Blogging Tips: What I've Learnt From Blogging

First of all I want to say grab a drink, this is going to be a long post. I want to state that in no way would I consider myself to run a successful blog, but I did one of these types of posts about half a year ago and it got some great feedback, as well as the fact that it was my most popular post! I do also feel that these things I've learnt would be beneficial for any blogger, whether you're just planning to start a blog or you've been blogging for years. Also all views stated within this post are completely my own and are in no way right or wrong.

As I understand that this is a very long post, I've split it into smaller sections, so if you want, you can simply find a particular area to read about rather than the whole post.

The First Impressions

Although content is important when blogging, the layout of your blog and photos create a first impression for the reader. And first impressions matter! If this is not to a good enough standard, it's likely that many people will simply click off your blog straight away and not return.

With blogs, particularly beauty and fashion blogs, I personally believe that a simply design is likely to leave the best impression, as a cluttered blog will be unappealing to the eye and again, a lot of people are likely to click the X.  If you use Blogger, they offer some simple templates which are easy to customise. For my blog, I've used the simplest template and customised the fonts, colours and layout. Make sure that with your blog there is a font that is easy to read and that you stick to some sort of colour scheme, as every colour of the rainbow will again, just look too cluttered.

Finally create a header to use at the top of your blog, you could almost see it as a type of logo, but keep this relatively simple though. I created mine on the site PicMonkey which is very easy to use, however if you have Photoshop or any other programmes these will also be great to use. And have some pages listed, included the about page, PR/disclaimer and a contact page.

Photos Are More Important Than Content

Although content is incredibly important to keep the reader engaged, photos, similarly to the layout, will help to create a first impression. Here is a picture from my first ever beauty post compared to my last beauty post, just to see how much my photos have evolved over the year.

From this....

....to this.

There are many times when I've heard people complaining about the quality of their photos because they don't have a Canon T3i, but in all honesty, you don't need the best camera to take good quality photos, all you need is good lighting. So try taking your photos near a window, in a conservatory or outside when the sun is at it's bright, generally around midday, or if you're lucky enough and own studio lights, these will work perfectly. Try not to use artificial lighting, such as lamps, as this can create a yellowish tone through your pictures and can also reduce the quality of them as well.

I would also recommend editing your photos slightly. This is something I do on a regular basis, such as adjusting the brightness and cropping, however I try not to do anymore than this, I'll probably end up ruining it haha! I would also recommend keeping your photos large, as this generally creates a greater impression. For my pictures I use Corel Paint Shop Pro X1, but this does cost money. There are however many free online applications to edit your photos, such as PicMonkey.

Something that I struggled with for a while was how to take photos when I didn't have anywhere 'scenic' to take them. I've since learnt that placing products on a large piece of card works wonders and will also give you the white background that many of us desire in our photos. Putting multiple pieces of paper will also work, however you may need to edit some of the lines out.

You could also use props, such as leaves and flowers to make you photos more interesting, as well as adding some text.

Communication & Social Media Is Key

It's no secret that communicating with other bloggers will help you increase the traffic entering your blog, but it may also lead to you creating friendships within the blogging community. I would recommend using different forms of social media such as Twitter, Bloglovin, Instagram, Google+ and Facebook to advertise your blog, as well as to connect with your readers. Also make sure to follow blogs that you like on these forms of social media, as chances are that these people will follow you back, especially if they're relatively new blogs. I would just like to state that I follow back all other beauty and fashion blogs on Twitter and Instagram, so there are high chances others will too.

Make sure to get involved with #bblogger chats which occur on Wednesday's and Sunday's at 8pm GMT on Twitter, as this will allow you to communicate with more bloggers. Also leave the link to your blog during these chats, as are large amount of people are searching for #bbloggers on Twitter at this time. If you leave your link for other bloggers who are asking for new blogs to read, do visit them in return. I know from experience how annoying it can be when someone leaves their blog link and you know that they haven't visited your blog and I'm sure you would feel the same too, so have the courtesy of returning the favour.

Also if you enjoyed reading a post on a blog, make sure to leave a comment (including your blog link). The owner first of all will greatly appreciate it, but it may also mean that other people will click on your link and visit your blog in return. I try to visit as many of the blogs of those who leave a comment (so make sure a link is left). Also make sure to reply back to your own comments, as it shows that you appreciate these people have taken the time to go to your blog.

Use this code to paste the link to your blog in comments, as many people won't bother to copy and paste your blog link (obviously change the information haha).

Lizzie // <a href="http://xbeautymagic.blogspot.co.uk/">xBeautyMagic</a>

Organisation Is Key

Compared to many others, I am not that organised when it comes to blogging, but little things do help.

I'd suggest creating a list of possible blog posts in case you come to a point where you have writers block and cannot think of anything to blog about. Some people also like to write to do lists everyday, so they know exactly what they need to do with their blog and how to progress with it.

I'd also suggest taking photos in bulk, especially when the sun is out and around midday. As in this English weather, we can't always be sure when the sun will make an appearance and therefore we all need to take advantage when it is shining. Also, if you have a few posts worth of pictures, you'll always have them there to edit when you need them. Along with this, try to have a few extra posts written for those times when you're a little too busy. And proof read...although you'll probably miss the odd one, no one likes to read a post with a million grammatical errors.

Don't Jump At Every Chance To Work With Companies

By this I mean a variety of things. First of all, can I just say if you're in this for the freebies and to make money, please stop. Blogging is hard work and it takes a long time to build up a following and receive products from companies; it's not going to happen in a couple of weeks. Plus, the people who are committed to creating a great blog will be able to make much better content and therefore generate more attention.

If you do happen to stumble across an email from a company one day, I first of all would recommend to make sure that it is legitimate. For example, I've been sent emails from "companies" who wanted to work with me; they sent me a very generic email which could be sent to pretty much and blogger and left a link for me to find out more information. I ended up Googling about them first and found that a few other bloggers had been sent this and the link was basically a virus or something, so be careful. Good job I didn't click it!

If a company is legitimate and wants to work with you, I think the first thing you should really ask yourself is would I use this company/would I purchase their products? If the answer is no, just kindly send them an email back saying that you're not interested. I've been on many blogs who do quite a lot of sponsored posts and receive a lot of freebies and if you were to ask them "would you actually purchased this with your own money", I'm pretty sure this honest answer would be no. For example, I was contacted by a menswear company...do I look like I have an interest in menswear? I've also been contacted by companies to write posts about their products, whilst receiving nothing in return, which I definitely did not agree to do.

You could also send emails to companies asking to work with them, however as I've had no experience of this, I would recommend checking out some other blogs for information on this!

If you do end up getting sent products, don't just give positive reviews just to please the company, you should give as honest reviews as possible. If you start praising a terrible product, your readers could end up purchasing these products based on your recommendation and then when they find out how rubbish it actually is, it's not going to look very good on you.

Personally, I haven't come across a company that I would feel comfortable working with, so have turned down the few offers that I have received.

You Should Enjoy Blogging

If you're not enjoying blogging anymore, stop, or take a break. I wasn't enjoying blogging for a while so took a little break. I then realised how much I missed it and I'm back. Although I to some degree have to build my followers back up, I'm honestly glad I took a break, because I felt like I would've been forcing myself to blog and the quality of posts would've been terrible. Now I really enjoy it again and I'm excited to blog and put up a new post.

Investing In Your Blog Will Increase Traffic

In order to increase the traffic entering your blog, I would recommend financially investing into your blog, such as by holding giveaway and even buying a domain. When I say this though, I wouldn't invest into it straight away. I would make sure that it's something you really enjoy doing before you invest into it. For example, I'm holding my first ever giveaway later this month and I've been blogging since January, so I've given myself plenty of time to see if it was something I'm serious about.

Stop Comparing Yourself To Other Blogs

Many bloggers seem to compare themselves to other bloggers out there, but please try not to, as you'll soon start feeling as though your blog is not good enough. Yes, there are some bloggers who started blogging after me and their blogs are more successful, but all blogs grow at different rates. Also if you're not able to post as regularly as others, you might not be able to generate as much traffic or maybe you're not using your social media efficiently enough. Always realise that you'll learn from your mistakes and if you put the effort in, readers will eventually come!

These are most of the things that I have learnt through blogging and I hope this post was in some way helpful for you!

See what I thought were some of my biggest blogging mistakes here!

What's the best tip you've ever learnt whilst blogging?

Lots of Love