5 Steps for Blog Success

What makes an interesting blog?   A lot of us have our own personal blogs and are always seeking out ways to keep it fresh and appealing to our regular readers and new visitors. I spoke with two fabulous bloggers to get their take on how to keep a successful blog.

1. Be Yourself

Kristin Fillmore is the blogger behind the Faded Prairie blog, and has a darling Etsy shop with the same name.  She says the most important thing about blogging is to be yourself.  People come to a blog because they want to know more about the person behind it, and if you’re trying to be something that you’re not – you won’t be able to hold up the ruse for long. Don’t try to theme your blog around what’s popular – fads come and go – blog about what you’re passionate about.  Kristin says that some of her favorite blogs are those that have found their niche and have stayed true to what they love.

2. Be Focused

Coupled with staying true to who you are, keep your blog posts focused.  For example, I love illustrations, cooking, baking, photography, all things vintage, and design – but that’s a lot of interests. Putting all of these interests into one post could definitely overwhelm my readers. It’s important to keep each post focused on a central topic. If you wish to talk about several unrelated ideas, separate them into different posts – this will also help readers when they are searching for a specific topic on your blog. If they do a search for “Tea Parties”, they don’t want to have to read through a story about your favorite television show before they get to the part about Tea Parties.

3. Be Neighborly

When you move to a new neighborhood, the only way you’re going to get to know your neighbors is to go visit them. It’s the same way with blogging. Hannah Martin from the Aspire blog recommends commenting on other blogs and networking with your blog.

“You can't expect to get a large community for your site if you don't participate in others,” Hannah says. “Oftentimes, the best friendships can be formed by a simple comment.”

4. Be Free

It is extremely important to let your posting flow naturally. While using an editorial calendar to plan posts may work for some bloggers, forcing yourself to keep up with a schedule can wear you out. I used to be very stringent about updating my blog – I would force myself to write on mapped out days, and it sucked all the fun out of blogging for me. Blogging should be a creative release, not a dreaded obligation!

5. Be Balanced

Balance is key. Some blogs are just paragraphs of text that seem endless, and some don’t give you nearly enough information. Some blogs are littered with so many photographs that your computer takes weeks to download.  Hannah says that the blogs that she is drawn to are the ones with a balance of good content and design.

She says that she finds it “difficult to enjoy a poorly designed site and, on the flipside, if you have a gorgeous site, yet dull topics/a drab writing style, I won't stay.” Not all of us have the computer programs needed to design our own blog sites, but good design can simply mean a clean background with an uncluttered aesthetic.

What are your steps to successful blogging? What blogs draw you back regularly? I welcome your comments!

Dionne Christiansen is a graphic designer based in Houston, TX. She blogs at City of Dionne.

Photo courtesy of Tim Green