Six for Sunday: Advice for new bloggers

I hardly feel qualified to give advice, but here are a few things I wish I had known when I first started blogging just over a year ago!

Think carefully about your blog name

I started my blog, almost on a whim, after we had to write a group blog for a university project. I had been thinking about it for a long time, so just decided to bite the bullet and start the blog before I lost my nerve. Unfortunately, that means that I missed the trick a little with choosing a memorable and relevant blog name. Now that I have spent time building up my following, etc, changing names and brands is scary, so I wish I had taken a bit more time at the beginning to choose the name that was just right.

Don’t compare yourself to other bloggers

There is space for everyone in the blogging world as we all have our own opinions and perspectives on different issues. Sometimes it might feel like everything has already been said and it can be easy to be intimidated by the success of certain blogs. Everyone has to start somewhere! If you want to blog, do it, and don’t worry about what other people are doing. Sometimes it’s easy to get discouraged because you have put a lot of work into something and it doesn’t seem to be read by many people…but your hard work will pay off in the end!

Write what you want to write

Once again, it is easy to feel pressurised to read what others are shouting about, to review books before their release date or to mimic the opinions of others even when you feel differently. I think it’s important to be honest, although I would suggest that you can also be tactful. Rant blogs about certain books have become popular. but in my personal opinion, I always try to remember that I am holding a piece of work that the author has poured hours and months of their life into. Perhaps it’s not for me and that’s fine, but there are ways to express that opinion honestly, yet tactfully.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions

I have learned so much since I started blogging, yet I know that I still have a lot to learn. Sometimes you might feel silly asking about something (particularly the acronyms and initialisms everyone uses) but everyone I have approached has been so lovely. Even if you are unlucky enough to come across someone who scorns your question, that says more about them than you!

Make connections

Blogging can feel like a solitary pursuit as so much writing is done on your own. However, there is a wonderful community online and interacting with others on their blogs and Twitter is a great way to enter into that community and make some lasting friendships. No matter what your particular niche, you should be able to find some online buddies with whom you can scream about the latest release from a particular blogger, etc.

Remember that blogging is a hobby, not a job (for most of us)

Us bloggers put a lot of pressure on ourselves to post regularly, have great photos, well-written blog posts, etc etc etc. We are all only human and offline life will interfere a lot more than you might realise! If blogging starts to feel like a chore, take a break, or try something new.