Published: 5/9/2015
How I Started Blogging: Part Two
Continuing from where we left off in part one, I can not stress enough how important gaining fans/followers really is for a blogger. Not only do you need to get your numbers up on fans, but you need to encourage and find "high quality fans". I know that sounds a bit strange. But this part is so true. You need fans who will interact with your pages, social media sites, and website. Interaction helps further promote your page and will help you to gain new fans. This also looks good to potential advertisers. They like seeing sites that have plenty of attention.
Now let's talk about other ways to get the word out there about your site. There are several FREE ways to advertise. I mentioned a couple of them in part one as far as using Facebook in different ways to find new fans. Another excellent way to advertise is on Craigslist. You can advertise in some of the biggest cities for free. Depending on what you blog about, generally I would say to post your ad to the general community section. If you see a category that fits your blog better, then go with that. Make sure you do add a nice professional image like your cover photo or blog logo. Give a brief synopsis of what your site is offering and then provide links. You can renew your ad every 48 hours. I usually wait 72 hours personally. Craigslist will drop your ad and mark it as spam if you publish too often. So be careful on that. If that happens, republish and try again. I also recommend Oodle Marketplace for free advertising. It's a bit tricky figuring out what to list your ad under. I believe I listed mine under free stuff. Another one is ebay classifieds which is a top notch site to get noticed. And lastly, EzineArticles is great to check out if you are a good writer. This will really draw attention to you and your site. If you google search you may be able to find a few more.
Now your site is growing, you are significantly increasing in fans. It's time to get a regular website. There are several that are free, and as many of you know, this is my third and hopefully final website. I am currently using Weebly.com and I am thrilled with it. This site is extremely easy to build on, especially if you are lacking in experience. You can choose from several themes and backgrounds. One thing I am really happy about is that using the feature "embed code" in order to paste HTML codes on your site is a FREE feature. Some other websites will make you pay something for that. What is HTML? It is a hypertext aka computer language that many companies use to create ads, contests, and more. It sounds very technical and at first these can seem intimidating. But really, it's not so bad. You simply copy and paste them into your site using the "embed code" block. Don't worry, you will get the hang of it.
Next important step is adding Google Analytics to your site. Google Analytics will help track your page views, number of unique visitors, and basically show you what pages are most popular. If you decide to go with Weebly, you can paste your Google Analytics code into one place and it will appear on every page. (this is hidden to those viewing your site) Go to settings and then SEO(Search Engine Optimization) and paste it in the "footer" section. Then publish and you are good to go. Check your analytics and see how you are performing. This is so important because almost all affiliate marketing sites, advertisers, or sponsors will ask for your "unique users" and "monthly pageviews" numbers to gain acceptance. I am not an expert on all the ways to optimize your site for search engine purposes, but I know Google Analytics certainly will help. Another tip is when writing articles, be sure to use plenty of "key words" that will show up in a website search. And also very important, if you post photos on your site, name each photo with a "key word" on what it is about. Don't simply leave a photo as a file number or a short abbreviation. This will help your website get found. And by all means, use proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling. This can be difficult for some of us. Always proofread and edit. Also, if you are really growing and your fans seem to be going up on a semi regular basis, buy your own domain. In order to work for most companies as an affiliate or publisher you will have to do this at some point. On Weebly, I purchased my own domain for roughly $40 for the whole year. What is your own domain? This names your site and makes it specifically your own. When you first start on a free website, your site will be called for example "weebly3525143.com" When you buy your own domain you will look more professional and you will have a site like this one "freebiequeen13.net". Companies will take you more seriously.
The next step is spreading yourself around on social media. The more you put yourself out there, the better. I know some of you are intimidated by sites you are unfamiliar with, but learning the basics is essential. Sign up for Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Youtube, etc. using your site name. Creating a page on these popular social media sites is absolutely necessary. Advertisers will ask you to use many of these sites to share their ads, articles, sponsored posts, etc.
I am going to stop here for now. These tips will really get you going in the right direction. There is so much to learn, it is difficult to explain it all. I really hope this helps. I don't want to overwhelm anyone with too much information all at once. I will be publishing a part three to this article as soon as possible. The third part will be about affiliate marketing, advertisers, product reviews, and ways to make money on your blog. The more you get into blogging, the busier you will get. So finding the time to sit down and write a well thought out article can be tough. BUT, taking the time to do it is so worth it. Having original content on your website is also something companies look favorably upon, they don't want sites that are simply filled with ads and sponsored posts. Again, I must stress, I am passing on my personal knowledge. I am sure there is more information and more tips out there from more experienced bloggers. If you stumble upon something you can't figure out, google search it. AND you can also feel free to contact me and I will try to help you if possible. Best wishes in pushing forward with your blogging dreams.
If you missed it, be sure to check out
How I Started Blogging-Part One
Now let's talk about other ways to get the word out there about your site. There are several FREE ways to advertise. I mentioned a couple of them in part one as far as using Facebook in different ways to find new fans. Another excellent way to advertise is on Craigslist. You can advertise in some of the biggest cities for free. Depending on what you blog about, generally I would say to post your ad to the general community section. If you see a category that fits your blog better, then go with that. Make sure you do add a nice professional image like your cover photo or blog logo. Give a brief synopsis of what your site is offering and then provide links. You can renew your ad every 48 hours. I usually wait 72 hours personally. Craigslist will drop your ad and mark it as spam if you publish too often. So be careful on that. If that happens, republish and try again. I also recommend Oodle Marketplace for free advertising. It's a bit tricky figuring out what to list your ad under. I believe I listed mine under free stuff. Another one is ebay classifieds which is a top notch site to get noticed. And lastly, EzineArticles is great to check out if you are a good writer. This will really draw attention to you and your site. If you google search you may be able to find a few more.
Now your site is growing, you are significantly increasing in fans. It's time to get a regular website. There are several that are free, and as many of you know, this is my third and hopefully final website. I am currently using Weebly.com and I am thrilled with it. This site is extremely easy to build on, especially if you are lacking in experience. You can choose from several themes and backgrounds. One thing I am really happy about is that using the feature "embed code" in order to paste HTML codes on your site is a FREE feature. Some other websites will make you pay something for that. What is HTML? It is a hypertext aka computer language that many companies use to create ads, contests, and more. It sounds very technical and at first these can seem intimidating. But really, it's not so bad. You simply copy and paste them into your site using the "embed code" block. Don't worry, you will get the hang of it.
Next important step is adding Google Analytics to your site. Google Analytics will help track your page views, number of unique visitors, and basically show you what pages are most popular. If you decide to go with Weebly, you can paste your Google Analytics code into one place and it will appear on every page. (this is hidden to those viewing your site) Go to settings and then SEO(Search Engine Optimization) and paste it in the "footer" section. Then publish and you are good to go. Check your analytics and see how you are performing. This is so important because almost all affiliate marketing sites, advertisers, or sponsors will ask for your "unique users" and "monthly pageviews" numbers to gain acceptance. I am not an expert on all the ways to optimize your site for search engine purposes, but I know Google Analytics certainly will help. Another tip is when writing articles, be sure to use plenty of "key words" that will show up in a website search. And also very important, if you post photos on your site, name each photo with a "key word" on what it is about. Don't simply leave a photo as a file number or a short abbreviation. This will help your website get found. And by all means, use proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling. This can be difficult for some of us. Always proofread and edit. Also, if you are really growing and your fans seem to be going up on a semi regular basis, buy your own domain. In order to work for most companies as an affiliate or publisher you will have to do this at some point. On Weebly, I purchased my own domain for roughly $40 for the whole year. What is your own domain? This names your site and makes it specifically your own. When you first start on a free website, your site will be called for example "weebly3525143.com" When you buy your own domain you will look more professional and you will have a site like this one "freebiequeen13.net". Companies will take you more seriously.
The next step is spreading yourself around on social media. The more you put yourself out there, the better. I know some of you are intimidated by sites you are unfamiliar with, but learning the basics is essential. Sign up for Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Youtube, etc. using your site name. Creating a page on these popular social media sites is absolutely necessary. Advertisers will ask you to use many of these sites to share their ads, articles, sponsored posts, etc.
I am going to stop here for now. These tips will really get you going in the right direction. There is so much to learn, it is difficult to explain it all. I really hope this helps. I don't want to overwhelm anyone with too much information all at once. I will be publishing a part three to this article as soon as possible. The third part will be about affiliate marketing, advertisers, product reviews, and ways to make money on your blog. The more you get into blogging, the busier you will get. So finding the time to sit down and write a well thought out article can be tough. BUT, taking the time to do it is so worth it. Having original content on your website is also something companies look favorably upon, they don't want sites that are simply filled with ads and sponsored posts. Again, I must stress, I am passing on my personal knowledge. I am sure there is more information and more tips out there from more experienced bloggers. If you stumble upon something you can't figure out, google search it. AND you can also feel free to contact me and I will try to help you if possible. Best wishes in pushing forward with your blogging dreams.
If you missed it, be sure to check out
How I Started Blogging-Part One
