In our last blog, we shared some practical advice that you need to follow to grow as a blogger. In this concluding part, we are going to mention some more tips along with a quick list of the tools that can help you in practically following those tips without complicating your daily schedule. By following these strategies and using the mentioned tools, you would be able to constantly grow as a blogger and reach the coveted position of top 100 bloggers:
Poor grammar ruins blog’s reputation
Many writers hate grammar policing but it doesn’t mean that you can conveniently dispose of the basic grammar rules. Dedicated readers respect language and grammar is the foundation of any language.
Rampant grammar and spelling mistakes can easily annoy the readers and may also make your content meaningless. Moreover, the content with heavy spelling and grammar mistakes gives a spurious feel and compels audiences to hit back or close button- earning you a negative SEO point. Make sure that your content is free from spelling and grammar mistakes and achieves high readability scores.
Respect those who inspire you
No blogger can honestly claim to offer 100% original content gained from the first-hand experience without any inspiration. Believe me, it is not a bold allegation but a practical reality.
It is not a bad idea to take inspiration from existing blogs but presenting that idea without acknowledging the source is simply unacceptable. You should start by openly asserting that the information you are going to share has been derived from another source and after presenting the information in the relevant format openly mention the name of the source and thank its author.
It is even a better idea to go a mile further and link to that specific blog post. It will not only establish your identity as an honest blogger but can also help you form some good relations with fellow bloggers. This strategy offers good SEO benefits as well.
No one likes copycat blogger
While we have told in the above paragraph that we need some inspirations to create high-quality blog posts, it is equally important to maintain the line of difference between inspiration and copying. Copy-pasting small portions from different blogs help you publish hundreds of high-quality posts without breaking a sweat. However, it not only brings you in the bad books of Google but also exposes you to legal actions. In the writing world it is known as plagiarism and today there are powerful tools like Copyscape to detect plagiarism.
Most of the serious professional bloggers keep a keen eye on “content stealers” and don’t hesitate to take legal action against them. Google can detect such copied content and take prompt severe action against them including permanent blacklisting of the site.
Also remember…
Many people think that they can easily fool Google or plagiarism checking tools by juxtaposing a few words/phrases here and there. This is again a wrong assumption. This, known as rephrasing, is equally considered as plagiarism and both Google and plagiarism tools can efficiently detect rephrased content and its source.
Create an appealing and reader-friendly design
Create a user-friendly, appealing design for your blog and make sure that the website design is responsive, i.e., it offers uniform visual experience across different devices and browsers.
Use minimalist design with an easy navigation structure and intuitive positioning of buttons, menus, and other elements. Make it eye-friendly by adding adequate white space, pastel colors, and retina-friendly resolution. It will encourage readers to keep exploring different topics at a stretch without feeling stress on their eyes regardless of the device they use. .
Create a fine balance between passion and professionalism
While blogging, in most cases, starts with a passion, you should know how to keep this passion from getting unruly. As a professional blogger, you have some responsibilities towards your readers. Your growth closely depends on your capability of aligning passion with professionalism.
Successful bloggers know how to channel their passion in a positive direction to create powerful blogs that readers trust, Google loves and advertisers prefer for promoting their brands. It won’t happen overnight but by devising and following a proper strategy along with marketing tactics you can steadily grow your blog into a dependable commercial venture.
Best tools for bloggers
While following specific strategies allows you to develop as a blogger, you also need to have a practical, easy way to follow a systematic schedule on a daily basis. Thankfully, there are various tools that can help you streamlined your daily schedule, make it more productive and align it with your success goals. Here is a quick overview of some of the best tools that every blogger should use:
Content creation ideas
· BuzzSumo
· Quora
· Quick Sprout
Idea organizing tools
· Evernote
· Trello
· Google Calendar
Optimization tools
· Keywordtool.io
· Google Trends
· Keyword Planner
Writing assistant tools
· Google Docs
· Toggl
Visual creation tools
· Canva
· Meme Generator
· Share as Image
Content distribution/sharing tools
· Buffer
· Filament
· Click to Tweet
Conclusion
Constant growth as a blogger needs hard work, dedication, and patience. You need to learn at every point of your blogging journey and implement your knowledge in the practical scenario. Many tools can help you as a blogger and manage different activities- right from auto-scheduling to SEO optimization. Smart bloggers combine the right tools with the right strategies to gain the best benefits with the least efforts. Following the same strategy may not turn you into the richest blogger of the world, but it can certainly help you earn a steady decent income along with a solid reputation as a blogger.