Successes and Mistakes: Blogging in 2013

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I am glad that what has essentially been a rather difficult year has come to an end and (like most others, I am sure) I’m in a reflective mood. I had prepared several posts that reviewed the various events of the last twelve months, but I decided to combine them.

At times, I can be extremely lazy.

A year ago this blog didn’t exist. I created it in April after spending years writing random thoughts in various notebooks, which I never finished – Paperchase was making a fortune from me and my bedroom cupboard was stacked with beautiful books that all contained one or two pages of (often repeated) scribblings. The Bloke, my partner of four years, directed me to WordPress and thus Suzie81 was born. I chose the name quickly and without much thought – my name and the year I was born – I didn’t have any expectations, other than perhaps a few nerves about it being discovered by people that I know, I had no plan, theme or any idea of what I wanted to write about – the important thing was the process of writing itself.

In the last eight months my little blog, and my life, has grown beyond all expectations. As I write, I have gained over 3,000 followers and my posts have received over 70,000 views. Compared to some, this is tiny, but I have been absolutely gobsmacked by the response that I have received. I’ve been spoilt with nominations for numerous awards, I was Freshly Pressed in November and for the first time in years I have a project that I never seem to get bored of – I love every minute of it and can easily spend hours at a time reading posts and writing my own. I have found something that I genuinely want to do. I’ve met some amazing people, formed small relationships with them and I have started to get to know a little about their interesting lives.

For me, blogging has involved trial, error and experimentation. I’ve tried things that have been successful and lots of things that haven’t, and if I were to go back to the beginning I would change quite a few elements of the way I originally started. I have posted this sort of thing several times before over the last few months, but I hope that by sharing my successes and mistakes it can be useful to some of the newer followers I have gained recently.

A theme is not necessarily important, but a title is.
I hate the name of my blog. With blogging, as with life, I am impatient and hastily chose a name so I could get started quickly and as a result I am now contemplating changing it to something more representative of myself and my writing. Take a little time to think about who you are and what message you have, and choose a title that will draw others in. However, despite what seems to be common opinion, the content of your blog doesn’t have to have a specific theme – I’ve written about everything from books, films, politics, my daily adventures and things that I have experienced, to opinions on controversial topics, things that amuse me and I have taken the opportunity to post photographs that I have taken. Whatever you choose to write about, you will always find others that share similar interests.

Choose a layout that is easy to follow.
As with my title, I dislike my layout. It has taken two or three changes to get an idea of what I actually do want, but I wish I had taken more time to do this in the beginning. Choose your layout wisely – I have read hundreds of posts that are very difficult to read because of a clash of colour or font, with no links to other posts, and this discourages me from continuing further.

Quantity versus quality.
I originally felt that it was important to post as much as possible, as often as possible and in a way, I still stand by this. The more consistent you are in your approach to blogging, the more likely that your traffic will increase. There are no set amount of times you should post – I follow bloggers that post daily (sometimes three or four times daily), weekly and monthly. However, avoid posting something just for the sake of it. When I first started I was excited and desperate to release all the different thoughts that were swimming around in my head, but upon reflection I should have slowed down and thought about it a little more. I reviewed my earlier posts about a month ago and was genuinely disappointed by what I saw, so I am now in the process of deleting some and re-writing others. Out of the 550 posts I have churned out this year, I think that about 10% of those are what I would consider to be of an acceptable standard, with a further 10% that need editing. Content is king.

Read, read and read again.
I’ve lost count of the amount of times I have published something and then noticed mistakes. Take time to actually read what you’ve written before you post it. Incidentally, while we are on the subject, avoid writing like you would on Facbook and Twitter. I’ve said this before, and I may sound snobbish for doing so, but I switch off the minute I read ‘lol’ and ‘so, like.’

Credit where credit is due.
Use images – it will make your site far more interesting. Make sure that your images are of good quality and are relevant to the topic of your post or you may confuse your readers. If you use something that you haven’t created, make sure that you credit the person who did. I still occasionally forget to do this. However, I would like to add here that I personally do not wish to see harrowing images of cruelty – I appreciate if a blogger is discussing a particularly heartbreaking subject, but these images stay with me for a long time. I’ll read a post about dog fighting and what can be done to stop it, but I don’t want to see pictures of it. This is one of the reasons why I rarely use Facebook.

Blogging is hard work – building traffic.
If you have your sights set on becoming a professional blogger, be prepared to really work for it. Unless you create a post that goes viral, your blog is not going to be a success overnight. Or over a year. Or two. Or even five. Your blog will not be viewed by 50 million people simply by pressing the ‘publish’ button. If you are a stat whore, (as I have become) the number of views you will receive will depend on the way you promote your blog:

  •   Meet other bloggers. Read their posts, chat, get to know them a little. WordPress offers Daily Prompts, Weekly Writing Challenges, Weekly Photo Challenges and a Community Pool that provides fantastic opportunities to meet others who are covering the same topics. However, if you wish to build more of a relationship with others, avoid the ‘follow to get a follow’ policy. I have noticed that this started to creep in recently – I instantly move away upon pleas for follows, likes and reblogs. I follow a blog because I like it, not because they have asked me to.
  • Tag your posts properly. The tags should relate to the content of your posts and will help you reach readers with similar interests. When I first started, I only used two or three, now I use between eight and twelve.
  • Use a catchy title. These will instantly grab the attention of a passing reader.
  • Use other forms of social media and include an email button. Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Linkedin… all are extremely useful for promoting your blog to a wider audience. I don’t have a Facebook link and only recently joined Twitter, and if I were to do this again I would establish these links earlier.
  • Host ‘Blog Parties.’ Invite bloggers to share their favourite post and encourage them to meet others. However, you should only do this when you have a larger following or you may end up being sorely disappointed. Trust me.
  • Share the work of others. There are some bloggers that have been extremely generous when promoting my posts and as a result I have gained lots of new followers. I like to return the favour by reblogging posts from some of my favourite blogs. I have also invited lots of guest bloggers to write post for me, and have guest blogged on other sites.
  • Take the time to respond to those that comment on your work. As my following has grown I have found this increasingly difficult but I try to reply them as often as possible – a lovely comment boosts my confidence in my writing and I always try and say thank you. Avoid any trolls that may come your way – I’ve had little experience with these but I have seen others who have received quite a bit of backlash, mainly due to the jealously of others at their successes.

Bloggers enjoy a debate.
When discussing a somewhat controversial subject, invite others to give their opinion. Questions as simple as ‘What do you think?’ at the end of a post will encourage readers to join in. I’ve had lots of really interesting discussions as a result of this.

Most importantly, enjoy what you write about.
I’ve slugged away at many posts that I haven’t been happy with and as a result I haven’t received the response that I wanted. Your passion for your subject will be evident to your readers and will encourage them to read on. Isn’t that the point of writing in the first place? Again, content is king.

What do you think? Have you got any useful hints and tips for new bloggers?

You can also find me on Twitter @Suzie81blog

239 thoughts on “Successes and Mistakes: Blogging in 2013”

  2. Good advice, Suzie. I think you succeed because you follow what I consider to be an important blogging principle: Write what you care about, and care about what you write. Thanks.

  3. So true. Ive been blogging since august and i began for similar reasons. Notebooks everywhere! One piece of advice that was given to me was to a oid pictures if it’s just for the sake of posting one. I didn’t have a quality camera and some of my photos were garbage. I took their advice because it’s true!

  4. Awesome advice, you touched on a few things that I need to work on and you actually reminded me of a few things. I agree with you on the “follow, get followed” situation – it drives me nuts, especially since 90% of my followers are all people who comment/read regularly and lately I just get people who are there purely to get followers and actually don’t care too much about what I’m writing.

  6. You’ve hit many nails on the head with your advice, Suzie. I’ve reblogged your post to share the knowledge. Your last bit of advice is best – enjoy what you write about. It’s true! I can’t post just to post, I have to be happy with what I’m writing about and the finished product. I’ve also learned that in order to grow followers, you have to be one yourself – read other blogs, make comments, hit the like button, reblog posts, etc. It takes time, but you end up finding some of the most wonderful blogs and people around the world.

  7. Great year in review! I also am always analyzing and finding some of my posts “too easy” or not very well written. I will join you in a commitment, resolution per se, to be a better blogger! Smiles and thanks for being there, Suzie! This was filled with honest feelings I have had, too.

  8. I wish I could have found a post like this when I started blogging in August – it would have helped so much because I was completely clueless. Your post is a great read to any blogger, old or new. Thank you! 🙂

    Keep posting and have fun!

  9. Great post! I have learnt it is better to take my time rather than rush to post something. I also agree that I want followers who are interested in my reviews rather than those who follow but never read anything. I love your blog for the variety Suzie and would like to take this opportunity to thank you for being supportive to me as well as the wider blogger community!

  12. Thank you for your candid advice! I am new to the blogging world and will come back to your posts for more advice and interesting reading in the future.

  13. Congrats on all the success you’ve had!

    I love all the advice you give here. I think your section on blogging being hard work is extremely true. And layout is a HUGE pet peeve of mine! I get super turned off of a site if I can’t follow the organization.

  14. all great advice, suzie. i think the best advice comes from those who have actually experienced something and you are the perfect example of that. best to you in 2014, beth

  17. I really enjoyed reading this post a lot. I think you’re a great writer and your blog has lots of potential to continue on into the future. Don’t stop doing what you love. I enjoy reading your posts and you definitely have me coming back. Have a Happy New Year!!!

  18. Great tips here, and good for any beginning blogger to those more experienced.

    Congrats on your success and here’s to an even better New Years!

  19. I read all your tips and took time to reflect and said to my self.. ” I do all those things” but I still only have 37 followers so I wouldn’t host a “blog party” yet as you stated, it would be pointless. My blog enriches my career – which is ‘health and wellness’, I teach 14 classes a week,,, I LOVE my life! Im a happy and contented person who is effecting peoples lives in a positive way, Would I like to have a viral experience? YES please… I guess I haven’t earned it yet. Thank you for tips, I find it refreshing – when people share instead of grip onto their success. Happy NEW YEAR… my DEAR

  21. My blog started ostensibly as a running blog but now, a year and a bit on, has morphed into an allsorts blog. Damned if I know how to retrieve it from its lack of focus, though I`m enjoying the evolutionary process.

    Great tips, here. Although I’ll stop short at asking questions at the end of my posts because it seems too contrived. Hadn`t heard of blog parties before though. Sounds like they might be fun, especially as I won`t have to dress up or bring a gift!

  24. Awesome. I agree with your suggestion in various aspects especially the font and theme on blogs. I love reading so I expect to be able to easily read content on blogs I follow. However, sometimes I feel like the blog owners don’t read their posts on the blogs as I find it is too difficult to read because of font size, font color, or alignment. I once in a while gave up reading their posts even though I really wanted to read them.

    And for photoblog, I think if they intend to create photoblog, they should set photo to be big to capture attention. Nevertheless, I’ve found some bloggers set their photoblogs to show very small pictures without any accompany words which I don’t understand why they chose to set their theme like that if they want to show their photography skill.

    By the way, thank you for your advice. It is useful 🙂

  25. This is great advice 🙂 Congrats on getting Freshly Pressed!
    I really need to get working on my blog more often… Wishing you all the best for a wonderful and equally productive 2014!

  27. As always, a great post. You break it all down so nicely. You can tell you are a teacher, you have taught me a couple new things this morning and I am so glad I am learning them now. Thank you! BTW… I do like your blog name, although you may have picked it out quickly, I smile when I see that Suzie81 has visited my blog. I often wondered what the 81 was for…

  29. Where can I find the weekly writing challenges? Heard of them but can’t find. Thanks in advance!

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  36. Some really great advice and I share a lot of your thoughts and ideas and have really enjoyed blogging since I started back in September. My mission is to get on Freshly Pressed as I see that as a really big achievement. I spent most of today on my latest post hoping it has FP potential but ven if it doesn’t I really enjoyed writing it and would be even be happy if only one person read it. As a more experienced blogger, I’d appreciate your thoughts:

    An Open Letter To The Gregorian Calendar
    http://stevemcp2002.wordpress.com/2013/12/29/an-open-letter-to-the-gregorian-calendar/

    Have a great New Year.

    • I enjoyed it – it’s certainly an interesting take on the subject! I couldn’t give you any advice about the Freshly Pressed quality of it i’m afraid – each post that is featured is completely individual with an entirely different content. What I would say is don’t focus your blogging on this one enormous goal that essentially you aren’t in control of – concentrate on meeting new people and building your following…

  39. Awesome work. You have shared some very important and wonderful points here….Very very useful ones. I appreciate your effort to help us by sharing this post with us ! Very well done 🙂 Love you xx

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  41. Very well written, Suzi. Very good tips for both new and old bloggers. Even though some of them are obvious, common sense tips, we miss it when we actually post articles. Good to have such a reminder. Wish you many more success with your blogging life.

  43. Sorry Suzie, I’m re-posting it to my active (technical) blog. I don’t know why, last time I did, it posted to my dead (“hidden”) blog. I liked this article and I want more people to read it. Hope you don’t mind! Thanks again!

  47. I just joined in Worldpress a couple of days ago, i just want to write something to improve my english because i find it quite difficult . Just having a quick look on your writing and i see that you do your blog so good. Look up to you, i will try to boosth my selft. It’s nice if i can make friend with you.

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  50. Very well written and extremely useful tips for anyone starting to blog (as I’m one of them). I look forward to reading more of what you have to offer in the future. Thank you.

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