Writing Tips- Blogs

A couple weeks ago, I was asked how to get more followers on a blog. Because I have only just started out this year, I do not have a lot of experience, but I can tell what I know.

Have a Great Blog: You might think that this is a no brainier, but it can take some reminding. Remember that you have to write on things that people want to read about and you have to write it in a way that someone want to read. The first step is to write something that you would read.

 •Content: On this blog I write two kinds of posts: reviews and writing tips. Both are useful to people. Reviews say whether or not a book is worth the read and writing tips help writers. I write both the way I would want to read them.

     Reviews: You know the being of a lot of reviews where people summarize the book? I can't stand those. They tell me what happens and leave no surprises. Since I don't like them, I don't write them and my reviews will appeal to others like me who do not want to read them. I also like to have a warning about questionable material (such as sex, drugs, ect.). I let people reading my reviews know, because while I might not have a problem with something, they might.

     Writing Tips: I follow almost every writing blog I can find. Books and conferences are expensive while blog posts are a free alternative. Reminders on methods are always helpful as well.

So think about that. Are you writing something people will want to read? If not, change it up a bit, without changing what you were hoping to accomplish.

 •Format: Pretty blogs get more followers. The content of your posts were what will get you followers, but how your blog looks will lose them.

      First Impressions: Make sure that your color scheme works. Try using this color wheel for ideas. Colors across from and next to each other are the most visually appealing. Also, don't bog down your blog with big or multiple adds. Some are fine but lots will make things difficult to find.
     Speaking of finding, make the follow buttons easy to locate. People will not hunt for them unless doing so will get them something for free (Read Incentive).

     Reading: The way a post reads can make the difference. Don't use difficult fonts or colors. Break up long paragraphs into shorter ones. Use correct and helpful bullet points and headings (they make it look like you know what you're doing ;).

    Pictures: Pictures can be vary helpful to posts. They give people an idea what what is going on and break up the boring monotony of words. Just don't use too many.


Reach Out: You can't get followers if no one sees your blog. Here are ways to make sure people find you.

 •Websites:  Like you blog to websites of a common theme. Book bloggers have this easy because they can link their blog to all their reviewer profiles on websites like Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Out of these sites, Goodreads is the most helpful. When you post a review there, you can link directly to you blog at the top or bottom, something the others sites do not allow.

 •Tours: Do you go on Blog Tours to try and win things? Well so do a lot of other people. Being part of a tour or HOP (whether you are giving something away or only sharing it) will bring people to your page. Usually tours have an option to follow a host for more entries into a giveaway, which does get people more followers if the giveaway is good enough.

    My Favorites: My favorite tour hosts are I'm a Reader, Not a Writer and Colorimetry. They are always doing HOPs and you can tag along. Beside is the image of a HOP where I actually gave away my own prize. The week of that HOP I got over 15 new followers, more than at any other time.

 •Friends: Friends are awesome. They tell people about your blog and are your best supporters. Become friends with other bloggers. You can help each other out with advertisement and ideas. Also, if you follow someone they might follow you as well and bring some of their followers with them.


Here are some other ideas.