Blogging is rewarding and fun, but it’s a lot of work to create an audience-centered blog with loads of great content that attracts followers. It’s easy to get overwhelmed as you get started. There is a lot of good advice out there (I know because I’m always looking for it) on how to get started, but here are 15 best practices that are truly and simply essential. If you follow these 15 core practices, you will be establishing your blog’s solid foundation. Here we go…

1. Know your audience

You have to know who you’re writing for. This is key to generating good content that will interest and benefit them. If you have a mixed audience demographically, that’s okay, as long you still need to have an ideal reader in mind. Let’s say your blog could appeal to 30-something women, but it’s really aimed at college-aged women. Write for the college women.

2. Post content you care about 

Your posts should be meaningful to you first and foremost, or you will not be engaged, and your audience will know that your heart isn’t in it. Endeavor to always give your audience something of value: solve a problem, entertain, inspire, be revealing … In an age when AI can generate content in an instant, including blogs posts, what stands out is your personal touch and how you communicate that to your readers. That means context, personal detail and your experience. There’s no substitute for you! 

3. Post regularly

A blog is essentially a contract you make with your reader to post useful, informative content on a predictable schedule. Weekly or bi-weekly is considered a typical minimum, but there are successful monthly blogs too. Posting weekly will be a challenge for you at first. My students will vouch for how hard it is to write a blog a week for four-five weeks in a row, even when you’re “into” your topic.

4. Establish and maintain credibility

Your About page details, the quality of your writing and information and your overall look all factor into how a reader perceives you as credible or not. (See the Stanford Credibility Guidelines for 10 research-based guidelines.)

5. Link to outside sources and experts in your posts

Linking, both internally and externally, is an essential feature of blogging. Think of it as your bibliography for any information you include that you are getting from another source. Linking to other sources enhances your credibility and gives your reader options for more information. Internal links which takes readers to related content on your blog or website helps keep them on your site and engaged in more of your content.

Always embed links in text (called anchor text) directly and avoid “click here,” which is old fashioned now.

6. Directly address your readers/audience

Write to your audience directly in your posts, as in “You may have noticed…” or “If you’re like me…” Always remember that you’re writing to them and for them.

This goes for your About page too. As I discuss at length in this post about how to write your About Page, your About isn’t just about you; it’s also about your audience too. Tell them the story of your blog. Why did you start it? Why are you qualified to be blogging about this topic? What do you want them to get out of it? What problem are you trying to solve or what issue are you trying to bring to light?

7. Have a good design with clear navigation

If you’re working with a free template to start, you might not have full control over all features, but do be sure that the font style is not hard to read or too decorative. Your font size should be at least 12 pts – sans serif usually preferred. Choose a color scheme that fits your topic and is not too bright. Very dark or bright backgrounds with white/light/bright text can be hard to read. Trust me, it’s very easy to tinker constantly with your blog’s design, but your content should come first. Content is King. Design is King, Jr.

8. Title your posts to convey a benefit or reward 

Generating really good and compelling titles is an art. It takes practice. New bloggers are often pretty bad at titling posts. Use the Clark Guide to help generate benefit-oriented, interesting titles, and you’ll soon get the hang of crafting juicy titles.

9. Format your posts for scannability

“Chunk” your content for scanning with: left alignment, short paragraphs, use lists/bullets when you can, embed links, include images and other visuals. (Don’t underline text–it might look like a link.) You don’t want several paragraphs in a row with no visual interest. See my post on scannability. 

10. Be consistent in voice and tone 

Write in a personal and active voice. Don’t be afraid to show some love and appreciation to your readers and/or to reveal some personal information.

11. Invite engagement with your readers in your conclusion

A smart and authentic way to end your posts is to invite your readers to leave you comments/suggestions/tell their stories/submit their photos… and then when they do, reply back to them. This two-way conversation is what separates blogs from websites. Remember, blogs are social media.

12. Be error free in your writing

Proofread. Print your posts and read them aloud. This is the single best way to catch mistakes. If you can’t print, read aloud from your screen. Get a blog buddy to read your posts.

13.  Make your blog visually appealing

Have good quality visuals that are copyright usable, relevant, not generic, and sized correctly (giant images are a common problem). You should have least one to two images per post. Customize your blog header with your own photograph or create one using Canva.

Be sure to read my post: Here are 10 Ways to Add Copyright Usable Images to Bling Your Blog.

14. Practice good basic SEO habits, but don’t get obsessed 

Long-form blogging provides lots of opportunities for keywords to be picked up by search engines, but you don’t have to stuff each sentence or paragraph with keywords. If you know your audience, you will naturally write with keywords that will resonate.

15. Promote your posts on your social media

Ask your friends and/or family to share your blog posts via their social media (unless you’re writing about them). If you don’t want to use your personal social media to promote your blog, you need to establish social media accounts for your blog on the sites that your audience is using.

There You Have It!

I hope these 15 core practices will help you focus your efforts and help you get your blog started. Let me know how you’re doing by leaving me a comment, and remember, successful blogs are built bird by bird. You will get there if you don’t give up. Believe it! 

Onwards!