5 Easy Ways To Improve Your Blog Game in 2016
Improve Your Blog With These 5 Simple Tips
With a new year around the corner and a promise to share more tips posts with you in the next 12 months. I am starting off with five easy to follow steps that could improve your blog and take you to the next level in 2016.
1. Switch Up Your Posts
What is your favourite thing about blogging? If you love reading tips posts (as I do), why not have a go at creating your own? In the same way, if you love reading beauty blog posts as well as creating outfits of the day. If you are not already including beauty posts in your blog, why aren’t you?
The New Year is a new chance to incorporate what you love into your blogging schedule and to share this with your readers as well. Although it is good to have a brand identity and a general overall theme of your blog, you shouldn’t be afraid to introduce new sections and content, if it is something you are passionate about.
2. Try A New Layout
Whether you want to go all out with a re-brand, new blog design, or just to switch up the way you put together your posts. Try having a play around with different set-ups and see what gains the most interaction, or sparks the most interest with your readers.
For example, if you break photos up with additional text, you may find that visitors are reading more of your content and commenting on it below. Something as simple as adding sub-headings to structure your posts can also bring extra traffic your way. Especially if you are using H2,H3,H4 tags and so on… (you can read my SEO tips posts here for more info).
3. Switch Up Your Imagery
A huge component of blogging is imagery (or videography). Without sounding shallow, good photography can make a HUGE difference between a good and an amazing blog. I found that stepping up from a camera phone (in the early days) to my Canon DSLR made the biggest difference to the quality of my blog photos and videos. And since getting the Olympus Pen 7 with the 45mm lens, this has switched up my Instagram game too!
Another way to switch up your imagery is to play with editing styles, the size and number of photos in a post and also the background that you use. If you are looking for cheap props then Wilko have a great choice of £1 false flowers and without giving my game away, I recently purchased some fake wood wallpaper to look like white floorboards for flatlay shots (used for the image in this post).
4. Connect With The Community
There are many ways to connect with other bloggers. From social media channels to dedicated chats. You can connect with like minded people, grow friendships and also increase traffic to your blog.
I like to take the time to respond to comments on my blog, Youtube, Instagram, Twitter etc when I can. I love interacting with my readers, supporters and fellow like minded bloggers. I also love blogger favourite posts and this is something I need to find time to fit in my schedule for 2016 too!
5. Planning your blog schedule is Key!
The key to growing any blog is to post fresh content on a consistent basis. If a blogger was only posting once every six months, you would probably forget to check back. It is always a good idea to have set days to post. For example, my readers can expect a post on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 3pm and for a new Youtube video to be on my channel at 4pm on Sundays.
So, I am making sure I have weekly fresh content (which is also great for SEO) and my audience know when to expect new posts to be live for them to read. I find scheduling my posts in advance to be a God send, which you can read more about here. A cute blogging planner also doesn’t go amiss!
I could probably go on to point 10 or 20 if I wanted to. But, I don’t want to over face any of you or write the longest blog post of all time. But, there are my 5 simple tips that can improve your blog in 2016. Do let me know if you try any yourself or if you have any blogging tips to add, as I always love to hear what you think.
