Gavin Bennett's Blog: 8 Blogging Tips for Writers to Find Success

Blogging is an incredibly effective and efficient way for writers to reach their target audience and build writer platforms. In other words, it’s a great method for writers to find engaged readers and more success with their writing.

In this post, I’ll share eight simple, but super effective tips (that not all bloggers use) for writers to find more success with their blogging efforts. Plus, I’ve even included a bonus “super secret” tip at the end that always works for me.

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Here are the 8 blogging tips for writers to find success:

Create a niche for your blog. Bloggers who have a niche for their blog can use that to determine everything from the best name for the blog and content. Plus, readers appreciate a blogger with a defined niche so they know what content to expect over the long haul.
Craft an editorial calendar for your blog. Once you know your niche, start figuring out your editorial calendar. This simple tool helps bloggers plan out and create top notch content and avoid the dreaded “blogger’s block,” which is writer’s block for bloggers.
Put blog readers first. Many bloggers get into the game thinking of how it might help them out with their goals, but I’ll tell you right now that the only way to consistently get anything out of blogging is to always (ALWAYS) put your readers first. Always!!!!
Design readable blog posts. You don’t have to be a super design whiz to have a professional-looking blog. However, try to include at least one (relevant) image in each blog post. When possible, break up text with headers, make lists, and keep text concise.
Track your blogging success. I’m a “content first” person, pure and simple…but I also believe in using tracking to help figure out what works and doesn’t work. Tracking helps me guide what content appeals to my readers, which products sell, and so much more.
Plan out blog posts in advance. An editorial calendar can help bloggers plot out posts on a macro level, but this planning is dedicated to plotting out (ahead of time) how you want to attack posts on a post-by-post basis. A simple outline works wonders for me.
Develop a blog post promotion plan. A lot of blogging success comes from just developing consistent systems, whether it’s related to developing content or sharing that content with your readers after the post goes live. Know how you’re going to share posts.
Utilize guest posts for blog success. Guest posts are a “two way” street of blogging success; they’re a win-win; they’re just great. When done well, guesting helps out the host blogger and guest blogger increase their audiences.

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Bonus Tip: OK, I promised a bonus “super secret” tip, and here it is: Build mega-posts that refer back to other posts.

If you want an example of what I’m talking about, take a gander at this post. Each tip in the 8 blogging tips list links back to a previous post that covers the tip in more detail. This method always drives up traffic for both the original post (this post) and the older posts (the ones to which I link).

And it’s not a trick or gimmick. This strategy helps your readers. Those who want a quick list, get it; those who want more information, get that as well.

Use your editorial calendar to make it happen.

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Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Content Editor of the Writer’s Digest Writing Community, which includes editing Writer’s Market and Poet’s Market. He regularly blogs at the Poetic Asides blog and writes a poetry column for Writer’s Digest magazine. He also leads online education, speaks on writing and publishing at events around the country, and does other fun writing-related stuff.