A Few Things I've Learned About Blogging.

I've not had this little blog for very long. About a year actually, but in that year I've learned so much about blogging. I discovered lots of things that I didn't even know existed. I've still obviously got tons to learn, but I thought this would be a good time to spout off some things that new bloggers might not know. My friend Brad started a blog a few days ago, you should definitely go check it out! It's quite funny and entertaining. GO! Well, here goes! Maybe soon I'll do a post over all the things I've learned about photography. For now, we'll stick to blogging. 

Simple is good. When I first started blogging I was really into elaborate, busy backgrounds and headers. They were really cute, but now I like simple things a lot better. Sometimes they're a lot to take in, and if you go for a more basic look it makes your blog a lot less 'amateury'. That's not to say that some people don't pull off the busy look! I know of lots of blogs that have a printed background, but they usually have a very simple header. This works both ways, if there's a bold header than the background is usually pretty plain. Do what feels right, and what best shows you!

I can make decorative things for my blog all by myself?! This was a GIANT discovery! I opened so many different doors when I figured this out. I usually use GIMP or pixlr to make all of my blog stuff. Pixlr is much more simpler to use than GIMP, and I wouldn't suggest downloading GIMP unless you have an apple computer, since I'm not sure if it's totally safe. Once you get the hang of using the software it's so much fun. You can do so many things! I do change my blog design a lot, but I really like my current design. If you need any help, or if you want a specific tutorial for something, please don't hesitate to ask!

LinkWithin is a great thing. This little gadget is great to keep readers engaged. It keeps them clicking. And clicking. And clicking. I'm definitely guilty of doing that on other blogs. This is really easy to install, just google LinkWithin and it should take you right through all the steps.

I like wider blogs. This may seem kind of silly, but it's very true. My blog used to not be wide at all, and I think it looks a lot more professional if your layout is more spread out. But maybe I'm crazy..

Post about things that your readers are really going to want to read. This may seem like common sense, but I'm guilty of posting boring stuff that I wouldn't want to read if I was a blog reader! I try to avoid complaining posts, unless they're funny. I also don't like posts about my day, or my week. No one wants to hear that, I have a boring life. Just try to keep your posts interesting, with set topics.

There are lovely CSS codes that you can add to your blog. These codes perform wonders. They can center things, (which is basically what mine do) and fix minor details on your blog that you wouldn't know how to do otherwise. Go look for them, the code you need is out there somewhere!

It isn't all about followers. Keep in mind that there can be gobs of people reading your blog that aren't following you. I've noticed that they don't see the extreme importance of it like we do. Keep posting and be patient. Great ways to promote your blog? Facebook, sponsorships, twitter, blog cards, and much more! 

And those are the most important things. I'm sure there's more, but we'll stick to these! It's kind of fun to imagine where your blog may be in the few years down the road. It's a pretty slow process of gaining followers. I've tried basically everything, and it just takes patience! I hope you found some of these useful! I still have so much to learn, and I can't wait. Here's a picture, since I don't like posts without pictures. Except "Words Worth" posts, those are kind of supposed to be like that..

I'm such a dweeb.

Just Trust Me!