Bloggers come in many shapes and sizes. Not everyone blogs for the same reasons. There are niche bloggers who keep searching for the long tails, there’s brand blogs that wants to rank for premium keywords, there’s news bloggers who are keeping an eye out for trending topics and yet there are some bloggers who are in it, just for the fun of it.
The vast majority of bloggers on the internet are people who do not wish to monetize their blogs. They just want to grow a following so that more people can read their content and in time their content gets consumed more and more. Such bloggers aren’t in it for the money, so monetization tips do not apply to them.
Here, in this article, we will cover tips to grow a blog and have fun along the way.
1. Plan your content schedule: As a hobby or part-time blogger, your time is limited. Still, your blogging schedule matters, as posting consistence, no matter how rarely you post, is still going to be an important factor. Check how many articles you published in the last year. If your number is 12, then you must select a day of the month, for example 1st of every month you should post an article.
2. Go deep into your Niche: As a blogger who is blogging only as a hobby, your niche must be something that you truly value and your knowledge of your niche is genuine. Take this as a positive thing and start digging deep into your niche. Learn new topics which are directly in your niche and start covering them in your blog.
3. Start Video Blogging: The state of blogosphere is changing fast. Text is still important, but if you compare it with video blogging, making videos is fast and easy compared to writing articles. People like to watch a video instead of reading a lot of text. Making a slight move towards video blogging and supplementing it with your text content can be a productive move.
4. Engage your Following: What aspects of blogging is fun is a totally personal question. However, for most people, creating every green content, long form content, flagship and detailed tutorial type content etc. mostly falls under work, and communicating and chatting in the comments section sounds like fun.
Spend time in your comments section, have fun while doing so and in the process build a loyal following.
5. Invite your Niche Leaders to Guest Post: When you have limited time and you don’t want to write too much then it is time to introduce guest bloggers. Lately, with all the weak and spamy pitches that guest bloggers keep sending, most people have started to associate guest blogging with poor quality marketing activity. But that isn’t the correct impression of guest blogging.
Look out for bloggers who are established and have an influence on your niche. Network and build a connection with them and when they start to know you send them an offer giving them an opportunity to write for your blog.
6. Set your Goals Accordingly: When you aren’t into blogging full time, having a difficult goal that requires way too much work will naturally eat up all the fun that blogging provides. Tweak your goals accordingly and adjust the success you want to achieve under the giving time. Lower the targets so that with fewer efforts you can reach your planned goals.
7. Share content on the Social Media: Social is fun, let us keep it that way. Write short and catchy messages for social media; schedule them along with the links to your relevant blog posts. This process takes less time, engaging and socializing on the social media takes even less time. Make sure to give a very limited time for social media else it will waste a lot of productive time as social media is very addictive.
8. Write less but it must be Actionable: When you have limited time then it is important that you choose your article titles carefully. Your content should be actionable, it should solve a problem and it must be searched a lot. This way, your content might come out rarely, but whenever it does, it will be worth it.
9. Get a Custom Theme: Personal or hobby blogs must have a unique design. Readers should be able to recognize your designs so that they remember your blog. A good design will inspire you as a blogger to write better content as you will feel a sense of uniqueness and pride in your blog.
10. Read Books: It is always important to constantly upgrade your knowledge. Find books that are directly on your niche or its sub niches. Read them in full and keep asking for more books from book readers communities.
11. Write from your Heart: When you write articles for the sake of completing a deadline, it isn’t a great piece of content; it is usually just an article meant to keep your posting schedule going.
Instead of doing that, write articles that you truly want to write. Get a notepad to write down your ideas and slowly, turn it into a good piece of content. This process might take several days but your article will be worth it. This advice might not work for professional bloggers who are trying to churn articles as quickly as possible. But for the hobby bloggers who are looking for some fun while blogging, one can easily take more time and write better content.
12. Tweak your Tools and Setup: The desk, the office setup and the laptop is mostly the entire tool and stuff that you need to keep your blogging going. This might seem simple but the view from your chair, the look of your desk and the speed of your laptop does matters a lot.
If you are too tired of your setup, feel free to move around your home when you write content. Consider moving to the park or anywhere your heart desires to get some change, which might get rid of the regular boredom and make working on your blog more exciting and fun.
Back in the days when we had started blogging, there was a spark. If you feel that way and you miss your spark, your special initial blogging magic, then it is time to stop thinking too much and start blogging, just like the old days, for fun!