Blogging can take on different values in a blogger's life. Some consider it as a hobby while others make a living from blogging. Whatever your long term goal might be, we all strive for a common thing: to get readers! Blogging has evolved into not just a one-way form of communication; it is more interactive now with readers sharing their thoughts on blogs they read through comments. And social media has opened up more possibilities for making blogging a shared experienced between the blogger and the readers.
Based on my own experience, joining linkups or blog hops has helped me grow my readers. It has also enabled me to tap into a reader base that I normally would not have had access to. If you have not heard of linkups before, it is basically a venue wherein bloggers can share links to their posts for other bloggers to see. You can therefore get exposure for your blog posts and see posts from others as well. All bloggers who join linkups are encouraged to visit other blogs and interact. That's what linkups are for.
Participating in linkups might seem like a lot of work (and time-consuming as well); for the most part it is! But if you want to reap the benefits, then you have to make that investment of time. It has personally helped me grow my blog. To be honest, I don't think I would be able to have a steady stream of readers if not for these linkups. As I've mentioned above, it allows you to reach out to readers that might not even know your blog exists. At the same time, it helps you to find new blogs to read to connect with or get inspiration from.
You can maximize linkups by sharing posts that you think others will be interested in. Or, if you find posts from others that will pique your interest, go ahead and visit their blog. Leave a comment if you're compelled to. Let them know that you enjoyed reading their post and you can even invite them to your blog. Just be polite in doing so. The worst thing that you can do is to leave your links and not interact. It dilutes the essence of the linkup.
The more you join these linkups, the more interesting and fun you will find it to be! Go ahead and give it a shot. You might even be rewarded with new readers or blogger friends. It's a win-win situation!
To see which blogs I am linking up to, visit this page. Have you joined any linkups before?
As a small-time blogger, most of us earn from our blogs through sponsored posts or PR campaigns. Hence, it can be tempting to say "yes" to every offer that comes your way, especially on those times wherein there seems to be little to no PR activity on your blog. But I advise you: DON'T. That is if you care about the long term goals for your blog.
This is not to say that you have to be snobbish either. Instead, this is a simple reminder that you have to take good care of the credibility of your blog that you have worked so hard to build. Thankfully, I haven't had weird or ridiculous emails from brands or PR companies. But in case you do, use these guidelines I follow to be able to assess if a particular offer is good for your blog or not:
Check Their Website
Most companies that reach out to you via e-mail will leave their URL for you to check out. This is great because you not only get a chance to know what products and/or services they have, but also use this opportunity to assess the quality and credibility of the company itself. As bloggers, we like to put our best foot forward by enhancing the look and theme of our blog. After all, it is a visual representation of you, as a blogger! The same goes with online companies or brands. You can assess their quality and credibility based on their website.
This is not to say that companies with less than impressive looking websites are not credible or honest. However, if you find that the website is shady, has spammy content or do not provide contact information, you need to be wary. The least you want to do is promote a fraud company on your blog. You would not want to be associated with them.
Keep it Niche-Related
This is a very simple guideline to remember: you have to stick to your blog's niche when working with companies or brands. Ask yourself these questions:
Will I consider writing about this topic even without this company contacting me?
Is this product or company something my readers will be really interested in?
Will I be using these products myself?
The whole idea is it should reflect your personal interests, as well as that of your readers. If not, then there is no point in writing that sponsored post in the first place. It will no doubt stick out as a sore thumb.
Staying Control of Your Blog
There are instances wherein a PR opportunity is too good to resist. A company with products or services that you think will be in line with your blog's niche offers you a really good price. However, the company wants to bombard your post with links and keywords. It's no good for your SEO. Even if they pay you a good amount of money in exchange for the post, the long term drawbacks on your blog's SEO performance can be worth more.
Do not fall for the bait. Set your own rules when working with companies on sponsored posts. Remind them that it is your blog and you make the rules. You are doing them a favor, not vice versa.
How do you evaluate offers from online brands or PR companies?
When browsing tips for blogging, one of the most often repeated tip is to update content regularly. But how do you define 'regularly' in this case? Some say three times a week would suffice. Others insist on posting fresh content daily. Meanwhile, I've also encountered some tips that say publishing multiple posts a day is better for SEO. If you're a budding fashion blogger or writer, this can be a daunting task. So, which of these is correct?
The theory behind regular updates on blog content hinges on the idea that it provides your readers with something new to look forward to. When your visitors come to your website and they don't see fresh and updated content, they will probably never visit again (or not as often as you'd like for them to). But if you have something new to offer, then this will keep their interest up - resulting in a higher likelihood of return visit.
Based on my own experience, I try to maintain 3-4 blog posts per week. I do have a full-time job and keeping up with daily posts is something that I simply cannot handle. However, if you work on your blog full-time, then you should consider daily posting to attain maximum traffic and growth. Just make sure that you can handle the writing and marketing of your posts. After all, your job as a blogger does not end with writing fresh content - you have to market and promote the content, too.
If you are looking to maintain a steady growth in traffic and followers, posting once per day or posting 3-4 times a week should suffice. However, you should not lose sight on the main goal for posting - enticing your readers and providing them with fresh information to digest. Are you compromising quality of your posts for the sake of publishing a new post? If that is the case, then you might want to re-think your strategy of posting frequently. Also, what you do off your site is of equal importance to what you do on your site.
Use your own judgment when determining the frequency of updating content on your website. Here are parameters you should use to determine your blog plan: 1) the availability of time, 2) your blogging goals, and 3) your off-site marketing plan.
How often do you update content on your blog?
