I get emails from readers all the time asking for advice about starting a blog. Usually, I jot down a jumble of thoughts and throw in a few links to other blogs who have written similar posts and call it a day, but today I want to share a more in depth and real answer.
I created Merrick’s Art six and a half years ago, and during the last two years I’ve made it into my career, so with a bit of experience under my belt (and a lot of trial and error), I want to share with you what I think are six things you need as a blogger to become successful long term.
1. Choose a focus
When you’re starting a blog, the most important thing to think about is what do I want to write about? Most people are passionate about something, so start there. If you pick something you’re good at and passionate about, you’ll have long term content.
I’ve found that most successful blogs have a focus, and they stick to it — DIY, Style, Parenting, Cooking, etc. This doesn’t mean you’re limited to only this kind of content, but it gives you an umbrella under which your content should fall, which gives your blog a clear direction, and your readers a more specific purpose for finding and sticking around on your blog. If you try to fit every topic into one blog, or you change your direction often, it’s confusing for your readers, hard for your blog to be easily searchable on the web, and hard to keep all the different content cohesive.
For me, my umbrella is Fashion Blogging, under which falls style, shopping, sewing, kids style, and some DIY, and I try really hard to keep all my content very focused on these topics.
2. Be true to yourself
Here’s the reality: I’m a mom of two little boys and I buy a lot of my clothes at Target. That’s who I am, and I’m not going to put on a facade about it. I write about everyday kind of style and projects because I’m an everyday type of girl.
If you want your readers to trust you and relate to you, be yourself, whomever that may be. There’s a place for every kind of person and every kind of blogger in this world, so don’t try to be someone you’re not, just to try to fit in. As a blogger, it’s easy to look at other bloggers and want what they have, or want your blog to be exactly like theirs, but if that kind of blog is not who you are, it’s not going to work and you’ll spend all your time comparing and never measuring up.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with looking to other bloggers and women as inspiration — in fact, I think it’s fantastic and strengthening to have role models — but make sure those women you are trying to emulate are bringing out your honest true self. That’s what really matters.
3. Set Realistic Goals
Setting goals for your blog is a great idea as you’re starting out, as well as through your blogging career. It’s easy to get caught up in the day to day work and forget what you’re trying to achieve long-term, so write your goals out and review them often.
However, make sure your goals are realistic. There are a lot of bloggers out there who make a living off of their blogs, so I know a lot of people who start a blog expecting to make their millions any minute. But the reality is that most bloggers don’t make any money on their blogs for quite a while. There are the occasional blogs that take off very quickly, but for the most part most blogs (including my own) don’t make more than a few pennies per hour for a long time. Choose something you love to do, because you’ll be doing it for free for a while.
Same for your followers — don’t get frustrated when your growth is slow. Make sure you’re doing everything you can to get yourself out there (share your content on social media, pin your posts on Pinterest, collaborate with other bloggers and companies who will share your content on their platforms, etc), and as long as your growth is steadily growing, count that as an accomplishment. Don’t be too hard on yourself — just do the best you can.
4. Aesthetic is everything.
invitations from the summer floral affair I co-hosted this summer // photo by sara walk
When I started blogging, everyone was starting a blog and was experimenting. Blog designs were sub-par and photo quality was horrible, but no one really knew the difference. Now it’s a whole different world — aesthetic is everything. The reality is that you cannot have a successful blog anymore unless you have beautiful aesthetic. I mean, just take one look at pinterest and my point is proven — people pin and love to look at beautiful things. Yes OF COURSE, what’s inside is so important, but it’s the surface beauty of your blog that helps them take that second glance 😉
Learn how to use your camera (or hire a photographer), do some research on staging, posing, or design. Make your blog design beautiful and aesthetically pleasing. Your time and research will be worth your time because when people find your blog they will be instantly attracted and want to see more.
5. Connect
from Alt Summit, January 2014
Making connections with companies and other bloggers is, in my experience, the number one way to grow your blog. A few years ago I made a list of companies I wanted to work with, and one by one I reached out, either searching for their PR person’s contact online, or by calling the company directly and asking for it, then emailing them with my media kit and asking if they’d be interested in working together. Nine times out of ten I heard back and got a yes.
Make a media kit — include images from your blog that represent what you do, mention companies you’ve worked with, include your statistics (monthly page views, unique visitors, age range of your readers, social media followers, etc), and tell a little about yourself. Mine is a 6 page PDF, and it’s easy to send out, or print into a little booklet to give out at events. Business cards are always a great thing to have to pass out when needed — include on them your blog URL, your name, your email, and your social media handle.
Which leads to…go to events. Stepping from my computer to create real, tangible relationships (and strengthen existing ones) has been invaluable in my success. Yes, social media is great for making connections, but the times when I really learn and gain blog-changing advice is when I have face to face interactions. Go to events, conferences, parties, and get togethers with other bloggers. I honestly learn more just from spending time with other bloggers than I could from any class. We share stories about working with companies, share tips on what has worked for us (everything from balancing work and home life to what hashtags drive the most traffic to your social media), we swap company contacts, and we relish in having friends who do the same crazy work that we do. It’s empowering!
One of my favorite blogger event memories was a night at Alt Summit at the beginning of this year when my three roommates and I sat with Hilary from Dean Street Society in our fancy party attire on the floor in the lobby of the Grand America and talked til two in the morning. I learned a ton in those few hours, and it was a crazy night that I’ll always remember. Don’t feel like you have to go to every event or conference or party out there — because you don’t. But going to a couple of events (small and large) every year will make a big difference. You could read a million posts about how to grow your blog, gain exposure, and be successful on the internet, but it’s not until you have real connections and real conversations that you really, truly learn.
6. Support System
from our 2012 family pictures, by bloom and grow photography
And my final piece of advice to long term success is to have a support system. For me, blogging is incredibly fun and rewarding, and I feel incredibly blessed to be able to make a living from it and do it mostly from my home, but balancing my work life with my life as a wife, mom, and homemaker is currently my biggest challenge. It’s a lot of late nights, and a lot of stressful deadlines, and a fair amount of guilt that I’m not managing it all as well as I should. There are moments of frustration, loneliness, and feeling overwhelmed — moments of comparison and feelings of inadequacy. There are also cruel people who crawl the internet who try to tear people down with hurtful words, and without a strong support system it’s easy to crumble under the weight of all of it.
Starting a blog can be a really personal thing, and sitting behind a computer typing away is very individual, but I truly believe that in order to have long term success, you have to have a support system. Not just someone who reads your blog, or gives you a pat on the back and a thumbs up every once in a while, but a true supporter. For me, it’s my husband. Six years ago, neither of us knew anything about blogging, let alone that you could make a career out of it, but we’ve grown together in this and he puts almost as much research, work, and thought into as I do. He is genuinely excited about my projects and ideas and goals — he pushes me to work harder and pursue my passions, and believes in me even when I don’t believe in myself. That’s a real support system, and it’s honestly crucial to my success. Find someone (even if it’s just one person!) who believes in you and will help you reach your goals.
I hope these tips help as you start your blog! There are a lot of elements that go into a successful blog, but thinking about these things at the beginning will help you have long term success and make your blog the best it can be for you. If you have any other questions, feel free to leave them in the comments!
I’m so glad you’ve written this!!!! So helpful to many, I’m sure. We’re very proud of what you’ve been able to build so far!
Having just started a blog, this is such a useful post. I really like what you say about putting yourself out there to connect with companies and other people. It’s easy to think that if you have a great blog, opportunities will just come to you but, as with most things in life, if you don’t ask you don’t get!
Thanks for all these great tips! My blog is still really new but I love every second of it!
XO Kelly
http://www.dettecakes.com
Thank you so much, Merrick! This post is very helpful to me especially since I’ve only had my blog a couple of months. Fabulous job as always! 🙂
http://www.geekyjessy.blogspot.com
First, I love your blog. Second, this post is incredibly helpful. I just started blogging a few months ago and while I love it, I was comparing myself to others and not matching up. I know this is bad to do in the blogging world (and in life), but it’s nice to know that even the pros have the same struggles and worries. Thanks again 🙂
The main thing I like about your blog is it’s authenticity to who you obviously are as a person and a mum. My main frustration on finding (and wanting to support new bloggers like myself) is when I see the pages “Lifestyle” “Fashion” “DIY” “Food” “Travel”. It hurts my brain and I generally just leave. On the upside you’re clearly doing things right lady 🙂
http://www.ohheyblog.com
I LOVE this advice. Especially the general ethos about being true to yourself. The amazing thing about blogging is the personal perspective and unique voice each person has. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this post x
This is great, honest advice. It’s hard to be brave and reach out to other bloggers that you admire or want to work with, when you feel as though you’re not on their level. This post was a perfect reminder that everyone has to start somewhere. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for sharing this! Having started a blog (joannasdesign.blogspot.com) in March that has “good” days (80 views) and “bad” days (2 views), this helps me not get too discouraged. I love doing what I do and hope I’m able to keep doing it despite family and other obligations!
First, while I don’t blog about fashion (more on the travel/document our life side of things) I am also a Target, consignment/thrift kinda girl. That is probably one of the biggest things that I loved about you and your blog was you weren’t wearing Prada 24/7, because that’s just not realistic for me right now, no matter how much I like it.
Second, thank you very much for this. I am just starting up (http://togetherinitaly.com/about-our-family/) and it is a lot of fun, and work, and learning! I am trying my very best to learn about coding etc. and there have definitely been a few 2 am nights and frustrated “I CAN’T DO THIS” rants. But on the whole, I have truly enjoyed it. And my hope is to help some one that might be traveling to Rome/Italy. Because I love the city, I want others to enjoy it as much as I have.
So again, Merrick, thank you! You have a beautiful little family!
Philly
http://togetherinitaly.com/about-our-family/
http://togetherinitaly.com
I just started blogging but would love to turn it into a career many years down the road when we decide to start a family. You’re a great inspiration! A media kit sounds really intimidating but I can see the importance of it. Thanks so much for these tips!
http://www.andisattic.net
Great post – everything you’ve written here is so true. I don’t have a highly traffic blog but have totally found the interaction with readers and making those connections with them so valuable. It’s been such a great experience so far – for me it’s just a hobby so I am okay with it. I think everything is ..what you put is will be the results you get.
Alice
http://www.happinessatmidlife.com
Great post!!!!!!!
Sarah
http://www.thepolkfolk.blogspot.com
This was a wonderful post! I also want to say thanks for always being yourself on your blog. There have been several blogs that I have stopped following because they became unrelatable, but I always enjoy your posts!
I was wondering though (as someone who is working on starting a blog), how long do you spend/set aside for shooting your photos?
So, so helpful! Just got to get my guts up to actually start one now.
Just so you know, I’ve been following your blog since it was “what I’m wearing” or something like that and it is amazing how much it has changed! I find your content very inspiring and also so relatable. I also appreciate that you have stuck to your values and include your precious family in your blogging. Merrick, keep doing what you are doing, you are amazing!
Thanks so much for that kind comment, Camille!! So glad to have you following along!
I adore your blog. I love that you are so “real”.
Thanks for sharing your advice and experience about starting a blog.
I have a very new blog and always looking for great advice.
I have just returned from my first social media conference, BlissDomCA. It is the biggest one in Canada.
I learned a lot and met and connected with many bloggers.
Would definitely recommend it, if it is in your budget.
Please continue to add any more advice for new bloggers especially about posting, SEO, taking great pics and finding sponsors or brands.
Thanks
Kim
http://www.the5oclockrush.com
I am so glad I came upon this post while looking for tips on blogging tools Merrick! I have been blogging for a little over two years and have learned so much, but it’s tough sometimes when I feel like my blog growth is moving so slowly. It’s encouraging to hear that you had periods of slow growth too, but are now so successful! I think that the biggest thing I have spent time on this year has been the photography, and now that I feel I have almost mastered that (always with room for improvement haha) I am working on my blogging relationships online and in person. Thanks again, love your sewing projects and love following along with your adorable family!
Thank you very much for your advice. You are right to start a successful blog you need to decide on the topic and be true to yourself and your audience. When I started my first blog I read a lot of guidelines on how to start writing and how to write creatively. A lot of good advice I got from the article https://www.freddyfrugal.com/creative-writing-ideas-for-the-beginner/ . It is well improved my level of writing.
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