There are over 600 million blogs in the world, and that number is continuously growing. When I first started blogging, I dived in head first not really doing much research. I quickly learned that there is a method to blogging and just like with anything it takes practice, patience, hard work, and dedication. I am approaching my second full year of blogging and I have learned so much within these last two years. Today, I am giving you 7 easy ways to stand out as a new blogger.

Related: The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Blogging “eBook”

1. Choose a Professional Theme & Design

First things first, as a new blogger you have to “look the part” in order to be taken seriously. When it comes to the design of your blog, I highly suggest spending a lot of time and effort in choosing or creating the perfect layout and theme for your blog. Many people read a book by its cover and believe it or not your blog design needs to be attractive. A blog design that is confusing or not appealing will have a person click right off of your blog. Here are a few tips to consider:

Less is more

The design of your blog should have a clear page design. It might be tempting to put an extra image, feature, or widget in the empty spaces of your blog, but white space allows for the reader to breathe. Having white space allows the reader to see more relevant content and reduces distractions.

It is also important to have a clear and easy website navigation. You should have menus, links, text sections, and a search bar.

Blog page must-haves

Your blog website should have the following static pages:

• About Me or Home
• Blog
• Contact
• Privacy Policy

Fonts

Choosing fonts for your blog can be overwhelming because there are so many fonts to choose from. You want to pick a font that is easy on the eyes for your readers. New fonts are always being designed, but keep in mind that certain fonts may not show up properly on another computer. San-serif fonts are generally go-to fonts for web design because of their readability.

2. Brand your Blog

Your brand is how people view your products, vision, and content. It is important as a new blogger, to set a clear brand message. Having a clear brand allows your readers to know what to expect. They won’t be confused, which will compel them to stay and be consistent readers. Here are some key ways to brand your blog:

• PinPoint your Strengths
• Identify your Target Audience
• Tell Your Story
• Color and Font Consistency

Related: 6 Branding Tips to Make Your Blog More Marketable

3. High Quality Photos

In the beginning stages of my journey as a new blogger, I wasn’t that great at producing high-quality images. Over time, I got more comfortable in front of the camera and was able to produce high-quality photos. But, if you are in the beginning stages, and you are struggling with producing nice photos for your blog, you should definitely check out these stock photo websites. Stock photos are photographs that you can buy or download for free and use without spending much money and saving a lot of time.

4. Consistent Blog Posts

As a new blogger who is trying to stand out, consistency will be your friend! Consistent blog posts will attract loyal readers. Setting up a schedule, in the beginning, will help you develop that blogging muscle. Consistency is hard, but with the right amount of planning and dedication, it can be done. At the beginning of my blogging journey, I wasn’t very consistent. In fact, it was not until I joined a blogging consistency challenge ( a year after starting) that I saw what it takes to be a consistent blogger. Here are some tips when creating consistent blog content:

• Detailed Planning
• Batching
• Prioritize Tasks
• Schedule

5. Promote your Blog

Many successful bloggers preach the 80/20 rule! You should spend 20% of your time creating the content and 80% of the time promoting it! There are many combinations that you can follow but promoting your content only once is not going to cut it! Here are 8 different ideas on how you can promote your blog!!!

Promote via Email: If you don’t have an email list, I suggest growing one now! Email marketing is one of the most successful ways to promote your content. You don’t have to worry about an ever-changing algorithm because anyone who has signed up will get the information you send them.

Create Shareable Content: Generating content that stands out from the crowd and grabs attention is key! Shareable content generates traffic, which generates more shares, which is a great promotion tactic!

Multiple Social Media Posts: Sharing your content on multiple social media platforms, multiple times can increase traffic and put more eyes on your content! 

Call-to-action: I like to use a call-to-action in all of my content! This is simply asking your audience to do something! I like to call this “ask and you shall receive!” If you are trying to drive traffic to your blog, simply ask your audience to visit!

Hashtags: On various social media platforms hashtags are available! I highly suggest using hashtags on your social platforms to increase your reach! Hashtags still work!

Social Sharing Buttons:  Definitely make sure you display the social share buttons on your website! This is another easy way to get other people to promote your content and essentially generate more traffic!

Run Ads: You can pay for promotion. Although this will cost you, you may reach a wider range of people!

SEO: Make your blog post SEO friendly. This means optimizing use of keywords so your content can rank higher on search engines. One of my favorite plugins to use is YOAST SEO.

6. Guest Post

Guest blog posting is essentially writing a blog post and publishing it on someone else’s website. You may be wondering “how can this benefit me as a new blogger?” With the right kind of content on the top blogs, you can get exposure (traffic) back to your website.

How to Find Guest Blogging Opportunities

When looking for places to guest post, your main goal is to find sites relevant to your niche or industry. You are looking for blogs that have a highly engaged audience and that can potentially grow your own audience. One way to look for guest blogging opportunities is simply by doing a google search. Type in keywords such as :

• “guest post”
• “accepting guest posts”
• “submit a guest post”
• “guest post opportunities”

7. Be Yourself

My last piece of advice is very simple, “BE YOURSELF!” Although this concept seems simple it can be very challenging. As a new blogger, sometimes you may get caught up in mimicking your favorite blogger. The reality is you should step out on this blogging journey as yourself! There’s no other blogger on earth who can blog as you can! Your personality, perspective, and life experiences are your own and you should infuse your blog with who you are.