Angie from MO asks,
What are the 5 things a new blogger should do every day, no exceptions?
Great question Angie! As a blogger, there are a myriad of things on your to-do list every day. And as a human, we simply can never accomplish everything on those lists. It’s good to par down as much as you possibly can and spend your time extremely wise on your blog.
The absolutely non-negotiable 5 things new bloggers should do every day are…
Guide to 5 Things New Bloggers Should Do Every Day
1) Look for Patterns
Listen, if you’re not researching data daily, your dead in the water before you begin! There are certain things you should be tracking and some things you don’t have to. In my new Blogging Binder, there’s an incredibly helpful printable called, “Yearly Stats.” These are the crucial stats you keep track of on your blog each and every month.
This one printable template alone is by FAR one of THE most important things I’ve done for my blog.
I’ve kept accurate records since the first month I started blogging and I gotta say, it’s really helped me tremendously over the years, not only in seeing my growth in numbers we CANNOT go back and get, but also to see patterns.
It’ll help you see things you CANNOT see without that sheet. And it’s all there for you so you know exactly what to fill in and track every month with spaces to track more things of your choice.
I remember working in banking and pulling end of month stats. I would go through all the data each month and track certain things to see growth or decline and turn it into the President of the credit union. He would then, go through with a microscope, and compare to see what was working, what was not working, etc. Without tracking these things, I’m sorry, but a blogger is dead in the water.
Here’s the thing, if you want to make money like a business, you’ve got to treat your blog LIKE a business. This is what businesses do. They track the heck out of everything. You absolutely must teach yourself to get good at tracking things.
2) Be Yourself and Never Stop
You will be constantly bombarded with pressure to change who you are as a person and as a blogger. You absolutely must not yield to any temptation, daily committing yourself to keeping your focus strong and letting who you are as a person, shine through on your blog.
I get requests all the time to take God off my blog. It’s annoying, offensive, etc. But listen, it doesn’t matter. If it’s offensive to someone, I can’t help them. Because I have to stay true to who I am and let who I am shine through in EVERYTHING I do. My blog is NOT for everyone and I’m okay with that. Those that I CAN help, I will help, but it’ll be without selling out on my principles.
Never, ever stop being yourself for money or anything else.
3) Treat Your Audience Like Gold Out of a Sincere and Genuine Heart
In a world full of fakers, you must absolutely be sincere and treat your audience (and everyone you come in contact with) like they are your best friend. This isn’t to get something out of it. Just the opposite. The bloggers that REALLY do well, if you follow them for a while, you’ll see that they really have a desire to help people. You have to LOVE someone you want to serve.
What you believe in your heart, whether you’re in it for the money or people, will show over time. Every day, I set aside 30 minutes to personally answer emails from my audience. Why? Because I want to help and it shines through.
I think a lot of times, as a blogger gets bigger, they forget why it is they blogged in the first place, which is easy to do. They have to go back to their roots. It’s about their audience. It’s about making people’s lives a little bit easier, making them feel and know that they are not the only person in the world going through something. Ultimately, that’s what blogging is all about…helping others.
4) Guest Posts and Interviews
SO many bloggers fall short in this area, but this is, by far, one of THE most important requirements you need to be doing for your blog! Do NOT push it to the back burner.
Many, many bloggers do not see the real value in guest posting or completing interviews and I think it’s a real shame. Or perhaps they see the value in it and dismiss blogs and bloggers who want to interview them or they can guest post on who don’t have a lot of traffic.
Recently, I received a couple interview requests from bloggers who don’t get a whole lot of traffic at all. Maybe like 1,000 traffics a month. And while many bloggers would just look the other way, I take the time to go out of my way to answer their questions and be interviewed. Why? Because I feel it’s the right thing to do. Why should I treat someone with a million pageviews a month differently than I would someone with one thousand pageviews a month? Are we not all human beings?!?! Are we not all trying to help our family’s and get ahead? Does the love of Christ differ based on success? NO!
Doing interviews for Yahoo would be the same importance to me as doing an interview for a newer blogger. Yes, I may be more EXCITED to do an interview for Yahoo, I’ll be honest, it’s quite a feat, but that we should not be blowing off other bloggers, no matter how big or small they are, and that’s what I really love about being a pro-blogger.
I get to show the love of Christ to everyone. I get to help newer bloggers and seasoned bloggers alike, because I just genuinely WANT to help. Am I perfect at this? No. But I do try my absolute best.
Now all that is to say that I don’t currently do Podcasts or video’s or things like that. I’m working toward that stage of getting out of my comfort zone and I’ll be the first to admit, I struggle in that area. But for written interviews, I participate, and going a step above, I then promote those interviews! Every single one of them in some way or another.
The same is true for guest posts. A lot of bloggers just don’t see the value, but it really is the BEST way to get your stuff in front of a completely different audience.
5) Do One Thing and Do It Well
Don’t be a jack of all trades, master of none. Pick one area, master it, then move on to another area, master IT, and keep going. It will take some time, but you’ll just be helping more and more people with your knowledge and content as you go.
One of the first things I started on was Pinterest as a new blogger, because I just loved the platform personally (obsessed). You can take a look at my account and easily see that I’m a power pinner (I have over 200,000 followers currently and do quite well). I’ve put in over 500+ hours over the past couple years on that platform to get to where I am today. I rock it and I know it. That’s not pride, that’s from a stance that I know it well because I’ve worked it so hard.
But Pinterest could go away tomorrow, along with a lot of my traffic. So, I then began to work on my newsletter. I was getting about 600 signups for my newsletter each month around this time last year. I have worked that so much so, that now, I’m getting about 10,500 signups a month. In one year, 600/m to 10,500/m. I’m no rocket scientist, but I’d say that’s pretty astounding! But it didn’t come without hard work and focusing on ONE thing for a year at a time.
Remember, unless your tracking stuff, you won’t be able to see these patterns and know your stats, so be sure to check out that Blogging Binder. It is worth every penny, I assure you!
Right now…I’m working on Twitter and my account is absolutely pathetic, BUT…I know that I can invest in it for a year and make it great, because I’m determined to do so. Take ONE thing at a time. DO NOT do a bunch of stuff.
Don’t try to be everywhere, just do one thing well, then move on and do another thing well. After a few years, you’ll be leaps and bounds above others in your niche because you took the time to build it right!
Do you have any blogging tips for new bloggers? Are there any ideas you’d add for blogging for beginners?
