Blogging: Here are the top 10 tips for Blogging!

I have been a blogger since 2014 and I have learned some lessons worth sharing. From just writing to designing practical business models for various sections of my writings, I have learnt more in relation to writing, designing WordPress sites and more. In this short article, I am sharing with you my 10 thoughts regarding blogging.

1. Never start a blog about things (topics) you don’t care about or have passion for. You will always run out of posts or struggle to post some. Your number one guide is your passion. Consider it when deciding on your niche and your whole future. Others follow.
2. Start right from the beginning. I wasted a lot of time with blogger. I should have started with WordPress once and for all. Review all available options and take up a hosting platform that is long lasting, sustainable and shall meet your needs even when you grow big. When you do this earlier, you learn in time. Personally, I wouldn’t recommend anything other than WordPress!
3. Don’t invest much in a blog even when you aren’t making money out of it. You will be poor. There are a lot of free options, utilize them until you are sure you can manage paid up plans. What do you want to do? Chances are there is always a free option somewhere. Do you want to edit videos, do graphics, plan your articles, host your website, get a domain or what? There is always a free option. Free options usually have limits but you don’t get hurt when beginning, do you? Just be slow with your money until you are sure of sustainability!
4. Let your blog be also a business. Yes, you aren’t going to just write, you need to have business in mind. Therefore, have a business model. What can you sell for money? Please, this important. Have a business model. I wasted a lot of time with Miklah until I realized I needed business model. It is when I decided to break the sub-topics into businesses: business related writings inspired sacred entrepreneurship and SWAPafrica. Health related writings inspired life and health platform. And then the books. And then this huge blog, www.miklahlife.com. The question you should answer is, how can I make money? And don’t rely on these common points: adverts, affiliate marketing and so on. No, make it a real business. Actually, let your blog be a website with a blog in it.
5. Do most things yourself. You want to succeed blogging? Well, get ready to do things yourself. Even if you had a lot of money, you won’t cover up for all your needs. Yet, when you get into the dirt yourself, you will make life easier. Many will charge you 800k to 3M to make you a website. On the other hand, you yourself can build even the most complex website using WordPress or other content management systems. Apparently, many who charge you that money will still produce fake work. I have wasted a lot of money on web designers only to be given half-baked work. When all was done, I embraced WordPress. And I have never regretted it. Now, I am calm and happy. And I feel proud of knowing these practical issues now! You can hire for some work but not all. So, do it yourself.
6. Write detailed and evidenced based article. I won’t say more about it. I have said it many times that we need to be evidence based and write serious posts. Bloggers used to say that content is a king. I don’t know exactly the Kingdom they can be referring to. All I know is good content is good!
7. Collect your readers’ emails from start. Building your email list isn’t easy. Up to now, I am struggling with it. Therefore, start earlier. Anyway, whether people give you their emails or not, it isn’t a big deal, at least here in Uganda. Most people, including the learned don’t open up their emails. Instead, create a social media group for all your readers and be inspiring them or communicating to them from there. Anyway, combine email marketing and social media well. For email marketing, I can guide you well. For social media, I do not know if I am better than you! I have done most of it.
8. Don’t worry about readers. Basically, Ugandans aren’t good readers. So don’t be intimidated. Write for the few who appreciate your work. And when your blog later becomes business, readers will be many. Another way is to release your content in various ways; videos, articles, eBooks, and other graphical illustrations. In this case, you capture readers based on their preferred format of delivery. In terms of readership, I haven’t done the best. And yet I am still proud of my content. Crazy marketing can change all of this. I, however, don’t prefer crazy marketing campaigns; I am not a capitalist!
9. Be consistent. Yes. Instead of writing many posts in one day. Just write one every day or one every after a day. Consistence makes your blog live and fresh. This is good for Google rankings but also for those who follow you.
10. Always have your posts saved somewhere on your hard disk for reference or future use or backup. And, of course, for WordPress users, there are a lot of specifics. Yes, in future, you can make a book out of your blog posts. In case your website is lost, you can begin from scratch too (of course, there are better options of backing up your website). Anyway, just keep what you write somewhere even if you don’t know why you should do that! Lol.

Those are the ten tips from Vicent Nemeyimana, aka, Nemvicx. See you succeeding.