Blogging Hints and Tips: What Do You Want To Know?

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I’ve been emailed many times over the last few weeks with requests for blogging tips and advice. As I had a little bit of time free last night, I sat down and wrote everything I could think of that I deemed to be useful, and then proceeded to edit it and go through the word count.

It was over 4,000 words long.

As I realise that most people don’t have the time, nor the patience to read an epic post of that length, I have decided to break it down into a series over the space of several weeks. This would coincide perfectly with my blogiversary (I don’t care if you don’t like that word, I’m using it anyway) at the beginning of April and would be a great opportunity for me to be able to share what I’ve learnt from my little adventures over the last two years.

To make it as useful as possible, I need your help here:

What is it that you want to know? Feel free to email, tweet me or leave a question in the comment section below and I’ll do my best to answer your questions in my next few posts.

You can also find me on Twitter and Tumblr @suzie81blog and don’t forget to check out my facebook page http://www.facebook.com/suzie81speaks

57 thoughts on “Blogging Hints and Tips: What Do You Want To Know?”

  2. I’d love to know how to increase my traffic besides all the ways usually recommended (engage with other blogs, etc., etc.). I could follow tons myself in hopes of attracting more readers but frankly, I don’t have time to read every post every day on every blog I subscribe to so that I can comment on them. I’m sure some of my subscribers are in the same boat. Thank you!

  3. I would like to know how to set up my own # for my Writer’s Quote Wednesday. Not sure how to do that. Thanks Suzie. ❤

  4. Great idea Suzie, I’ll be watching out for your posts with baited breath! And I’ll specifically looking out for any tips or advice on how to make the leap between amateur and professional blogger – i.e. how do we get into commercialisation gently without it being too scary a jump?! Keep up the great work!! Cheers,

  5. This is really cool because I echo the sentiments of the bloggers who have already left responses. Commercialization, increase traffic and creating my own hashtags along with everything else I don’t know as of right now (which leaves the field wide open) for I truly don’t even know what to ask you to teach me. Thank you for being so kind to even invite comment!

  6. I’m so glad you’ve decided to do this! My questions:
    1. How do you make time to blog? I have school, family, friends, volunteering, etc. to attend to. (I’ve tried scheduling posts to be consistent, but I still don’t have time to write tho them)
    2. I’ve asked my readers what they want me to write, but none of them responded. What should I do to interact with them more?

    Thanks a lot!

    • Time is one of the biggest issues in blogging. Quite simply, if you don’t have the time then you can’t write… You can only post when you can and there aren’t any rules as to how often you should post. With regards to interaction, my next post is about comments and I’ll be posting that tonight. Feel free to check it out!

  7. One of the things that I didn’t know early-on was that people can change the replies that you make. One person did so, with excruciatingly embarrassing consequences. As a result, I rarely reply on a blog that looks like it might belong to someone under the age of 18.

      • Some kid took what I wrote, added in a curse word I NEVER use, and made it appear that I wrote something I would never write (along the lines of, “When I’m alone I @&$# myself”). I was intensely upset by the maliciousness of the “joke” and complained to WordPress. I also asked other bloggers if this had happened to them. It looks like the person went into the comments section and edited my answer, but it’s never happened to me since that time.

        The second problem was a blog site I thought was humor. Ends up, the blogger really did think she was destined to run the world and let me know that once she was on her throne she was coming for me. The difference is, there were no curse words, no one tried to edit my comment, so the second time, I laughed and never ventured into her little world of delusion again.

      • On my goodness, I’ve never heard of that happening! I’ve had to deal with the occasional douchebag but I’ve never known my comments to be changed! That’s awful!! I try not to judge, but there are some people out there that shouldn’t be allowed access to a computer!

      • Giving a child unrestricted access to a computer is like giving him a missile silo, both keys and a launch button. Anyone who’s surprised that there’s a missile coming toward them isn’t firing on all thrusters. 🙂

    • I pay for a premium wordpress site and my domain name, but I know very little about self hosting. Instead, I’ll refer you to my friend who did that… Do you mean you want to go to a wordpress.org or something completely independent?

  11. Thank you so much, Suzie! I really appreciate you taking the time to provide us with what I know will be extremely helpful hints and tips. I am looking forward to reading every single word!! Cher xo

  13. This sounds like a wonderful idea, I can’t wait for your advice. I think my questions seem so far to be similar to everyone else, so I’ll just await the posts, I know the advice will be amazing. 🙂
    P.S. I know you’re busy, especially with all the changes, but if you get a chance, I’d love for your to join my ongoing blog party to share your blog info, promote this upcoming blog advice series, etc. – you’re even mentioned in the post itself 🙂 http://yadadarcyyada.com/2015/03/17/march-madness-spring-fling-blog-party/

  14. Hi Suzie! Just as you’re leaving teaching, I’m becoming a teacher. Like you, I have pictures of myself on my blog. I’m not going to blog about teaching, or mention anyone by name. Is there anything else I should do as a non-anonymous teacher who blogs?

    • I got burnt by sharing the fact I have a blog with my colleagues and my blog was used against me. My best advice is to keep everything as anonymous as possible – use separate social media accounts, don’t post anything on your personal facebook page and don’t tell anyone at work about your blogs existence…

      • Thanks for the advice! I’ll definitely keep my blog a secret. I won’t be anonymous because, well, I’m not anonymous now and it’s kind of hard to put that genie back in the bottle. I think I’ll be okay, though. My rule is: “Don’t post about specific people unless it’s positive, don’t post about teaching period, and for everything else, make sure my great-grandma wouldn’t have a problem with it.” 🙂

  15. That sounds like a wonderful idea!
    I want to know what it means to increase traffic on blog – a 10 from 1 is an increase and so is 1000 from 500. The question is what’s the number that decides if the blog is doing good or is well read?

  16. Do you think it’s okay to be transparent? I’ve been told my blogs are “too negative” and that I should “try to write only positive things” for a month. I don’t think I am negative (and this is only one person telling me this), but I’m self doubting myself now. I struggle with depression and low self-esteem, but I don’t blog about it constantly. In fact, one twitter follower added me to their “positive blogger” list. Is it okay to show your dark side (not the happy, shiny people side) once in awhile?

    • Hi Sue! At the end of the day, it’s your blog, your space and you have every right to discuss whatever you wish in whatever time you like. Don’t create content for other people – if you want to rant about something or are feeling low, then do so. Any ‘advice’ given by others should be appreciated, but doesn’t have to be adhered to. I’m doing a post about comments tonight…

  18. I’m jealous. I want people to ask me for blogging advice. If they did, I could nod sagely, tilting my head a bit to one side to show how contemplative I was being, and then laugh like a hyeana because nobody’s going to ask me for blogging advice. And yet, I dream. I look forward to your wisdom.

    • Bahahahaha! Awesome comment. I actually sat here and demonstrated my contemplative tilt to The Bloke, but he just rolled his eyes and said I looked like I was a bit constipated…

  19. Hmm, I like this. Let’s see: I’m not a regular poster, but I’ve had my blog for 3 years. Sometimes I’ve worked on it a BUNCH and sometimes I’ve had to be absent. I always wonder if it’s better to keep going, or delete and start another when I have time to devote to it…

    • Of course, it’s entirely up to you what you decide to do with your own blog. However, after three years I would be gutted to have to start all over again.

      I try and review my blog and delete posts I’m not happy with. Why don’t you start by looking through your posts and selecting your favourites, them deleting some of the rest! Advertise it as a re-launch?

  21. I’m having trouble with my time management in reading other people’s blogs. I love doing it, and I’m a speed reader, but I can’t figure out how to expedite the process. Every day I would be getting anywhere between 600 and 800 new blog entries to read, per day, and it would take the entire morning, and sometimes into the afternoon, to read them all, and leave comments, etc. Any tips on how to manage the blog-reading-and-responding process better would be welcomed and appreciated. Thanks!–A.C.F.

    • Time is definitely one of the biggest issues when blogging. I don’t think it’s possible to keep up with that many blogs – I follow about 250 and I struggle, so I don’t know about 600! I’ll do a post about it!

  22. Pingback: Why I’m Not Deleting My Blog | Elegant Zest

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