In the world of blogging there's always a lot of confusion over how to promote your blog without incurring the wrath of Google. Can your networking efforts actually harm your blogs ability to grow? Is guest blogging a good or bad idea? Do back links help or hinder your blogs growth?
I think a more important question is what speaks to you? What sparks your curiosity? What motivates and inspires you, will probably do the same for countless other people. The question is how do you connect with these like minded people without upsetting the apple cart - or Google cart as the case may be?
Content, content, content - period. Put your passion and personality into your writing. If you do this, and you can write well, eventually your blog will experience organic growth.
I think back to the day I started grade nine. I wanted to be popular, I wanted to fit in. I wasn't sure how to do it though. The next couple of years were filled with a lot of experimentation, and a lot of trial and error. Round about the time I was ready to leave high school, was about the time I felt like I was starting to figure things out.
This is your typical passage into adulthood - learning how to fit in. A blog is very much like that green little grade nine kid. At first you'll stumble around wondering where you fit in, but eventually you'll find your niche. When you're comfortable with yourself, others will become comfortable with you as well.
When you reach your comfort factor it will be reflected in your writing. You'll begin to really "speak" to your readers. In other words, you'll be producing great content. That's how you develop a following. Of course you have to get your word out there through social media and other avenues, but worry about finding your voice first.
Getting comfortable in your own skin is difficult at any age. It's something you work on your whole life. In the same way, your blog will continue to grow and evolve. How you write today, will not be how you write six months or a year from now.
Create a more narrowly focused target group to increase your traffic. People have expectations. If you blog about hockey one week, and then knitting the next you'll confuse your reader and they won't hang around very long.
So in the early days of your blog, worry about finding your voice and where you fit in. Once you've reached that point, then you can start to spread the social media word. You won't have to worry about schemes and gimmicks.
Forget about Google. If you blog about something you care about, and bring that to your writing, you'll develop a following.
Whatever you do, don't blog about something just because you think it's a popular topic. What good is blogging about personal finance if you absolutely hate math? The disinterest will definitely show through in your writing. Before you know it, you'll give up on blogging all together.
Have you found your niche? Do you think your writing's become better because of it. Leave a comment, I'd love to hear your thoughts.
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