Danie’s Corner : 5 Things You Can Do Now To Take Your Blog To The Next Level

5 Things You Can Do Now To Take Your Blog To The Next Level

Here are 5 things you can do now that help push your blog to the next level. I feel with blogging, you never really arrive at an endpoint. You keep growing, learning and approving on a daily basis and if you just started your blog, or you’ve been doing this for a little while and want to take it to the next level, here are 5 things to do.

1. Move from a .wordpress.com or .blogspot.com to your own domain and hosting so your URL becomes yourblogname.com or whatever extension you use. This not only makes you look like a serious blogger, it also looks more professional, more branded and helps your website rank higher.
2. Buy a theme or template. As much as there are lots of free templates out there you can start out with, there is an obvious difference between paid and free ones. They look more professional, they come with installation and other services if you’re not a techy person. I bought mine from Pipdig, they have lots of beautifully designed and clean themes for both blogger and WordPress blogs. Others are Kotryna  Bass designs, design craze etc.
3. Start building your email list. This means you have to sign up for an email marketing tool so you can turn your visitors into subscribers and send out periodic newsletters to them and updates on new posts just to keep them coming back to your blog and turn them into long-term readers.  Examples of such tools are MailChimp, sumo me, Aweber, Get Response, Mail lite, convert kit etc. The one you choose depends on your needs and your budget.
4. Create a Media Kit for your blog. A media kit is a kind of resume for your blog which contains information telling what your blog is about, your blog and social media statistics, the blog services you offer and the price list if necessary, your blog audience demographics and could also highlight your past collaborations. This helps you in pitching to brands and landing deals.
5. Create a content planner/calendar which will allow you to plan, organise and schedule your blog content ahead of time. This will help you to create better thought out, more engaging content and help you become more successful in the long run.

Those are 5 steps to moving to the next level in your blogging journey. Talking about email marketing tools, which do you use to capture visitors’ emails and send them newsletters? Also, check out Finding Your Blog Niche: How To Know & Blog About What You Really Love.

 

Written by: Daniella Bature