If you’re newly into blogging, you’re probably still trying to figure some things out. Not only are you working on finding a groove with your actual content creation and editorial calendar (you do have one of those, right?) but if you jumped head first into it, there are probably a few minor things that you need to do that you might not have thought about. While the 5 things I’m about to share may seem like a minor detail, I can’t tell you how many bloggers DON’T do these things until they are well into their blogging journey. The devil is in the detail, my friends, and not doing these 5 things can actually do more harm than good in the long run.
Before you put up your next post, make sure that you’ve done these 5 things to your blog:
Add your email address to your contact page.
Contact forms are a thing of the past. I know you may be a little worried about receiving spam email, but that’s what junk folders are for. I’ve worked with a few brands and businesses that were trying to build email lists for bloggers for outreach and have had to leave people off because they didn’t have an email address posted anywhere. Contact forms do not allow you to add an attachment, so if someone is trying to invite you an event or to participate in a campaign, 9/10 they are NOT going to use that contact form. Nobody is going to jump through hoops to reach you, so if you haven’t posted your email address on your contact page, do it now!
Update your “About Me” page with a photo.
Your posts are cool, but what I’d really like to know is who’s behind all of this content. If you have a photo on your sidebar that is awesome, but adding an additional photo to your About Me page can help other bloggers, brands and even media publications put a face to a name. Not everyone creates regular content that includes images of themselves (when I first started my blog it actually took a few months before I was actually in any of the content), so having that photo is a plus.
Add links to your top Social Media Channels
For bloggers, the goal of social media is to lead traffic back to your site, but if you’re also using those platforms regularly, make sure you link out to them as well. All content management systems have plugins or widgets that allow you to add those links with an icon, so make sure you have them visible on your page. Speaking for myself, if I really enjoy your blog content and you post regularly to Instagram, I will probably follow you there (and vice versa). Make it easy for people to find you!
Connect all of your posts to a Category.
When you first start blogging, your posts will automatically be added to an Uncategorized tab unless you change it. It’s a default setting, and while you can change the default option (in case you forget), I would advise setting up the main categories so that you can tag your posts on the backend as you go. Having your posts added to the appropriate category will make finding other related posts so easy; it makes them “sticky”, so if someone enjoys reading your travel content, all they have to do is select that category and everything you’ve written related to it will pop up. Most dashboards will give you the option to view and quick edit your posts, so take a break to skim through everything and add them to the appropriate one. Your readers will thank you.
Add a Social Share option to your posts.
Once your posts are live on your blog, then what? In addition to you sharing your content across your social media channels (you do have those, right??), you want to make sure your readers can too. No matter which platform you’re on, there are widgets and plugins that you can use that can make sharing your content a breeze for your readers. You want to make sure that the option to share to Facebook (both personal + business), Pinterest and Twitter are on there; a lot of the larger content creators (think Cupcakes & Cashmere, Camille Styles + Lauren Conrad) regularly share content from other sources on their Facebook + Twitter pages because they are viewed as sources of inspiration, so they’re always looking for fresh content to include in roundups and general posts to their feeds. Make your content as shareable as possible!
Great tips Kim! Thank you!
thanks Q!