A website or a webpage that has content related to a particular niche or some general topics, and which is updated regularly is known as a blog. The individual who writes the blogs for a website is known as a blogger.
Blogging is considered to be the best form of expression. It is a way to share, connect, empower, inspire and educate the world. Blogging is not about publishing as much as you can, rather it is about publishing as smart as you can. It is not rocket science; it is just a form of writing that is published using an efficient type of technology. Being a blogger, it is very important to be yourself and putting what you have.
Someone who blogs or writes for a living is known as a professional blogger. These people may either earn from their blogs or write for a company or website. In today’s potential age, companies are hiring professional bloggers who can produce standard quality content for them, that looks fabulous and creative and that can bring in leads for them. Given below are certain blogging skills that you must improve so that you construct polished and profitable blogs.
Researching Skills
This is indeed one of the most important blogging skills that any writer should acquire. You can’t grow as a blogger without learning, so you need to do deep research and understand the topic yourself first and then start writing. Check the facts twice before incorporating them in your article, find answers to relevant questions if any. Always keep a track of your research and note down the important information if any.
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Content Writing Skills
This is the only way by which you can create better blogs, earn money, and provide value to your readers. For building a profitable blog you must write engaging, unique, and helpful content. You need to understand the importance and relevance of the topic and write engaging information that is up to date and that can help you boost your website traffic. Make articles of appropriate length; keep them original and plagiarism-free. Write only authentic information and do not use too many technical terms and language, in other words, keep it simple and reader-friendly. You can even use tools like Grammarly or Copyscape to aid your writing skills.
Networking Skills
This is one of the best blogging skills that you should acquire as a blogger. Make connections where ever you go, connect with other bloggers and interact with your readers. The skill of networking helps you to increase your website traffic. Reaching out to another blogger and learning about their experience and their skills will help you in personal growth. Build a network with your audience and know about their reading preferences and interest. But remember all the networking you do should happen organically and should be sincere.
CSS and HTML Skills
For being a pro-blogger CSS and HTML skills are a must. This knowledge can help you in fixing something on your site when you are in a pinch. You might not have full-fledged knowledge of WordPress, but you should learn basic HTML coding such as; adding alt tags, image interlinking, including headlines, making words bold, etc. This will also help you in making your content presentable by adding different templates. If you have a basic knowledge of this technology then you can add various widgets and plug-ins to your blog and hence increase its marketability.
SEO Blogging Skills
Search engine optimization is a term which you will often hear as a blogger. So, understanding the basics of SEO will help you in becoming an expert blogger. Your main focus should be on sending organic traffic to your blog posts. You should follow some fundamental steps to get a good SEO ranking; means your content appears to be on the first page of Google search results, whenever a reader searches for something similar to your content.
Use keyword research, understand user’s needs and intent, start with a great headline, appropriate use of heading tags, use smart and efficient URL- slugs, use links that can boost your SEO rankings, write an attractive meta description, and optimize images relevant to the content, these were some fundamental things related to SEO that you should know for being a pro-blogger. Many tools like Google Analytics, Search Console, or Ubersuggest can be quite helpful at times. You should consider using those tools.
Marketing Skills
Always remember that you are marketing yourself by developing your blog post. This is indeed an integral part of the blogging business where you sell your services and earn your living through them. All you need to know is the right time and place to market. The more you market, the more people will connect to you, and more will be the traffic on your website. Make connections with other bloggers and influencers of your niche, follow them, and read as much as you can. Through your blogs, you are establishing yourself as a brand. For massive results, we advise you to combine blogging with social media.
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Photo Editing Skills
Content along with a relevant image looks more eye-catchy and attractive to read. Along with that use of images in blog posts will increase your search ranking and creates an impact on the reader’s mind. So, it is necessary for you as a blogger to know editing and formatting skills. Learn some basics about how to use Photoshop apps as they can help in putting a perfect picture along with your blog. Giving a visual treat and info graphing will result in an increased audience on your blog post.
Keyboard Typing Speed & Accuracy
For completing the pre-decided list of nos. of articles to complete in a day, a blogger needs to improve their typing speed. If you are slow in typing then you need to brush up on this skill. Here are some key pointers that you can follow to improve your keyboard typing speed:
- Proper hand placement on the keyboard is very important.
- Don’t look at your hands again and again instead of that focus on your screen.
- Maintain a good body posture, be in a comfortable position and practice and gain mastery over typing.
If you follow all these steps of improving typing then it is sure that you will write accurately. You should also use speed testing tools and games to test your typing speed and accuracy skills. Type testing tool by LiveChat is a good option to start. But, the fun way is to play the Fast Typer game that is available online.
Social Networking Skills
Social media is the platform where you can find a new audience for your blogs as well as boost up your blog traffic. As a blogger, it is important to use Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to network with people and engage them in reading your blogs. These social networking sites also allow you to incorporate links to your blog on your social media handles, thus increasing the no. of readers. So along with writing blogs stay active on your social media accounts as well.
Understanding your Audience
While writing always keep in mind the audience who will be reading your content. Understanding your reader’s point of view and what they might want to read is one of the biggest challenges of blogging. You can master this by analyzing and interacting with your followers, and then articulating your blog post according to what they like.
Time Management and Planning
A professional blogger always needs to properly plan their schedule. You should always write down the no. of blogs and the topics to write for the next day and also decide on how much time you will devote to writing each of them. Complete all the planning the night before so that when you get up the next day you already know what all you have to achieve. Slice up your day into segments and prioritize your work. Learn to manage your time and make sure not to get distracted by any social media notifications while writing, just focus on completing your to-do-list, for the day.
Patience, Creativity, and Consistency
You should give time to polish your blogging skills. Have patience while writing, and write blogs in such a way that your audience feels motivated after reading it and they share the same with others. Be consistent and true to your niche, don’t get deviated. Try to be creative and innovative while writing so that there is an active audience engagement on your blog post.
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The Bottom Line
There is a thin line of difference between producing a blog and producing a successful blog. So as a blogger it is necessary for you to learn the above-listed skills to last long in a successful blogging journey. To become a pro-blogger then you should learn to write well-structured and audience-centric blogs, research and plan everything and write content that is up to date. The focal point of your content should be its readability, usefulness, and relevance. Stay consistent in whatever you write and your blogs should have a voice that can inspire others. For being a successful blogger, you should read as much as you can, go through different blogs, websites, books, journals, and other sources that will help you discover different styles of blogging and writing. The more you read the greater insight you will get about blogging.
