8 top tips for anyone new to blogging, by Emma at It's Mostly Ok

We asked Emma of It's Mostly Ok to put together her top tip for anyone just starting out with a blog. Emma writes about the life and laughs of a London mum. Over to Emma! I've been reading blogs for about six years now, originally looking for ideas for my wedding, then when I wanted to have a baby I progressed onto family/baby blogs. I always knew in the back of my mind that I wanted to start my own site, but it wasn't until a few months after I had my baby in March 2014 that I finally felt ready to give it a go. I felt like I now had a voice and something to talk about. Here are my top tips for anyone just starting out. 1. Try and find a blogging buddy! A few months ago one of my NCT girls entered the Pitch to Rich competition and we realised we both had a common goal. She needed time to write her proposal and I needed to, well, write! We made a plan to hang out at each others houses once or twice a week for a few hours, and essentially have a working 'play date'. Sometimes it worked and the babies played together, sometimes it didn't work at all and they hated each other, but for the times it worked, it meant we both managed to get a decent amount of work done or at least clear some emails or write some notes. 2. Don't worry about what everyone else is doing. Entering the blogging 'arena' can be incredibly daunting, it's a bit like being the new kid at school. Some people are extremely popular and are doing really well, some people post every day, some people promote their post's hourly and there are most definitely cliques, you need to forget about everyone else and concentrate on yourself. 3. If you're not enjoying it or finding it too much, take some time out. I loved blogging at first but got suddenly very upset by it all, it didnt feel right. I was stressing over things I shouldn't be stressing about and I wasn't spending enough time with my baby, so I took a step back and took some time out. During that time I recognised that yes, blogging was still something that I wanted to do so I came back to it. Every now and again I do this to re-evaluate, don't loose sight of why you are writing. 4. Put the effort in. If you use Twitter, Instagram or Facebook, you need to put in some hard graft at the start, to begin building up your 'community' and followers. You need to spend some time commenting on peoples photo's on Instagram and chatting or writing tweets on Twitter. You can't be mute and expect people to find or know about you. 5. Try Linky's. These are a good way to get people onto your site and commenting on your posts when you are starting out. A Linky is post sharer of sorts, that a fellow blogger hosts on their blog, with the basic idea being that you comment on a few other blog posts and get comments back in return. The fab Aby from You Baby Me Mummy has a list here of all the Linkys around. Linkys are good but don't stress about them too much. I found some worked brilliantly and some didn't at all, i.e. I got no comments back despite commenting on several posts, so if its not working for you, just stop, don't feel pressure to do anything. 6. For some great tips and 'how too's', check out Sian's Blogging Newbie Class here on her blog, Potty Mouthed Mummy. 7. Engage with your audience. If someone comments on your blog, reply to them. If you are on Twitter and someone engages with you, answer them. I try not to spend too much time on Twitter but have big a splurge every now and again, its good to chat to people and join in with conversations. There are often hosted chats where you can share views and opinions on certain topics. Get involved where you can, again this is how you can grow your 'community', get to know other bloggers and boost your followers. 9. Finally, find your fit and know what you want to blog about. In the early days I found myself reading other people's blogs thinking that I loved how they wrote and almost trying to mirror that person's style in my own writing, but that's not possible, it doesnt work. You can't be someone else, so don't try. I also think it shows through if you're trying to be something you're not. Find your style and be happy with it, go with your own flow :) There you have it. My top nine blogging tips for those starting out, I hope you find them useful x

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