I had a reader ask:
What are your suggestions when starting a new blog? How did you start up, and get so successful with so many active readers?
First of all, God has really blessed Raising Arrows. Never could I have imagined the community this place on the web has become. Not only do readers interact with me, but they interact with each other. I have seen all of you ask questions of each other, lend advice to each other, and pray for one another. It makes me smile. And it is so humbling that God has allowed my blog to be a place where other believers can connect.
That said, I am not of the “build it and they will come” mentality. I believe we must do everything “heartily as unto the Lord” — including blogging. In my mind, that means do what you can do. Be ready. Be available. Never do anything half-heartedly.
I have a series on being a Christian Mom Blogger, but I’m going to spend this post just talking some basics of building a blog that reaches out to others and builds community.
How did I get started?
Well, I’m a blogging grandma. I’ve been blogging since December of 2005. I started blogging because I no longer had a consistent writing outlet once we moved away from the church where I wrote a monthly column in a newsletter. Writing is like breathing for me. When I heard about blogging, I was hooked!
Then Emily got sick, and my blogging became a way to keep people updated. Then Emily passed away, and I grieved…on the blog. It wasn’t pretty, but it was real and very raw.
A couple of years later, I moved to the WordPress platform after much prayer. My husband and I decided to move forward with the blog in a more serious way. At that point in time, I had about 24,000 pageviews a month. I know for some of you, that seems like an unreal amount, but you must remember, by that point, I had been blogging for 4 years!
From there, the Raising Arrows community grew by leaps and bounds, but the foundation was already there. I only built on that foundation, rather than laying a brand new one.
What kind of foundation does it take?
A blog that truly reaches others needs an author who is honest, but encouraging. Your blog needs to offer something heartfelt and real, useful and inspirational. It needs to be God’s message wrapped up in your story.
When people ask me what they should write about and the way they should write, I tell them to be the blog they are looking for! What things keep you up at night? What do you search the web for? What blogs keep you coming back for more? What writing styles engage you? I imagine if you took a hard look at those blogs, you would find a common thread…
Real people sharing what they have learned.
So, how do you get started?
What is the ministry God has given you? What unique story has He given you? How can you take that story and share His message with others through it?
Now, when you start writing, you may be compelled to be a bit didactic, meaning you try to be ever-teaching and never just you. People don’t like to be talked at, so avoid the pontificating.
Also avoid the whining. Don’t be that blogger who never has anything positive to say. And don’t be that blogger who shares EVERYTHING. Guard and protect your family by honoring them in what you say as well as what you don’t say.
And lastly, BE YOU. Don’t copy the style of another blogger. Learn from other bloggers, but don’t BE other bloggers.
Once you have prayed through what it is God is wanting you to share, start writing! Put out GREAT content. Organize your blog into useful categories and pages – the kind of categories and pages that would interest you and keep you coming back for more. Start networking with other bloggers. Start sharing your content with others. Be bold, be respectful, be genuine.
Working Heartily in the Online World
The online world can be noisy. It can also be incredibly distracting. A Christian blogger who is serious about blogging has to be willing and able to balance the online with the offline.
I am available to my readers in the places where my readers are, but they can never come before my family. Even when what I am doing online is done in the name of the Lord, if I am neglecting my family, I am building my blog in vain (Psalm 127:1)
And just so you know, this balance I speak of is not something you do one time. It’s something you do over and over and over. If you ever once think you’ve arrived, you’re sunk.
So, now that we have balance thing settled, HOW do you work heartily? Here are a few suggestions to get you thinking in that direction:
- Your posts should be content-rich, useful, and well-organized. If you can’t manage that, don’t post it until you can.
- Any freebies you offer (ebooks, worksheets, etc) need to reflect your best work. Free isn’t an excuse for shoddy.
- Exemplify the Fruits of the Spirit in your posts, your dealings with others via social media, your answers to comments, your emails, and your business dealings.
- Never grow weary in doing good. (Galatians 6:9)
So, now I’m going to open it up for questions specific to building a blog that reaches out. If you have questions I didn’t answer here, feel free to leave them in the comments section, and I’ll do my best to respond with an answer that is helpful.
Erin says
Can you tell me what web host you use? I am thinking about switching from wordpress.com to wordpress.org and there are so many out there I don’t know what to choose! Money is a concern so hopefully it wouldn’t be too pricey to do this. Thanks so much for doing this…I find so much encouragement from your blog:)
Amy says
Erin,
I use HostGator. I’ve heard either them or BlueHost are good ones to go with. The problem with going with cheaper options is that they often can’t handle larger clients, so for someone like me who has been blogging a long time, I need a host that can handle the files and size of blog as well as the traffic.
Ashley C says
This was really helpful, thank you! I’ve been seeking this type of advice lately. My blog is just a baby right now, but I love to write and I wonder about letting my blog be my training ground, etc. Thanks for your perspective!
Jennifer says
Do you keep to a schedule to write you posts? When juggling home school, family, and church stuff do you set aside certain days and times for blogging? Also…..do you do this as extra income or is that something that just happens through various affiliates?
Jillian says
What is your advice for creating tags? Do you really have to tag your post if you assign them to specific categories? Thanks for another great post! 🙂
Amy says
I don’t tag anymore. I do categorize. You want your categories to be succinct and not have a million of them. In fact, I have too many (even after paring down a few years back), but it takes time to go back through them. You have the opportunity to start out on the right foot! You can install an SEO plugin like All In One SEO or Yoast and add tags in there, but I wouldn’t waste time adding tags in your WP dashboard itself. Honestly, I don’t use an SEO plugin anymore. Google is constantly changing how they see your posts and what is important to them and I don’t think any plugin truly has that figured out.
Tati says
I truly needed to hear this today as I’m about to sit and try to write “Great” content. My site as well is just a babe. In those pregnancy moments when it seems as though nothing was getting done, did you use PLR articles? How do you feel about PLR articles? Do you find them to be trustworthy? If so, what site do you recommend? Thanking you for sharing.
Amy says
I don’t recommend PLR because it is not MY voice and not what my readers want to read.
Heather Anderson says
Thanks for sharing. Your blog was one of the first I found that I really connected with and have enjoyed it ever since.
Amy says
Thank you, Heather. I really enjoy what you write, so I am honored you enjoy my blog!
Melissa says
The blogs I love all share pictures and stories of their children. I don’t feel comfortable sharing images of my children online. How can I connect with the readers without sharing images and the names of my children?
Amy says
I feel the same way and I felt like I was the only one who felt that way! It was really hard for me to post pictures of my kids on FB, but I know that family and friends really wanted to see them and I was looking at pictures of their kids.
Amy says
You can come up with nicknames for your children, and rather than full on shots of your children, do photos of feet, side views, or blurred photos.