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I first started a blog back in 2010. It was purely borne out of my love for writing and passion for film. But I only seriously took it up in 2016 dedicating myself full time to it. But all these years that I leisurely pursued it, while handling (MSN) Microsoft’s ‘Bollywood Global’ project for seven of its international markets alongside, I’ve had much to learn from it. And hopefully I can share some of the learnings with those of you keen to start your first blog. Here are a few things to know before you take the plunge and some dos and don’ts to put you on your way to successful blogging.
#1: Be passionate
As proverbially boring as this one might sound, you've got to be doing it because you want to do it.
Don't start a blog/website for any other reason. Making money out of it obviously doesn’t hurt but don’t be purely driven or think of it as another means to make money.
#2: Visibility
You could write something today and hit that 'publish' button.
But don't expect the world to find it out immediately.
No one will know unless you let people know.
Sound it out to your family and friends around. Get them to feed you back.
Use social media. It's the cheapest way to get the word out.
Facebook groups might be a great option to build a community around your site. Use Facebook mentions generously and wisely.
If you're interviewing people in your business, Twitter is a useful tool. We constantly get retweets and mentions from celebrities (for reviews and interviews) and fans. (Flickside’s first credits will be for a film due for release in 2018. It all started with a tweet).
LinkedIn is an underrated tool for bringing in traffic. (Our first big brand partnership came through LinkedIn 6 months after I started Flickside).
Gradually grow your presence on social platforms but don’t expect them to work for you from Day 1.
Spend time on them but stay patient and persistent.
#3: Don't overdo
Spamming is the best way to put people off. It's the last thing you want to do.
Treat virtual users as regular people you meet everyday.
Talk to them like you talk to people around you everyday.
#4: Keep it conversational
Web writing is very different from print writing.
The syntax of digital conversations is very different from that of newspapers and books.
There are all kinds of readers on the internet.
In times of Twitter and Instagram, where stories are told in 140-characters or pictures, attention spans are glaringly low.
Keep the language simple and conversational.
#5: Space it out
Don't chunk pieces of information in one paragraph. Break it up.
Keep it neat. Keep your sentences short. Be miserly with words.
Make sure the text and the overall look of the site sits easy on the eye.
#6: Keep it engaging
Don't bore readers with just information.
Weave your content into stories. They're a great way to hook your readers.
Sprinkle it with pictures, videos, infographics, slideshows.
Infographics and slideshows alone are a great way to bring more traffic to your site.
Link to other sites in your niche and let them know.
That could be a great way of introducing yourself to people in your niche.
If they like your content, they might even link back to something interesting on your site. Make your content irresistible.
#7: Pick a niche
Be an expert of your subject, i.e., the topic you choose to blog about. And stick to it.
Blogging about one topic in detail instead of writing on several topics will do the trick.
It could be anything, from interior designing and gardening to automobiles.
Google loves detailed, well-researched articles. Don't just write to fill pages, which brings us to the next point.
#8: Provide value
"What's in it for me?" That's the question a user is constantly asking.
No one will come to you unless you're providing some kind of value or information.
Make sure you're helping the user learn something.
You could do tutorials in your niche, to start with.
They could be listicles, videos or step-by-step instructive articles.
Articles addressing "How to" are the best examples to start with.
Besides film reviews and recommendations, we have a section called Film School, where we share useful information, like tips for aspiring filmmakers and a section called Flick inSide, where we get filmmakers to write for us to share behind-the-scene stories and experiences with our readers. It’s a great way to hook readers to my site while building credibility for my brand. Make sure you’re providing value or something that keeps your readers coming back to you.
#9: SEO optimized
If you want to be found on Google (i.e., make sure your content is optimised for SEO).
In plain words, Google should be able to find you on the internet for your content to surface among millions of blog posts written everyday.
Make sure you have your keywords in the headline, meta descriptions, image alt text and body text. But don't stuff your article with keywords. If you're writing on Wordpress, Yoast is a great plugin to take care of your SEO.
Our first interview came through Google. We were on a different domain back then.
The PR team of the film Lootera (2013) found our blog through Google and invited us for a star interaction with Ranveer Singh and director Vikramaditya Motwane.
We spent good two hours with the team followed by an invite to the pre-release screening of the film.
#10: Guest/community blogging
Get people in your niche to write for you but make sure you too write for others. It will get you backlinks while enhancing your visibility, both of which will gradually help grow your readership.
Bonus: Don't insult your readers' intelligence
You may hit it off with click bait-y headlines to get users to your site and it might work too as a one-off trick.
But make sure you have something meaningful to offer your audience once they land on your site if you're serious about your writing and want to build and sustain a long-term relationship with them.
The reader is quick enough to tell wheat from the chaff.
Don't waste their and your time.
Good luck! You can check out my blog Flickside here.
So what are you waiting for? Get started on your blogging journey now but tapping on the ‘start writing now’ button below.
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