Blogging can be very difficult and stressful if you don’t have resources to help you through. From planning your blog to marketing your blog posts, there is always something for bloggers to learn in order to develop their blogging skills. Learning new things is how you and your blog grow, succeed, and thrive.
In today’s post, I’m going to share the 12 best blog posts that will help you develop your blogging skills. From choosing a niche to affiliate marketing, there is something on this list that every blogger can improve upon.
*This post contains affiliate links. That means that if you make a purchase after clicking on a link I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. For more information, click here.
Developing Your Blogging Skills
If you are new to blogging, I’m sure you feel like you have so much to learn and do that you”ll never get it all done. You are not alone! We have all been there.
Two of the most challenging parts of starting a blogging career is narrowing down a niche and finding your authentic blogging voice. The next two blog posts will help you accomplish both of those feats so that you can start your blog strong.
How to Find Your Blogging Voice
by Helene Sula
Your blogging voice is an important blogging skill. Your voice, or the way you write, entertains your audience and improves readability. Your voice is your blog’s personality and helps your writing relate to your audience. This builds a relationship with your reader. Most importantly, it earns your reader’s trust.
If you sound like a robot, stating facts all day, you aren’t going to engage your reader at all. That’s the last thing they want to read. In fact, your writing will be a complete and utter bore. Who would want to read that? Not me!
Helene Sula understands this. Her post, “How to Find Your Blogging Voice” starts out with a Disney narrative and sucks you in. I love that about her. It makes her writing relatable and makes you feel like you are buddies with her. This is what your writing voice should do for a blogger.
Speak to your audience like they’re a good friend and you’re giving them all of the deets. Have a conversation with them. Anticipate their reaction and use that reaction to infuse your writing with personality.
5 Niche Choosing Strategies to Use if You Haven’t Got a Clue
by Claire Donovan-Blackwood
There are so many bloggers that disagree on this subject of niching that it is very confusing. To niche or not to niche, that really is a confounding question, isn’t it? If you are new to blogging, then you need to know that your niche is your blogging topic.
Some people say you need to narrow your niche and focus on a specific skill for your blog to succeed. The more narrow focus makes your blog unique. Others feel that choosing a niche is overrated. Successful lifestyle blogs are the perfect example of this.
My opinion is that if you are writing on broad topics, like finance or real estate, you are going to have a ton of competition. Narrowing your niche will help you target a smaller, but stronger audience because you write on the specific topic of their interest. You are the specialist in this particular section of your topic.
In the above pose, Claire goes into detail about how to choose a niche for broad blogging topics. This will simplify your blog (and life). It also makes your blog easier to monetize and builds a more connected following. If you want to make your life easier and connect with your audience better, her post is a must-read.
Honing Your Email Marketing Skills
Email marketing has the greatest return on investment of any form of blog marketing. It is a business and blogging skill that has amazing potential and can generate more pageviews, leads, and sales for your blog or any small business. It is the creme de la creme of marketing.
The following posts are exceptional examples of how to grow your following and build a relationship with your reader.
Content Upgrades That Will Rock Your Email List
by Wendy Maynard
Opt-in freebies, lead magnets, and opt-in incentives. These are just a few terms used to describe something you offer to your audience in exchange for their email address and joining your email list. This is the worm on a digital marketer’s hook.
In Wendy Maynard’s post, she explains how you can use existing content to create new incentives that will grow your email list on every post. Do you offer only one or two opt-in incentives on your blog? If so, this limits your email list to the portion of your audience that like that single topic on your blog.
Now imagine that every post has its own unique incentive. Every topic that you write about instantly becomes the worm on the hook. It will appeal to more people and grow your email list quickly.
Not sure what type of incentives to offer or how to create a content upgrade? Read her post to find out exactly what you need to do.
How to Write a Staggeringly Good Welcome Email Series
by Meera Kothand
In order to take advantage of your email list, you must use your list to get to know your audience and build trust. The first hours and days after your audience member subscribes are the most crucial to keeping that reader engaged and selling your personal brand.
When I say selling, I’m not talking about the word in the monetary sense. I am talking about how you sell your brand. You and your writing are the valuable commodities. Your brand is everything to your business, but to get the most out of it, you need a welcome email series.
In her post, Meera explains why the first few days are critical. She also helps you understand how to take this opportunity to build trust and gain your new follower’s trust and respect.
I am still working on my welcome email series. This has by far been the best actionable resource that I have found for creating a killer welcome email series. I truly love Meera’s work and this post is a shining example of how useful her content is.
Harnessing the Power of Pinterest
Pinterest is an amazing tool for marketing your blog. If you aren’t using it, you should sign up ASAP and get on board. The great news is, it’s free!
Of all of the Pinterest blog posts out there, my two faves come from Elna Cain. Instead of covering one, I’m going to cover both. Elna knows how to use Pinterest to grow and monetize her blog. I highly recommend you check out TwinsMommy.com. Her posts are valid for any blogger, not just the mom bloggers out there.
How Tailwind Skyrocketed My Traffic, List, and Income
by Elna Cain
Tailwind is always touted as an amazing blogging tool. It cost more ($15/month) than its competitor ($5/month), but you can pay annually and save a ton. Whenever I schedule pins using the platform, I get a huge boost in traffic.
Elna explains exactly how this works. I completely agree with everything she says in her post. I have only used Tribes a few times. The first post I pinned to tribes, “The 9 Best Bloggers for New Bloggers to Follow” has received 3304 views, as of today. It has been my most popular post, by far.
Elna demonstrates similar results and shows screenshots of her progress. If you haven’t tried Tailwind, it is worth signing up for the free trial to see how it works for you.
3 Pinterest Tips to Grow Your Blog Traffic and Presence
by Elna Cain
This is probably the greatest game-changing post I have ever read. I also watched the video. It is well-worth your time, I promise.
Using the tips in this post, I have been able to take my Pinterest account from 80k-ish average monthly viewers to 394,409 in 2-1/2 months. My Pinterest account has grown very fast in the same time frame. I started with 97 pageviews and have received 10.8k pageviews as of the 23rd of March. That is less than 3 months!
The steps are so simple, it is ridiculous. Check out this post and try out her tips for your Pinteret account and web traffic to soar. If your results anywhere close to mine, I’m sure you will be thrilled with the results.
Developing Your Social Media Skills
I have a love/hate relationship with social media, to be completely honest. Sometimes I become frustrated with it, but I keep trying and learning. My greatest challenge has been with consistency and creating a social media marketing plan that I can stick to.
When I follow through, I get excellent results fast. I highly recommend focusing on social media early on in your blogging career. This will create a fast following for your blog with the lowest cost, so it’s a great investment.
The following posts explain how you should use social media to grow your blog.
How to Use Instagram to Grow Your Blog
by Katie Graezer
Instagram can be an awesome tool for bloggers, once you figure it out. To be honest, I have struggled with Instagram, but things recently started clicking recently and it’s all because of this post by Katie of “What’s Katie Up To?”
Instagram is a very visual social media platform. That means that beautiful photographs are a requirement for your posts. If you don’t take the best photographs, there is no time like the present to start learning how to take pictures. Start using a digital camera or your smartphone camera and get acquainted with its settings and filters.
You don’t have to spend a fortune to get started on Instagram. You can start small with your smartphone and free apps or photo editing software. I love Pixlr for my smartphone and use GIMP on PC.
Katie has excellent advice on how to build a following and includes multiple strategies that will help you grow your following fast and strong. I had not heard of many of these strategies, so I was thrilled to know I could try something different to grow my account.
Whether you are new to Instagram or not, everyone can find a strategy in this post that will boost your Instagram following. I am currently implementing some of these strategies out and am finally growing my Instagram following. Thank you Katie!
How to Be a Social Media Boss Getting Social with Just a Girl and Her Blog
by Amy Howard, Interview with Abby Lawson
This is just one post in a series of blog posts that Amy Howard of “Amy Howard Social” wrote about becoming a Social Media Boss. This one is an interview with Abby Lawson of “Just a Girl and Her Blog.”
This interview is short and sweet but is full of information to inspire you and help you develop your own social media strategy. If you don’t know what a social media strategy is or how to start one, check out my recent blog post on the topic.
In the interview, Abby discloses some excellent social media marketing advice that will help you develop an effective social media strategy. She is speaking from experience. At the time of the interview, she had a social media following of more than 50k.
Check out this interview and make sure you take notes so that you can take advantage of the tips she offers. It’s valuable information for any new social media marketer.
What to Post on Each Social Media Outlet
by Chloe West
Chloe is a social media inspiration. She works with other bloggers to create effective social media strategies to grow their brands. Thankfully for us, she blogs about it too. In this post, she discusses exactly what you should post on each social media platform.
If you are like me, I know you’ve stared at your smartphone and thought, what should I say today? The truth is you should plan out your social media posts and use a strategy to take your audience from where they are today to where they want to be. I know that we’ve all just posted whatever was on our minds at the time, but that doesn’t work well in marketing.
In her post, Chloe goes into more detail about why you need a strategy and why people hire her to create one. She knows exactly what she’s talking about and has been willing to give us some of her very best blogging tips. How lucky are we?
Check out her recommendations about what to post on each platform, but don’t be afraid to put your own spin on things either. That’s what keeps social media interesting and builds your brand.
Monetizing Your Blog
We would all like to make money from our blogs if we are honest. If this weren’t true, you probably wouldn’t be reading this post. You wouldn’t need to because there wouldn’t be a purpose to grow our blog. The fact is, you can make serious money blogging if you know how.
The next posts focus on monetizing your blog and earning an income. From services to affiliate marketing, there is something that all of us can do to earn a living while blogging about what we love.
An In-Depth Guide to Monetization Strategies for Your Blog
by Sidney Jackson
If you wonder where you should start when it comes to making money from your blog, this article will answer that question. Sidney goes into detail about the most popular ways bloggers earn an income through their blog and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of each.
If you are new to monetizations or don’t know what it means, start with this post. Sidney’s post is really as in-depth as she promises. In addition to this post, she has other posts on each specific topic that you can check out as well.
You don’t have to post ads all over your blog or be sleazy to sell to your audience. Sidney explains that there are better options for bloggers. My favorite section is on products and services. This is where the majority of bloggers make the bulk of their income.
Although some affiliate programs offer amazing commissions, very few offers enough to make a substantial impact on your blog’s income. Sidney suggests a few great affiliate programs and the different ways you can be paid using affiliate marketing.
It is important to have all of the information up front so that you know what your options are and can make an informed decision. This blog post does exactly that.
3 Smart Ways to Boost Your Blog Income Without Working Yourself to Tears
by Meera Kothand
I would purchase anything with Meera’s name on it. I highly recommend her to every blogger who wants recommendations. That’s why this is her second post I recommend on this list.
While Meera is the queen of email marketing, she is a mom who wants to earn passive income. Like many of us, she wants to spend as much time as possible with her family. Passive income is the perfect way to do this.
In this post, she goes into detail about creating a sales funnel and selling products that require you to do the work once and continue earning an income. This is passive income and it is the least labor-intensive of all of the income you can make blogging.
Meera offers several ebooks (and even has her own affiliate program). This is great for anyone who wants to try out affiliate marketing and have support. She actually has another book, “Your First 100,” coming out soon, so be sure to check that out and download your free first chapter while you’re there.
The major takeaway from this post is that you don’t have to work your fingers to the bone to earn a living as a blogger. You don’t have to continually find a balance between being a salesperson and writing for your blog. Passive income is definitely the way to go if you want to enjoy your life and family while operating a successful blog.
5 Things I Did to Make Money with Affiliate Marketing
by Nicole Stone
Affiliate marketing can be lucrative, but it is incredibly frustrating to make that first sale. I’ve read multiple posts on the topic of getting that first sale. They all offer different advice, but Nicole’s advice makes the most sense to me.
Sales are much more difficult online than in person because you lose that personal connection. In her post, Nicole gives some solid advice to help you get around that hurdle and also helps you build that personal connection, despite not being face-to-face with your audience.
Building a connection by using your best available options is critical to affiliate marketing success. Don’t waste your time dropping links. Check out Nicole’s advice first, before posting another unused affiliate marketing link in your blog posts.
Take Action!
Now that you have read these awesome blog posts, it is time to put your new blogging skills into action. Go ahead and try out a few of these posts (or all of them) and let us know how it goes.
Be sure to sign up below for the email list below to receive updates, exclusive content, and freebies as they become available. If you have any questions about this post, feel free to email me at jackie@jackieison.com.
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Great list! I have read Meera’s blog. Her tips are invaluable! Elna is such a wealth of knowledge. I can’t wait to read the posts from the other 10 ladies. Thanks for putting this together!:)
You’re welcome. I’m really glad you enjoyed it!
Just came on across this article on Pinterest, really got some useful blogging tips and recommendations for further reading from it. Thanks for sharing.
I’m glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
What an awesome round up! Thank you so much for including me, that really means so much!
You are very welcome!
Really got some learning new tips as a blogger from this article. Thanks
You’re very welcome!
Thanks for including mine in this list Jackie! I so have to check out the others you’ve mentioned as well. Love this compilation! 🙂
You are very welcome! 🙂
Hi Jackie, What a fantastic blog post! Thank you so much for including my article in this great mix. I cannot wait to read the rest of these “goodies” in your compilation.
My best, Wendy
You are very welcome. It was well deserved!