Share Your Blog With #SundayBlogShare!

Posted on July 26, 2015 by suzie81speaks

In November 2014 I started a hashtag – #SundayBlogShare – that allowed bloggers to share their links and meet new people. It was not a new idea, I had been participating in similar link ups hosted by other bloggers throughout the year, but I found it to be really useful when networking and getting my posts out to a wider audience.

Eight months later it has become the biggest Twitter party of the weekend (to my knowledge anyway), with hundreds of bloggers around the world sharing thousands of links each Sunday, and it now trends on a weekly basis. I’m still in awe of how much it has grown, and I’ve been lucky to have found wonderful new blogs that I follow on a regular basis.

Want to join #SundayBlogShare? The instructions and guidelines are simple: Continue reading →

Seven Basic Ways To Increase Your Blog Traffic in Thirty Minutes

Posted on May 26, 2015 by suzie81speaks

You’ve written a blog post that you’re proud of. You’ve read, re-read, edited, re-edited and then edited again once after you’ve inevitably discovered lots of mistakes that were missed. You’ve created a pinnable picture and included all your social media links.

Then the little-one starts to cry. Dinner needs to be made. The laundry needs to be hung out to dry. In my world, papers need to be marked.

For those of us that want our blogs to be seen, but have busy schedules, children, jobs and homes to maintain, we often find it difficult to promote ourselves to the biggest possible audience. Time is always our biggest barrier and in the blogging world it is highly unlikely that a post will receive lots of views simply by pressing the publish button. Continue reading →

It’s Party Time!

Posted on April 11, 2015 by suzie81speaks

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This week marks my two year blogiversary, and I decided that the best way to celebrate would be to invite you all to my blog party!

It has been quite a while since I last hosted a blog party, and I absolutely love them, so I’d like you all to put on your best outfits, grab a drink (mine is a Mojito for anyone that’s interested) and get your blog on! For those of you that have never participated in one before, the rules are simple:

1. Choose your favourite post from your own blog. The subject of the post can be anything you like – blogging, food, parenting, life, travel, thoughts, photography… Note: This should be only one post at a time or it will get sent straight to the ‘spam’ folder and I may not be able to find you for a while. I don’t have an issue with you posting another link separately, but please don’t share more than three – spend the time visiting other bloggers instead.

2. Paste the link to your post in the comment section of this post.

3. Enjoy! Relax, pull up a chair, meet new people! Find new blogs, comment on their posts, be polite, courteous and respectful, follow, reblog and share. Let them know that you met them here! This is a really useful way of discovering new blogs, particularly if you have only just joined the blogging world – the general rule that I set myself when I participate is that I check out at least two or three other bloggers…

You don’t have to follow me to participate, you don’t have to be an established blogger – you could have written just a single post – and feel free to invite your friends!

Want to discover six WordPress blogs without waiting for others to post their links? Check out my sponsors – they’re all fabulous bloggers and they would love to meet you – you can find their blogs in my sidebar, just click on the image for the link!

You’re welcome to share this post on all of your social media accounts too! You can find me on Twitter and Tumblr @suzie81blog, and don’t forget to visit my Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/suzie81speaks

And remember…

NOTE 1: Don’t forget to join me for #SundayBlogShare tomorrow!

NOTE 2: I’VE JUST FOUND TEN POSTS IN MY SPAM FOLDER THAT I HAVE NOW APPROVED – APOLOGIES FOR THIS!

Want To Boost Your Traffic? Advertising Opportunities on Suzie81 Speaks

Posted on April 1, 2015 by suzie81speaks

Are you looking to boost your blog? Suzie81 Speaks is looking to give sponsored and advertising opportunities!

There are two different types of advertising opportunities available: a monthly sponsorship space and a single ‘Blog of The Day.’

Here are a few facts about Suzie81 Speaks (of which proof can be provided if necessary on request).

Since Suzie81 Speaks began in April 2013 (two years ago), it has received nearly 386,000 views.
Total number of views in 2013: 72,556
Number of views over 2014: 265,800
Average number of views a day in 2014: Between 600 and 1500.
Current number of followers: 11,500 (approx 6,450 WordPress, 4,950 Twitter, 130 Tumblr). I also have a fairly new Facebook page with 285 ‘likes,’ and it is growing weekly.

MONTHLY ADVERTISING SPACES

I am offering advertising spaces here on Suzie81Speaks every month for a period of four weeks (and I say four weeks because some months are longer) at a cost of £25.00

A £25.00 advertising package will last for a period of four weeks and will entitle you to:

A 185 x 185px button/banner in the upper right corner of the page, with a direct link to your blog/company, which is a fixed feature for every page of Suzie81 Speaks.
A reblog of one of your posts throughout the month
Introductions via social media to some of my favourite bloggers.
Promotion in the form of links to your blog/company during my #SundayBlogShare party each Sunday on Twitter.

PLEASE NOTE – the conversion rate from USD to GBP is 1=0.6254, which means that the total in US Dollars will be approximately $38.49

If you wish to advertise your blog for the next four weeks, please email me at suzie81blog@hotmail.co.uk where we can discuss the terms and conditions of the advertising.

Feel free to check out the sponsors that I have in my sidebar – I’m sure that they would love to see new people!

BLOG OF THE DAY

This is available to WordPress followers only and there is a single space for one blogger every Sunday. There are two price options available:

Option 1: £9.00

A single promotional post about your blog with links to all of your social media accounts on Sunday afternoon
A reblog of a post of your choice on Sunday evening, during my highest traffic.
Promotional tweets to my #SundayBlogShare Twitter party during the day.

Option 2: £12.00

A single promotional post about your blog with links to all of your social media accounts on Sunday afternoon
A reblog of a post of your choice on Sunday evening, during my highest traffic.
Promotional tweets to my #SundayBlogShare Twitter party during the day.
Promotional tweets to all of the Twitter parties throughout the week that I participate in.
Introductions via social media to some of my favourite bloggers.

Disclaimers:

I cannot guarantee an increase in following, or traffic, but everyone that has been featured as Blog of The Day so far has indeed received higher views than their usual traffic.
I cannot (and will not) offer opportunities to any blogs that promote content that is racist, sexist, homophobic or promote any form of cruelty to animals. This includes hunting for sport and the wearing of fur for fashion.

Interested? Email me at suzie81blog@hotmail.co.uk.

Similarly, if you wish me to review products for your company, also feel free to email me at the same address.

Note: all payments are made through PayPal and are required in advance.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

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

Blog Advice 2: A Comment On Comments

Posted on March 30, 2015 by suzie81speaks

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I remember receiving my very first blog comment. I was absolutely elated that someone had not only read what I had to say, but had taken some of their time to be able to let me know that they had enjoyed it. While I always, and will continue to, write for myself, it inspired me to keep going.

Since then, the comments that I have received from so many people across the blogosphere have helped me through some extremely difficult times over the last few years.

Comments, in my opinion, are one of the driving forces behind building a community – they forge connections and relationships and can be instrumental when increasing traffic to your posts. Last year, when things were particularly busy, I was pretty awful at replying to comments and I lost followers because of it. This year, I made a promise to myself that I would try to reply to as many as possible, and I’ve done my best to keep up with it.

I am often asked questions about comments:

1. How can I encourage people to comment on my blog?
2. How can I find the time to reply to comments that I receive?
3. How do I deal with negative comments?

However, before I begin, I would like to point out one thing: comments should be in response to something that you have written, not the basis for how you blog and what you blog about. It is your space of the Internet and at no point should a reader dictate the content of your posts.

Encouraging and responding to comments

I like to encourage discussion and as many comments as possible on Suzie81 Speaks, and I do this in several different ways:

I ask a question at the bottom of my posts: What about you? How do you feel about…? Have you ever had to deal with…? This is an open invitation for others to leave a comment and share their personal experiences.

I read and appreciate all of the comments I receive, and I try to reply to as many as I possibly can, often asking questions or requesting advice.

I read a twitter conversation a few months ago between two bloggers that focused on comments and how often they responded to them. Both were in agreement in that they shouldn’t reply if all they were going to do was just say ‘thank you,’ because of the length of time it takes and the fact that they were just too busy. I clicked on their blogs, expecting to see hundreds of responses, only to find that one of the bloggers had received two or three comments on their posts, while the other had maybe ten or fifteen.

On an average day Suzie81 Speaks receives thirty to fifty comments, and sometimes this will increase to nearly a hundred at the weekends. That doesn’t include tweets, facebook messages and emails. In the last month this little blog has had over 1,100 comments, including replies I have left.

While it is hardly setting the blogging world on fire, I try to respond to as many as I possibly can, depending on how busy I am in my work schedule. I may not reply on the same day, or sometimes in the same week, fortnight, or even month (!) but I personally feel that if someone has responded to something you have written, they deserve your acknowledgement and gratitude for doing so, even if it is just a simple ‘thank you.’ Wouldn’t you expect the same? If you are inundated with comments and want to reply, then you need to find the time. I have found that I have had to create one less post a week and then use that time to reply to comments instead.

Leaving comments on other blogs

There are two reasons to leave a comment on another bloggers post: sharing your thoughts about the subject they have discussed, and increasing your own traffic. I usually only leave comments on blogs that I follow – using the comment section purely for traffic boosting purposes is not wrong in any way, but isn’t particularly genuine.

Rather than discuss how to leave a comment, I thought that it might be fun to create a list. There are several different types of commenters that I have seen within the blogosphere over the last two years. Which category do you fit into?

The Conversationalists: These are my favourite! They have thoroughly read the post, formed an opinion about it and wish to share what they think with you. They may want to know more, or share their own experiences of that topic. They are polite and respectful, even when they disagree with something, and offer support and advice when needed. Their comments often result in conversations and the development of relationships over a period of time.

The Minimalists: These usually consist of short, seemingly supportive but generic sentiments. Good post! Nice job! Good luck! Well done! I like and appreciate these, but can only really respond with a simple ‘thanks!’ in return.

The Cryptic: These usually consist of a random question or quote from a dead celebrity that bares no relevance to the content of the post. When asked to explain their meaning, it’s rare that the commenter will reply.

The Wrong-End-Of-The-Stick-ers: These skim, or only read a section of your post, they have taken it out of context and will then proceed to rant in outrage in the comment section. They will usually back down or change their tone when the context is explained, but I often get frustrated with these as I have to waste time almost justifying what I’ve written, which I hate to do.

The Traffic Builders: These are generally people who have seen that a post is doing well, they will write something short and generic such as ‘I really enjoyed this,’ and will then leave a link to their blog with a demand for you to go an read it, for the sole purpose of building their own traffic through yours. I often reply to these comments last, and usually just with a ‘thank you.’ If I don’t have a connection with that person, it is also rare that I will visit the link.

The Antagonists: These people can’t quite be classed as trolls, but are not far off. These are the people who are consistently argumentative with whatever is posted. There are two or three people that I have seen doing this on several blogs, including my own, and it always leaves me wondering why they follow them in the first place? Of course, everybody is entitled to an opinion, and I certainly don’t expect everyone to agree with everything that is written all the time, but surely if our content is not to their taste, why do they not just unfollow? My response to these sorts or comments is to be as polite as possible and not take it personally unless they turn nasty. Then I simply ignore or send to the trash.

The Trolls: These don’t require much explanation. Their comments are specifically designed to hurt and should be ignored and placed in the trash folder. This is really important to remember: don’t respond, ignore, send to the trash and blacklist their URL in your settings. If it persists, report them to WordPress. I had to do this with one individual, and they were wonderful.

Want to know more?

Here are the Do’s and Don’ts of comments, either on your own or on other people’s blogs.

1. If you don’t want to deal with comments, turn off the comment option on your post.

2. Ask a question at the end of your post. Encourage others to share their thoughts with you.

3. Set your comments so that you have to moderate it before it is published. This way, you can check it first and have to option to send it to the trash folder if it is inappropriate.

4. When leaving a comment, don’t leave a link to your blog demanding that someone ‘checks out your post,’ unless is it relevant to the topic. Your blog can be found through your Gravatar and blog name if you have linked it correctly.

5. You don’t have to write an essay, but at least try to be a bit more expressive than ‘nice post.’ You’ll probably get a ‘thank you’ in return to a short comment, but it isn’t likely to build a connection.

6. Reply to comments as often as you possibly can. I love receiving replies, and I know others feel the same.

7. If you find that you are struggling for time, write one less post a week and take the time to reply to the comments instead. You don’t always have to do this, but it might mean that your following grows and your community becomes stronger.

And most importantly…

8. Don’t change your blog or it’s content based on the comments of others. If you’re happy with it, keep doing what you’re doing!

What about you? Have you got any advice for developing the comments that you receive on your blog?

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

Blog Advice 1: Increasing Your Traffic

Posted on March 21, 2015 by suzie81speaks

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One of the most common questions I am asked by fellow bloggers is, in my opinion, one of the most difficult to provide a definitive answer to:

How do I increase the traffic that I receive to my blog?

Before I begin, I think that it is important to note three crucial points:

Building a following and, consequently increasing your traffic, takes lots of time and effort. You are extremely unlikely to receive thousands, or even hundreds of views simply by pressing the publish button.
Content is key. Well-written posts will draw new people in, and encourage them to visit again. Posting page after page of inspirational quotes looks pretty, but will leave your audience bored after a while. Be yourself, make no apologies and believe in what you are creating.
I am not an expert, nor have I ever claimed to be.

I know very little about SEO, so I don’t feel experienced enough to comment on it. However, in my experience, there are number of things that you can do that will always pull in extra views.

1. Visit other sites. Like and leave a meaningful comment (but don’t leave a link to your blog – this is often viewed as poor blog etiquette and could be classed as spam).

2. Tag your posts effectively. I use between 15 and 20 relevant tags on most of my posts, and this will allow others who are writing about similar things to find you.

3. The more you post, the more likely your blog is going to be seen.

4. 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. You will find that other people will return the favour.

However, over time I have picked up a few hints and tips that has helped me increase my traffic further.

The Daily Post

When I first started blogging one of the most useful and effective ways of meeting other people and discovering new blogs was by following The Daily Post, which has millions of members. Each day, a prompt is given that encourages anyone and everyone to be able to interpret the prompt in any way they like and link back (these are called ping backs). All of the posts that are created in response are collated under the original Daily Post prompt, making it possible for everyone to visit each others blogs, and some will visit yours in return.

The Daily Post also hosts a photography challenge on Fridays, which is extremely popular, and on Mondays they host the Community Pool, which is essentially an enormous blog party.

Blog Parties

A blog party is simple: create a post that invites others to leave a link to their blog in the comment section. The participants then visit each others blogs. It’s a great way for bloggers to meet each other and will automatically increase your views on that post. You may find that followers of participants will find your blog and join in themselves. (However, it is worth noting that these are unlikely to generate traffic unless you have a larger following to begin with).

There are lots of blog parties that take place across the blogosphere regularly, and I would advise that you take part in as many as possible. Say hi, leave a link to a post with a little bit of information and then go and visit other participants. You don’t have to follow the blog to participate, but it is usually better if you do.

Want to participate in a blog party? There is currently a blog party going on at Hugh’s Views and News. Go and visit – Hugh would love to see you there!

Social Media

Love it or loathe it, I’ve found that social media is crucial for building your following and getting others to visit your site. It took me a long time to add social media accounts to my blog and it has always been one of my biggest blogging regrets that I didn’t start sooner, as they are now responsible for about 75% of my overall traffic.

These are my stats that show how many views I have had from my social media accounts from the last two years:

Facebook: 81,000
Twitter: 38,000
StumbleUpon: 17,000
Reddit: 10,000
Tumblr: 3,500
Bloglovin: 200
Pinterest: 50

These add up to almost 150,000 views.

Admittedly, I got lucky with Facebook – one of my posts went viral a year ago on there, but only after I had posted it onto my Facebook blog page and my personal page, where it was picked up and shared by my friends. However, some don’t feel comfortable with doing that. For me, Twitter is the quickest and most effective way of getting your posts seen on a regular basis, and it’s all done through the use of hashtags. Others prefer Pinterest, while others like Tumblr. Some even create Vlogs to go with their posts – my friend Steve often does this for his ‘Now This Is What I Would Call Music’ blog. Regardless of your preferences, create separate social media accounts (don’t use your own) and start linking your blog posts to them.

Twitter Hashtags and Retweet Accounts

There are several different parties that go on during the week that are easy to use. Each follow the same format – share your link on Twitter and use a hashtag next to your post. Once posted, visit the hashtag and go and read and retweet other people participating.

Monday: #MondayBlogs. This is the ultimate hashtag party. It’s been going for two years, and was started by @RachelintheOC. Thousands participate each week.

Wednesday: #WWWBlogs (Women’s Writer Wednesday) and Ronovan’s #BeWow.

Saturday: #ArchiveDay (for sharing old posts from your blog), #WeekendBlogHop and Part Time Monster’s #WeekendCoffeeShare.

Sunday: #SundayBlogShare, which I created. I started it last November and within just a few months there were hundreds of people participating. Last week there were over 1500 posts shared, and my traffic each Sunday has increased considerably because of it. This is how I did it:

I decided on a hashtag name and checked to see that it wasn’t already in use (just type your proposed hashtag into the ‘search’ on Twitter and see if others are using it).
I created a post on the blog which explained what it was, the rules for using it and invited all of my followers to participate.
I registered the hashtag via Twubs.
I created a basic button that advertised the hashtag.

Note: it isn’t possible to own a hashtag like you can a domain name. However, if you register it against your name you can at least have proof that you host the party regularly. And here, regularity and consistency is key. #SundayBlogShare has happened every single week, and when I haven’t been able to do it, I’ve invited other bloggers to host it for me.

However, there are more hashtags that I have found useful and use them at any point.

Are you a beauty blogger? Use #bbloggers after your post.
Life Blogger? #lbloggers
Fashion Blogger? #fbloggers
Parent? #pbloggers

There are also several accounts that exist simply to retweet your posts, and you can include them next to your link if you want them to do so. For me, some of the most effective ones are:

@FemaleBloggerRT
@UKBlog_RT
@TheBlogGuideRT

Note: there are no rules when it comes to the amount of times you should tweet. However, I find that once or twice every few hours is enough, and I try and retweet others where I can.

Follow For A Follow?

Some very popular, or ‘Power’ bloggers, gain lots of new followers by following them first. The blogging world seems to be very divided about this process. For me, I don’t do it myself – I follow about 250 as any more than that would be impossible to keep up with, but I don’t have a problem with those that do. It has worked for them, with great success, and kudos to them! However, don’t go and start demanding that people follow you just because you have clicked on their blog – it’s more likely to have a negative effect.

Other Ideas

I enjoy trying out new ideas. Some have worked, some haven’t, but like everything, blogging is a learning process.

Competitions: Lots of beauty and fashion bloggers regularly hold competitions, with the prize being a beauty product of some description. As I barely how to know how to use make-up without looking like an inexperienced drag queen, and have the fashion sense of a teenage boy, these sorts of things wouldn’t be of much use to me or my followers. However, I have done several lots of free advertising in the past as a competition prize and I have always received a good response from this.

Questions: On several occasions I have created a set of questions in an attempt to get to know my fellow bloggers. I have then collated their answers into a single post. Again, I received new followers when others reblogged the post.

Join other networks: I am a member of Mumsnet Bloggers, despite not being a parent myself, and I post on the weekly link up on the SITSGirls website. I’ve been featured twice on both, generating several thousand extra views to my posts.

Phew! There you go – some ideas to increase your traffic. Hope it’s useful!

What about you guys? Have you got any hints and tips to increase traffic on your blog?

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

Blog of The Day: Meet Nancy Roman!

Posted on February 15, 2015 by suzie81speaks

Meet Nancy Roman!

Nancy is a published author, blogger and all-round glamorous lady. Her blog, ‘Not Quite Old’ is a new-found favourite of mine and I have enjoyed getting to know Nancy through her witty and beautifully written observations on her life and those around her. She’s hilarious, and her posts have had me in stitches!

Her ‘About’ page is short and succinct:

I’m Nancy Roman.

I’m sixty-four, and I’m looking (sometimes desperately) for that sweet balance between growing old gracefully and staying as young as possible.

An English Major with an M.B.A., I’m a financial executive who likes my day job. I live in Connecticut with my husband and several well-nourished cats.

My novel, JUST WHAT I ALWAYS WANTED, is available on Amazon.

Clearly, just looking at her picture alone, Nancy has obviously discovered the secret to eternal youth as I think she looks fantastic! She started blogging at 60, she has recently celebrated her birthday and every year shares the same selfie, both for affirmation and defiance against Mother Nature. I like that – she’s a self-assured and confident woman with a great sense of humour and I think you’ll absolutely love her blog!

Want to find out more? You can find her blog by clicking on this link:

Tweet with Nancy @NancyERoman

Find her on Facebook here:

Nancy has recently published her first Novel, ‘Just What I Always Wanted,’ which you can find on Amazon here:

Don’t forget that this is my week of #bloglove and I’d love you to share the love and for you all to check out her blog – I’ll be reblogging one of her posts later in the day too and I’m sure you’ll find it as great as I do!

Want to have to opportunity to be featured as ‘Blog of The Day’ to over 10,000 followers at Suzie81 Speaks? For a selection of offers and pricing, email me at suzie81blog@hotmail.co.uk

Blog Love Is In The Air

Posted on February 13, 2015 by suzie81speaks

While I love love, I am a bit of a grinch when it comes to the idea having a soulmate and the nonsense that is Valentine’s Day. However, as love seems to be the main theme across the blogosphere, I’ve decided that I am going to use it as the perfect opportunity to share the blog love over the next week, starting from today. Continue reading →

Want To Find New and Interesting Blogs?

Posted on January 17, 2015 by suzie81speaks

One of my favourite things about the WordPress community is the sheer variety of interesting and exciting blogs that are available. Here are two that I would highly recommend – they’re totally different in style and content, their authors are brilliant and I’m sure you’ll find that they’re absolutely worth your time!

Jolene, at Valley Girl Gone Country is a Southern California girl that moved to Arkansas. Like Suzie81 Speaks, she writes about her life and experiences, but she is also an avid reader and has built a solid reputation reviewing independent novels. Her blog is beautifully written, honest, witty and for those of you that love books and stories, or wish to have your own creations reviewed, this is the blog for you! Jolene was one of the very first people that I ever communicated with when I joined WordPress, and her support, her friendship and her insight has helped me through some very difficult times!

You can also find Jolene on her social media sites:

Twitter: @joleneVGGC

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jolene.cecil.3

Helena, at Helenatubridy.com offers support for effective change for life. Starting as a nurse and then a UK midwife, Helena is now a psychotherapist/hypnotherapist, fertility & IVF Coach and miscarriage counsellor and her blog discusses ideas on Mindfulness, EMDR and CBT approaches, Fertility and Maternity Reflexology. Her blog is insightful, intelligent, informative and a must read!

You can also find Helena on her social media sites:

Twitter: @fertilityexpert

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FertilityInMind

With 10,000 members now in the Suzie81 Speaks community, I’m sure that there are lots of you that will enjoy these blogs and the genuinely lovely women that created them. Check them out, follow, comment and share with your bloggy friends!

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

A Basic Guide to Blogging

Posted on January 1, 2015 by suzie81speaks

My blogging endeavours began in April 2013. I was experiencing a difficult time in my personal life and as I have always found writing therapeutic, starting a blog was the perfect solution.

The process has been a huge learning curve, predominantly because I knew absolutely nothing about blogging when I started. While there are plenty of useful hints and tips available from all over the web, I found there was no definitive ‘how to’ guide, as every individual has personal tastes in content and style and will have their own reasons for creating their blog, and I have yet to find two that are identical.

Here are some of the things that I have found useful when developing my own.

1. Choose a name that reflects you and your content. In my eagerness to start writing, I hastily chose a name, Suzie81, which was my first name and the year I was born. Consequently, when I decided to purchase my own domain name a year later, I had to choose ‘Suzie81 Speaks’ so as not to confuse my followers.

2. Don’t feel obligated to develop a niche. Of course, if your sole purpose for starting your blog is to focus on a particular subject, great, but I like to be able to have the freedom to discuss whatever topic I like at the time. Some may argue that this could confuse your readers, but I have found that I have a much more varied and eclectic group of followers that have different interests and ideas as a result of this.

3. Be realistic. Don’t expect to receive hundreds of views simply by pressing the publish button. Visit blogs that have similar content to yours. Comment and get to know the author. Follow them if you enjoy what they’ve written. However (and I can’t stress this enough) don’t come across as desperate and start begging for follows back from anyone you communicate with. I instantly switch off if someone does this. Blogging is a lengthy, time-consuming process and unless several of your posts go ‘viral,’ it’s unlikely that you’ll instantly get a massive following straight away.

4. Tag your posts effectively. The more tags you use, the more categories it will be seen in. The average that I use are between 15-20, and it is possible to find other blogs that are writing about a similar subject by typing in a topic in the ‘categories’ section.

5. If your blogging goals are stat oriented, set up a separate Twitter, Pinterest, Stumble Upon and Facebook accounts from your personal ones, if you have them. These are responsible for two-thirds of my daily traffic. It is easy to set up your blog so that your posts are automatically sent to your Facebook and Twitter accounts as soon as you publish them.

6. On the subject of social media accounts, Twitter hosts hundreds of chats and link ups every week that will enable you to promote your posts and meet other bloggers. I strongly advise you to participate in these if you want to build your following. If you want to find the ultimate guide to Twitter hashtags, link ups and chats, click here…

7. There are no rules against how often you publish. I follow blogs that post every day, several times a week and once or twice a month. The amount I post will depend on how busy I am. You might wish to set yourself time in your personal schedule in which to write, but I often find that I am left feeling uninspired when I am forced to write on a specific day at a specific time. Similarly, if you have a period of huge inspiration, you can save several posts to your ‘drafts’ folder for when you experience the dreaded ‘Bloggers Block,’ or you can schedule them for a specific day and time. Similarly, if you do experience a period of blankness when writing, click on the image on the right for some ideas.

8. When reading others posts, take the time to comment and let the writer know your thoughts. It is through this that I have met some wonderful people who I now consider to be online friends. However, don’t use it as an opportunity to promote your own blog by including a link to one of your posts underneath unless it is totally necessary and relevant to the content that you are commenting on. If you disagree with somebody’s ideas, do so in a polite and respectful manner. The WordPress community is extremely supportive and doesn’t tolerate trolls (see point 8) – this is not Tumblr or Facebook.

Do your best to reply to comments on your own blog as often and as quickly as possible. This is admittedly my main weakness as a blogger. While I read and appreciate every comment I receive, I am finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with them and am worried that I am becoming perceived as dismissive. Most bloggers I know reply to every single comment across their entire social media, and I don’t know how they find the time. Where possible, try and let your followers know that you appreciate them. You may also find that the type of comments that you receive may be weird and wonderful – click on the image to see different examples of the sorts of comments that I have received over the last year.

I’ve found that some posts have inspired me to write my own in response. However, it is important to remember if you are quoting something from another article, make sure that you have read the post properly and understand the context of it first. I’ve had numerous people that have clearly skimmed one of my articles and then angrily commented in a way that makes no sense to the content of my post, or have completely misquoted me in their own.

9. It’s cliche, but don’t feed the trolls. You could be the most insightful and inspirational writer in the world, but there will always be one person who will be hiding behind their computer, just waiting to bring you down with a hurtful and ignorant comment. Ignore the comments and block their IP address in your settings. If they get abusive, as I had to deal with earlier in the year, report them. I found that the WordPress team were amazing and the situation was quickly resolved. Of course, I should add here that if you are promoting offensive material that is designed to instigate anger from others, then you’re creating a rod for your own back, I’m afraid.

10. Images always make a post look more interesting and the ones that you use should be relevant to the content that you are discussing. However, remember that if you post an image, regardless of how many copyright signs you put all over it, it instantly becomes a free-for-all where anybody can copy it. If you don’t want a picture to be used by somebody else, simply don’t post it. Remember that any photograph can be photoshopped.

Be aware that solely posting inspirational quotes may put others off. I’m a fan of them and often use them, but many aren’t. Again, this isn’t Tumblr.

Credit others if you use their images or their ideas. While it isn’t always possible if you have used Google, I’ve seen many examples where someone has blatantly stolen something from another blog and used it as their own. Most bloggers have no problem with others reblogging their posts or borrowing ideas, but if you are unsure, ask.

11. Remember that your blog is your own little space of the internet that you can call your own and you shouldn’t write for anybody but yourself. Don’t apologise for your content (although, again, material that is offensive and deliberately used to hurt others will never be acceptable in my eyes) and feel free to change your layout, your theme and your content. Edit your posts and don’t be afraid to delete older posts that you deem to be no longer suitable for your blog. You may find that your writing style changes and/or your blog follows a different path to the one that you originally intended over time. If you’re happy, go with it. It’s an exciting journey!

12. Most importantly, protect yourself in both the online and real world. The computer screen provides us with a false sense of security, but the internet is a highly dangerous place. Don’t ever give out your personal details such as your address, your place of work and your bank details and certainly don’t give out any of your friends information. When including photographs of others, make sure that you obtain their permission first. I don’t even use my full name on here, and of all my followers there are only three that know this, only three have my personal email account, and only one is on my personal Facebook profile. Do not make your blog known to people in your personal and professional life if you are going to be writing about topics that could destroy your relationships with them or get you fired. It’s a small world online, and it is not a good idea to openly insult anybody, particularly your boss or your colleagues.

Above all, the process should be fun and fulfilling. If it isn’t, you’re doing it wrong!

Happy Blogging!!

What about you guys? Have you got any tips that you would like to add?

You can also find me on Twitter and Tumblr at @Suzie81Blog and don’t forget to check out my Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/suzie81speaks, my Pinterest page http://www.pinterest.com/suzie81speaks and my Instagram http://www.instagram.com/suzie81speaks