Tuesday 17 April 2012

Top Ten Tuesday: Tips For New Bloggers

Top Ten Tuesday is an original meme at The Broke and the Bookish.

I'm kind of in love with this weeks Top Ten Tuesday. I wish I'd had something like this when I started blogging over 3 yrs ago. A whole HUGE group of people giving me advice?! Sign me up! These tips are what I've gleaned over the years and some are things I wish I would have done differently. I hope you can benefit.

  1. Brand Yourself. Get yourself matching, twitter, facebook, blog, and email accounts. Continuity is everything. I want to be able to recognize you when I change social networks. Dip into your pockets and buy a design. You could do it yourself...but if you know you're not good at it, then hire someone else to do it for you. It is WORTH IT. Period. Looks are everything.
  2. Cut the meme's. If you're doing more than 2 meme's per week, then you are doing too many. Don't use them to fill up your schedule just so you have content. Think of something original. Or wait...how about fill your blog with reviews! Novel idea, I know. 
  3. Don't worry about getting ARC's. Seriously. It is not the end all of book blogging. Go to the library, share with friends, buy your own. Review those! I do! Yes, I now receive books from authors and publisher's but I didn't for a very long time. I reviewed anything and everything I got my hands on. Because I wanted to. Now, my TBR pile gets so high I wish I didn't receive so many books. They stare at me on the shelf.
  4. Get on NetGalley. This was not available when I started blogging. Even if you don't have an ereader, download the kindle app for PC or your iPod. There are a plethora of books and it is so fun!
  5. Make friends. I wish I would have done more of this. When I started, there was a lot of drama that made me want to quit blogging. Many times. So I just withdrew. Stuck to myself. I'm sure this is why I only have 450+ GFC followers after 3 yrs of blogging. Make friends!! Have fun!
  6. Be Yourself. There is no need to try and be someone you are not. If you have a unique to you blog, then people will want to read it. Write about the things you want to read about. BE the blog you wish you had in your Reader.
  7. Social Networking. OMG. I can't believe I waited so long to join twitter. BEST. NETWORKING. TOOL. EVER. Get on there!Then come and see me. I'm @SweetBookshelf.
  8. Comment. Interact with those who are commenting on your blog. Answer their questions. Visit their blog and if you see a post you like, leave a comment. It's all about connecting with other readers right? 
  9. Don't sweat the small stuff. So you don't post every day, so what? So your stats aren't as good as so-and-so, so what? So your header isn't as good as your friends, so what!! Relax. Don't get blogger envy. It isn't worth it. There will always be someone ahead of you and always someone behind you. 
  10. Have fun! I totally have fun with my blog. Those times when I wanted to quit because of drama...well I didn't because I enjoy writing reviews. I like to write my feelings on a book so I can remember what I thought about it. I like to write about bookish topics. I do it because I have fun. Honestly, I'd do it if no one read my blog. I enjoy it that much, just for me. Just have fun!

22 comments:

  1. Thank you for the fantastic tips - I'm still new at all this and learning as I go along.

    I absolutely LOVE blogging, it makes me so happy to be able to write down my thoughts on the books I read and I've found so many new authors that I wouldn't have found without blogging! :)

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  2. @memybooksandi I love keeping a log of what I've read and how I feel about it. I love finding out what others think of a book or a topic as well. I don't have a lot of reading friends and so it is nice to interact with other readers. I love it! I hope some of these tips help you on your journey!

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  3. I still don't quite get the importance of Twitter. It never stops!

    Here's my
    Top Ten Tips for New Bloggers.
    I love to have you stop by and comment!

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  4. @Deb Nance at Readerbuzz I LOVE TWITTER! It is just plain fun. I'm interacting with authors & publisher's on a daily basis, re-tweeting interesting bookish articles, entering giveaway's quickly, as well as promoting my own blog. It is just so much fun!

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  5. I'm so glad I came across your blog and Top Ten Tuesday :) I'm a total newbie - literally set up my blog 2 days ago. Already I'm checking and rechecking to see if anyone is reading what I have to say! Thanks for the tips - I'm going to try and learn just to enjoy the ride. Looking forward to reading more on your blog and will come searching for you on twitter.

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  6. I hate Twitter, so I'm really not going to throw myself over there :p But I can understand the benefit of it.

    And the memes are just funny things to do. I have 3 memes now, sometimes 4, just because I like doing them. I always have a load of reviews waiting to be posted, just in case, so that's not the problem :)

    http://thedailyprophecy.blogspot.com/2012/04/top-10-tuesday-6.html

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  7. @Mel-Thedailyprophecy Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. These are just the things that have worked for me, and what I enjoy reading on other blogs!

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  8. I completely agree with all of your tips. Designs and content are so important. And yes, Twitter is awesome!! :)

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  9. Thanks for the great tips! I'm still trying to figure things out. I feel like I'm just blogging for myself right now, and I'm ok with that. I love Twitter!

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  10. Great list. I love Netgalley :-)

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  11. Nice tips. Make friends not followers is my biggest piece of advice.

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  12. Oh, Blogger Envy. I think it has some positive sides. Blogger Envy is the reason why I learned lots of CSS and PHP, and am right now doing a 30 days Javascript class. But most of the times.. Nah, not worth it, yes!

    Patricia // My Post

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  13. I think two is probably a reasonable number of memes per week. In fact, I think I am going to use that as my rule from now on!

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  14. All these tips are perfect but 1 and 3 are my favorite. I remember wanting to say when you have the money invest it in your blog, but I must have moved on to something else and forgot. PS I LOVE LOVE LOVE your header! and 3 is so true, I LOVE find older books and reading, cause what if one of my readers still didn't know about that book? Now, they do!

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  15. I like your tips! Thanks for sharing. I especially like when you say brand yourself. A lot of times a person’s twitter pictures or pictures they leave comments under dont connect with their blog and it always helps to have a face(or correlating pic, in this case) with a name!

    Darlene @ Leather Bound and Lovely

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  16. @Patricia Blogger Envy...Oh the envy! It's so hard not to do. But you are right, it can help us get off our butts and get to work!! I totally agree with that!

    @donttakemybooksaway I personally don't like to see meme's all the time. I want to read blogs with reviews and discussion posts. But that's why my blog is that way! Ha! I think 2 meme's are enough to enjoy and have enough space for reviews and other content. But, that's just me!

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  17. @Kelsey Thanks! I love my header too! I searched high and love for the right designer and was on a waiting list for 4 months to get her. It's been WORTH IT! I've had this header for...2.5 yrs and I'm never tired of it. I think you should splash out dome dough on a design. It is so important. Just as much as content. I like to read blogs that are pretty to look at!

    @Darlene I want to know who I'm talking to on twitter ya know?! I like things matchy patchy.

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  18. Great point about not blogging for the ARCs! I stopped accepting review requests and I still have too many books to read :P And social networking is something it took me far to long to get into as well. Great tips! I'm loving this week's topic! Thanks for stopping by!

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  19. Love the tips. Straightforward, no fluff. Thank you so much.
    Angela @ AJ Arndt Books Blog

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  20. I also love twitter. Since blogging I have discovered so many talented authors! Before blogging I was only reading books from 3 different authors and I'm loving my new journey!

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  21. I love that you included have fun - I think sometimes people get swept up and forget that.

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  22. Hi, I just came across your blog and I love this post. I have had my blog off and on for about a year but I really am working hard on it now I have a little time. Thanks for some great tips, I think I am going to have to set up a separate twitter account as I am totally confused and my regular twitter is swamped with book stuff now.
    I also love your design. I hope that I can someday have my blog as great as yours.

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