Since starting this blog about five months ago, I have learned quite a bit. Not only have I done this through my own experiences, but my readers have also taught me quite a bit as well. Hopefully, as the next few months go by I will learn even more. After all, the more knowledge you have the more comfortable you will feel with your blog.
Here are three blogging lessons that stick with me day in and day out.
1. Take an original angle on every post that you write. There are not a lot of topics that have yet to be discussed. But with that being said, you can add your own angle to give the material a unique perspective. Remember, your readers like your blog for a reason. They enjoy your content, and your writing style. Give them what they want with each post.
2. Do whatever it takes to help your readers out. For me, I have always made it known that I am more than happy to talk with readers via blog comments, email, or even phone. By showing your readers that you care, they will be more likely to visit your blog time and time again. Plus, by staying in touch with your readers you can help them to reach their goals; whatever they may be.
3. Have an idea on what direction you want to take your blog. Even though starting a blog is a quick and simple process, you need to know what you want to accomplish in the future. Do you want to make money with your blog? Are you writing for fun? Do you want to turn your blog into a bigger business? No matter what, have an idea of how you want to expand.
These three lessons will help you to become a better blogger now, and as your blog grows in the future.
One of the main goals of this blog is to help aspiring freelance writers learn from my mistakes. Well, listen up! I recently made a huge error when accepting a job from a client that I have been working with for several months.
Most of the jobs that the company offers me are within my realm of knowledge. The topics that they ask me to write about are usually main stream, while not touching too much on the complex. But this time around things were a bit different.
So where does my mistake come into play? Instead of considering all of the details of the job, I simply said “yes†after reading their initial email. As I mentioned, this is usually not a problem. Sure, I took a quick glance at their requirements, but I was far from diligent when reading them over.
The result: a project that was technical in nature, and full of keywords that I was not familiar with. Of course, I got the job done on time and with high quality, but it was far from ideal from where I was sitting. Even though I have a long term relationship with the client, I probably would have turned this job down; even though they were offering a high per article rate.
The moral of this scenario is that you should always check every last detail of a freelance writing project before taking on the job. This way you will not find yourself in a situation where you are working way too long to complete a small job.
After finishing this job today it felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. It is safe to say that I will never make this mistake again.Â
As you may or may not know, the design of this blog is not unique. In fact, I have come across several other bloggers who use a similar design, if not identical. While I did not have a problem with this at first, as the blog has grown so has my desire to see how far it can go. And the only way to take things to the next level is to get a custom design.
Of course, like always, I am going to have to do some heavy research before deciding on what the new blog should look like, as well as the designer I should hire. With that being said, I have some solid ideas on where to start.
I have a couple of goals that I am hoping the redesign can accomplish. First off, I want ChrisBlogging to look different than everything else that is out there. Not in a hard to navigate, complicated way, but in a unique way that readers will remember. In other words, I want the design to fit in with the future branding of this blog.
Additionally, I want to add more space for links, featured sites, and sponsors. But at the same time, I do not want to clutter the site and take away from the content.
Do any of you guys or gals have experience designing WordPress blogs? If so, please send me an email with your ideas for a redesign. Since I love to help out my readers, hiring one of you to do the work would be ideal!
