5 essential pieces of advice for the new blogger

A year ago, I published a series of articles on seattlemomblogs.com giving tips and tricks to new bloggers. I’ve decided to repost those articles here, with updated information. I’d love to get your ideas, suggestions, and experiences on these topics as I post so that we can learn from each other. Let the journey begin!

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Every so often I get an email from a reader who just started blogging and who wants my advice. Which is funny, really, because I feel like I’m the one needing advice.

And yet, when I think about it, I have learned an awful lot in my time blogging… much of it the hard way. So I’ve decided to share some of this hard-earned wisdom so that some of you can learn it the easy way.

Here are the five major topics that I’ll be covering. I’ll post something like one article a week, and as I post, I’ll link them up here.

1. Branding yourself. (No, I don’t mean branding in a scorchy, hurty sort of way. I mean the marketing kind of branding)
   • Choosing a name
   • Why looks matter and what to do about it
2. Protecting yourself and your family. It’s not fun. It’s not glamorous. But, unfortunately, it is important. Especially for the “mommy blogger” genre, privacy, safety, and security are topics that bloggers can’t afford to ignore. In this section, we’ll talk about strategies for being prudent without taking all the fun out of blogging.
   • Blogging smart: how to protect yourself and your family online
3. Establishing a readership. Without a readership a blog is really just a journal, right? And yet, at times, finding and keeping readers can seem nearly impossible. In this topic, we’ll cover;
   • Building a readership through networking
   • Basics of seach engine optimization
   • How to convert one-time visitors to repeat readers
4. Finding balance in blogging. You remember your life, right? Come on, think really hard. It’s true, blogging has a way of taking over and sucking the life right out of you. Which is why it’s important to come up with strategies, checks, and balances to keep yourself sane.
   • Fitting blogging into your life without losing your mind, relationships, and waistline
5. Taking it to the next level. Ah, the golden egg of blogging. We read about Dooce, who purportedly supports herself AND her entire family through blogging. How does she do it? We wonder. And, more important, how can WE do it? In this section, we’ll discuss strategies for taking your blog to the next level.
   • Taking your blog to the next level

And, like I said, I want to hear your thoughts as we go! Tune in for first installment, coming SOON!

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xo Jen

Related Posts:

• Advice for new bloggers: Taking your blog to the next level
• Fitting blogging into your life without losing your mind, relationships, and waistline
• Advice for new bloggers: Turning one-time visitors into repeat readers

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