Right now, WordPress is the most versatile blogging platform out there and you get tons of options for customization. You not only get to change the look and feel of the blog but you can also change the way your users interact with the content that you have put. Maybe this is the reason why WordPress is used very widely. However, you might be tempted to use a lot of options and this might make your blog look bloated. I am blogging about a few simple steps to make your blog look better –

Overall design of the blog

This is the most obvious thing in a blog. If the content that you put is going to make your blog grow and if you are attempting to attract a lot of people then the design of your blog must complement all the time. Simple design too might do the trick and there is no need for high end eye candy everywhere. Also, it is really important that your WordPress Blog theme highlights your content first. If you do this, your readers will get what they came for in the first place.

Comments

For me, the comment section is one of the only place to interact with your readers and I don’t understand why people put a lot of different plugins or features which crowd the comments place. For instance, there are some blogs who have messy comment fields and you don’t know where to begin. It can get very confusing.

Social sharing

Social media and social networking is seen everywhere these days; it is simply unavoidable and in one way, it is a good thing. You’d want people to engage with the content but you would also want to make people share it with others. Here too simplicity is the key. I go through a few blogs everyday and see a lot of mess in social sharing etiquette. There are sharing icons cloase to the blog, on a single post layer and also close to the comments! You need to choose wisely and you will be rewarded well.

For me, blogging is fun and at most of the times, it doesn’t even feel like work. It is like having fun because I am doing what I love. The thing that I like the most about blogging is that one can be casual and there are no strict rules to follow. I have tried a lot of things over the yeas in my blogging careers and thus I know what works and what doesn’t. For people who want to be a successful blogger, here are my few bits

Stick to your true voice and passion – A lot of people strain away from this particulary when they realize the opportunity to make more money. Money may come in the short term but you will regret it in the long term.

Offer authenticity and transparency – Blogging is more like a journal that other read because your readers know all your skills or talents that is related to what you are blogging about.

Start experimenting and have fun – You might suffer from writer’s block but this doesn’t mean that blogging is tiresome. Be careful with what you experiment because no one likes a messy laboratory.

Give your readers a feel of your style and voice – Reveal more about yourself to your community. Are you a calm writer? Or are you the kind who writes deep through the posts?

You are responsible for your creations – There is a code of conduct where in you are responsible for what you write and what comments you allow on the blog. You also have the power for accepting or declining.

Connect well with your audience – If you are not going to respond to some comments then make your people aware of that. Also, try to connect with people who have content that is similar to what you are writing.

Always learn and keep improving – The best phrase here is ‘Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish’. There is a lot to learn in the blogosphere and you will certainly improve as you assimilate all the concepts.

Know the basics – Some times we get carried away and forget the basics. The basics here include getting a good design for the blog, good quality, commenting that is not spam and getting gravatar.

Have something more? Let me know through the comments section below.

Monetizing a blog can be an unethical issue for a people who religiously write for their personal blogs. Making money from a blog is a good option, however, for people who find it unethical this option may proof flop. So as you can read between the lines, the staunch mentality of considering monetizing a blog as unethical needs to be dropped first to make money through blog writing.

After you start of with commercializing your blog you will face horde of negative feedback and I faced them as well. But this should not derail you from your path as negative feedbacks really work in favor though they are negative. The visitors who come up with negative feedback are actually very supportive and their feedbacks are boon in disguise for improving your blog content.

The moment you go for monetizing your blog, the hurdle that a person faces is to find the preference of his readers. This trouble gets solved the money you get feedbacks. On the basis of the feedbacks received you can change the content or add categories that sit the preference of your readers.

Once the task of writing is over there is a need to look into the technicalities of the blog. If this is the process of your work, then I will ask you better change your process. Writing and technical aspect goes hand in hand. Hence, looking up for proper publishing software is must to make the functions of your blog acceptable for the visitors. Use a good web designer to make your blog look god and easily navigable. Just sticking on to the writing part will not do much good for your blog.

The word ‘Niche’ must be one of the most overused words in Internet marketing. Everyone and his neighbor will offer advice about finding a suitable forte and staying ahead in it.

But certainly, the single most important thing you can do as a blogger is to find an idea or a category you will be good at exploiting to the fullest and being the best at. A niche can make or break your ambitions.

Finding your niche is only part of the story, you need to stay well ahead of the rest and earn respect as an accomplished expert in your niche.

Well, after you have chosen a good niche that you are comfortable with dealing with and are confident of making a success of, then comes the harder parts. You have to drive yourself to be the top guy in terms of knowledge in everything to do with your niche. This will mean staying up to date and ahead of your competitors.

You need to have a good idea of what is upcoming and set to be big in the topic you have chosen as your niche. There are several ways you can get ideas based on what is happening around the world.

Go to eBay, where you can look for the category th

at matches closest with your niche. You can check who the top sellers are in the niche, and then find out what items are being stocked, what items are selling and what are not as well as the latest items introduced.

Check out various blogs that deal with your niche. Use search engines to search for blogs. Register for forums and participate in discussions. You can even lurk and find out what the new things are being talked about. You can brand yourself as an accepted guru in these forums as well, which will make for increased traffic on your blog. Read about what is happening and being discussed around the world, cover countries such as Australia, United States, China, UK and more.

Check out best seller lists for books that have been released and are selling well in the NYT best sellers list.

There are many other ways you can stay up to date and ahead, but once you get into the habit, you will realize that you simply can not afford to be behind, because its your niche!