keep) your following.

Brainstorm ideas. Once a week, find yourself a quiet spot and brainstorm ideas. Whether you’re thinking of blog post ideas or plans for expanding your blogging business, taking away distractions will help you focus. Don’t forget to write your ideas down!

Be timeless. A timeless or evergreen post is one that has useful information that will come up in Google searches months or years after you write it. Such posts are blogging gold.

Guest post. Guest posting on other blogs in your niche is a great way to find new followers.

Remember why you started blogging. If you find that you are getting caught up in numbers and deadlines, take a step back and remember why you started blogging in the first place. It can be easy to forget that blogging, for most of us, is a fun and sometimes lucrative pastime.

Be interesting. Really, do.

Always disclose. If you write sponsored posts, receive free products for review, or have any kind of mutually beneficial relationship with a business you must disclose that fact. Your readers deserve to know and it’s the law.

Don’t write for the masses. There is no way you can make all of the people want to read your blog, so don’t try. When you write for the masses you end up writing bland, uninteresting posts. Write about your passions and you will draw people who are passionate about them as well.

Schedule your time. Blogging is a time-consuming business. Plan how you will deal with it and you will have a lot less stress (and a happier family).

Find out more about blogging on a time budget.

Make commenting easy. Don’t make your readers jump through hoops in order to leave a comment. Avoid captcha, registration requirements, and even moderation.

Teach. Readers love to learn from you. Share your knowledge.

Define your reader. You should have an idea of who your readers are. Create a profile of your reader. Is she female? How old? What are her interests?

Comment on other blogs. Reading and commenting is one of the best ways to grow your blog and become a part of the blogging community.

Don’t sell your soul. Stay true to yourself and your mission. If you take advertising or write sponsored posts, make sure that they are products that you trust and believe it because your readers trust and believe in you.

Use keywords. Using descriptive keywords will improve your search results. Your keyword should be in your headline, your sub-headline, and appear several times within your post.

Find out more about keywords, SEO, and other beginner blogger questions.

Edit your meta description. The meta description is the little snippet that shows up in search results. It should be brief, to the point, and contain your keyword.

Section headers. Use them to help divide your content into more readable chunks. At least one of the section headers should contain your keyword.

Join a Facebook group. Facebook blogging groups are great ways to share your content and participate in the blogging community. Different groups have different purposes. In some you can reciprocate blog and social media shares, others are great for getting blogging advice and asking questions. They are usually closed or secret groups, so you will need to ask to become a member. They are one of the most useful tools for growing your blog.

Use short paragraphs. Blogging is different that other types of writing where a paragraph tends to be a complete thought. Short paragraphs of two to three sentences make for more comfortable online reading.

Improve your photography skills. Blogging is a visual medium. Learn how to take great pictures.

Pick one or two social media outlets and rock them. Instead of trying to cover all the social media bases, pick one or two of your favorites and really work hard at improving your following and your use of them.

Don’t pin every photo. Seriously. Not every photo, nor every blog post, is worthy of pinning. The photo or collage should be relevant to the topic. Not just a picture of yourself. Sorry.

Find out what Pinterest mistakes you’re making and how to correct them.

Justify left. Left justification (with a ragged right) is more natural to the eye and easier to read.

Make it easy to share. When I read your great blog post I want to share it with the world! Make it easy by having sharing buttons that are easy to find. Even better, have a “click to tweet” option that is not only easy for me, it also helps you because you can say exactly what you want.

Edit your photos. After you’ve improved your photography skills, you will still need to brighten, resize, crop, and add text to your pictures. Picmonkey or Canva are great, free options.

Be honest. You don’t have to tell your readers everything. But be honest about what you do share.

Write between 500-1000 word posts. Too long and you’ll lose your reader’s attention. Too short and you won’t do as well in searches. Generally, it is felt that between 500 and 1,000 words is a good length for a blog post.

Leave insightful comments. Commenting on other blogs is important, but, even more important is saying something useful. Skip the “great post” comments.

Use external links. Share the love (and the Google boost) by linking to other relevant websites within your blog post. Make sure to have them open in another window so your reader can easily find their way back.

Use internal links. Improve your bounce rate and keep your readers around longer by linking to your own relevant posts.

Call to action. What do you want your reader to do when they’re done reading your post? Comment? Share? Finish with a call to action. For example: If you enjoyed this post, I would love it if you shared it!

Make sure your Twitter handle will display when your post is shared. Otherwise you won’t know when other share your blog. It’s very easy to fix in the settings of your social media buttons.

Install a plugin to email a reader when you respond to their comments. It’s hard to carry on a one-sided conversation. Most readers won’t check back to see if you responded. This makes it quick and easy for both of you.

Join linkup parties. Like this one! My linkups are in the list at the bottom of this post. Linkup parties are great ways to share your blog posts, meet other bloggers, and get introduced to new blogs. Just make sure not to “drop and run.” Stick around and read at least two or three other posts.

Own your domain. For around $10 a year, you can own your own domain name. It’s one of the best and least expensive investments you can make in your blog.

Self-host. When you make the move to host your own blog you will open up the door to endless possibilities. You will have the complete freedom to do pretty much whatever you want with your blog.

Find out how to get your own domain and take the first steps to self-hosting.

Create a product. Whether you write an e-book to encourage subscribers, create a logoed line of clothing, or design your own jewelry, having a product to sell or use as an incentive is another way to increase your following and make money.

Join a publishing network. Joining a publishing network such as Blogher can provide an easy way to earn advertising income. It does come with some restrictions, though, so be sure to read the fine print before signing up.

Find other publishing networks and other ways to start making money blogging.

Update old posts. Check your timeless posts (evergreen content) from time to time to make sure that the information is up to date. Check links, update photos, and add new data as necessary.

Check your links. Before you hit publish, make sure to check all the links in your blog post to make sure that they work and that they open in another tab.

Do some Blogkeeping. Take some time each month to clean up your blog. Check your sidebar for outdated widgets, make sure your ads are up-to-date and still work, and check your spam folder and dig out anything that may have been misdirected.

Find other Blogkeeping tasks that you can do yourself.

Cull out plugins you don’t use. Too many plugins can slow down your site, so occasionally go through and get rid of the ones you don’t need.

Think about your ads. If you ask blog readers the thing they hate the most about certain blogs, ads, especially video ads and popups will usually be on top of the list. I encourage all bloggers to earn money if they want but don’t do it at the risk of chasing away your readers.

Find other ways to make your blog more visually appealing.

Proofread. Then do it again. Seriously, you should read your finished blog post at least three times before you publish. Even better, have a third party (willing spouse? BFF?) read it through for you.

Name your photos appropriately. Unless you want the title 2015-12-12.jpg to show up on photo social shares, make sure to first name your photos appropriately, then, when you add them to your blog post use the “alt text” to write a descriptive phrase.

Find other tips to optimize your photos for social sharing.

Update your About Me page. So, when was the last time you check your About Me page? It’s probably time for an update.

Fill out the profiles on everything. Make sure that you completely fill out the profiles on your social media accounts, publishing networks, and everywhere that you share your blog. This will help direct relevant traffic to your blog.

Share the love! Don’t just post your own links on your social media accounts. Share blog posts that move or interest you, or even those that make you angry.

Use hashtags. Hashtags, especially on Twitter and Instagram, will help you reach thousands of interested readers, even if your social media following is small.

Create awesome headlines. There is a lot of competition our there for readers, so a great headline will give you an advantage. Use the CoSchedule Headline Analyzer to help you make it perfect. (Ahem, I got an A+ for this one: 74 Great Blogging Tips that will Pave Your Way to Success)

Schedule some social media. Scheduling some of your social media shares in advance is a great way to save time. Set aside a block of time once a week to do this, using a scheduler like Hootsuite or Buffer, but don’t forget to check in to respond when necessary.

Use dead time. It can be hard to find the time to respond to comments or social media shares. Try using dead time: while waiting for an appointment, lunch or coffee breaks, or other blocks of time to get these things done.

Find more tips for managing your social media (when you have no time).

Write down your ideas…immediately! Have you ever had the greatest idea for a blog post ever, but an hour later you completely forgot what it was? Welcome to my world. I overcome that by writing my ideas down immediately. I use Evernote, because it syncs between my phone, iPad, and computer, but a scrap of paper will serve the purpose in a pinch.

Have a plan. Create a plan for both your blog and social media schedule (they should obviously align). Set aside the time for writing your post, plus some time each week for scheduling social media. Finding time in your schedule where you can work without interruptions is priceless. You will get twice the work done in half the time.

Tell a story. Think of your blog post like a story. It should have a beginning, middle (climax), and an end. Pull your reader in and they will stick around to hear more.

Share your expertise. If you’re an expert on something (which most of us are), share your expertise. It could be fitness, parenting, or fashion, you know something that many other people don’t, so enlighten them.

Let YOU shine through. That’s why your readers will stick around. Be authentic. Don’t try to imitate other popular bloggers because, well, you’re not them. Be YOU.

Make your blog reader friendly. I am personally turned off by blogs with really bright colors, small print, and too much going on visually. Make your blog welcoming with a nice, clean theme, and a font that is easy (and large enough) to read easily.

Check your mobile view. Even though it’s been months since Google instituted penalties for poor mobile performance, many blogs are still difficult to read on a phone or tablet. Considering more than half of your readers may be using a mobile device to read your blog, you might want to make sure that your theme is mobile-friendly.

Have “follow me” buttons that are easy to find. They should all be together, near the top of your page, or in your header. Seriously, if I have to search, I’m not going to follow.

Check your sidebar. Do the widgets in your sidebar add up like mine tend to? Somehow, even though I love a clean look to my blog, I always end up with too many badges, ads, and other paraphernalia in my sidebar. Take some time every now and then to clean it out.

Mind your grammar. If you know me you’re probably surprised that this tip was so far down the list. Most of us aren’t English majors, so all we can do is our best, but please, make sure to do your best to use good grammar. (And feel free to call me out on any of my errors in the comments.)

Here are my biggest Grammar Gripes.

Take a breath. I know this is a lot of information. Much of it might not even apply to you or your blog. I also know that blogging can become overwhelming sometimes, so step back, take a breath, and then dig in. You’ve got this!

Now it’s time to scroll on down for the Blogger’s Pit Stop!

Looking for the Blogger’s Pit Stop? Find it here.

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My weekly linkups! Please stop by and check out all of the great recipes, workouts, and information that all these awesome bloggers share every week!

Sunday Blog Hop with Jenn
Meatless Monday with Tina and Deborah
Meatless Monday with Annmarie 
Inspire Me Monday with Janice
Anything Goes with Marilyn
Bonnie, the Pin Junkie
Tip Tuesday with Debbie in Shape
Wild Workout Wednesday with Annmarie, Michelle, Sarah, and Angelena Marie
Wednesday Wisdom with Nanna’s Wisdom
The Blogger’s Pit Stop with Kathleen
Friday Fitness with Jill