Blogs are everywhere. They became popular around the early 1990s with the advancement of the internet and quickly became a space to share news, tell stories, and connect with the world.

My blogging journey, however, didn’t begin until I discovered a crazy website called MySpace.

For those who don’t know, MySpace was THE place to be online. You could create unique profiles, add songs, show off your top friends, change statuses, and- most importantly- blog.

I loved it.

I’d share poems, write short stories, and give updates about my life as a teenager- all so my followers (or anyone who visited my profile) could read it.

But it wasn’t to last.

I tried several different outlets after that. Facebook, Blogger, even Tumblr for a while- blogging off and on for fun as I tried to figure out my life.

However, in 2013, I finally took it seriously.

I made a blog with WordPress and began posting book reviews and writing advice, which slowly integrated me into the community I’d always dreamed of- writers.

Since then, I’ve tried to blog more consistently around my ever-changing life, and the one that you’re reading now is (hopefully) the last one I’ll have to make.

But I digress.

The reason for this article is because even seasoned bloggers need help to keep their mojo going, and I recently had to do some research on how to make this blog more appealing to my readers.

And, like always, I want to share what I’ve learned.

How to Make a Better Blog

After doing some research, here are some things you can do to strengthen your blog and draw in more readers. They are:

• Find a niche
• Post regularly
• Chose quality over quantity
• Use links and keywords
• Change when needed

Find a niche

“Niche” can be a frightening word for some bloggers because it feels like restriction. I was that way for a long time, and I hated the idea of only blogging about one topic forever.

But that’s not what a niche is.

According to Merriam-Webster, niche has two definitions that fit the purpose of this article:

1. A place, employment, status, or activity for which a person or thing is best fitted.
2. A specialized market

Think of it this way: finding a niche isn’t restricting yourself to a single topic- it’s finding where you fit the best.

Take my blog, for example. My niche is written content, so I can write about ANY topic that fits under those categories- including poetry, books, copywriting, etc. Make sense?

So, the first step into finding your niche is to review your blog and see what you write about the most. Then, you can begin curating your content to match that niche and take your first steps into building a stronger blog.

Post Regularly

Your readers want content, so posting on a regular schedule is a great way to grow your audience. I try to post twice a week (Monday and Wednesday), which seem to work fine for me.

If you’re creating a new blog, maybe post two or three times a week to spark interest and grow your audience. If you’re working with a more established blog, once or twice a week should be fine. The key here is to be consistent- same time, same day, niche content.

The more consistent you are, the more your audience will trust you, so post regularly. However, if you’re like me and often forget about it until the last minute, you can try:

• Setting a timer on your phone to remind you before it’s time to post
• Scheduling posts in advance
• Putting sticky notes with your schedule on your computer, mirror, forehead, wherever.

You’ll be amazed at what some consistancy will do!

Chose Quality Over Quantity

A well-written, genuine post will always get more attention than a handful of rushed ones, and your readers can tell a difference between a thought-out post and one you wrote on the fly.

By choosing quality over quantity, you can show your audience that you care about your niche and are willing to take the time and effort to produce valuable content. That, in turn, shows a respect for your readers and their intelligence, and they will love you for it.

The downside is that you can’t always produce a quality post. Life often gets in the way, and there will be times when you have nothing more than a “on the fly” piece.

But guess what? That’s normal.

If you can get your blog to at least 80% quality, then you have nothing to worry about. One or two rushed posts aren’t going to hurt.

One thing you can do to increase the quality of your posts is to create a template. That way, even if you need a rushed post, you can still use the template to create something similar to the rest.

A basic template that I use looks like this:

• Intro- 1-2 paragraphs with a strong hook
• Body- at least 4 paragraphs with important info up top and more details at bottom
• Conclusion- 1-2 paragraphs reciting key moments

That’s really all you need. Pick a topic, use the template, and voila! A quality blog post is born.

This is one example, and you can create whatever template you need to fit your niche and style of writing, but- again- be consistent with it. If all the posts look the same, then it’s harder to notice which ones are rushed.

Use Links and Keywords

One way of strengthening your blog is to use links, keywords, categories, and tags.

With links, you can send readers to relevant places outside your blog (such as social media or information sources) where they can go to find more content. You can also use links to send readers elsewhere inside your blog, such as a store or other articles.

Keywords help the internet algorithms find your blog when someone searches for a specific word or phrase. To be effective, you want around 1-2 keywords for every 100 written words. That way, the algorithm can confirm that you have the topic needed.

Tags and categories are more for organization, but they can be helpful if someone is looking for a specific post or passage. For example, this post will go under the “articles” category, and I’ll use tags like “writing tips,” “how-to,” “blog,” and “creative writing.”

That way, if I ever need to find this post in a hurry, all I’d have to do is search one of those tags. Easy!

Change When Needed

Blogs are living things that need change to survive, but what you change can be just as important as how you change it.

For example, if you change your niche too many times, you can lose what audience you have. On the other hand, if your stats say that posting on day X is better than day Y, that’s something you want to change.

Get it?

Change is inevitable, but often necessary to keep up with other content creators. However, if you know what to change and when, you’ll be well ahead of the curve and on your way to a strong online presence.

Conclusion

Making a better, stronger blog sounds intimidating, but the more you understand your niche, the more quality posts you’ll create. That, combined with a template for your posts and a consistent posting schedule, will help you create the blog of your dreams in no time!

If you’d like some more writing tips and tricks, check out these posts:

Here’s Why YOU Need a Blog

How to Write Better Poetry

Three ways to Increase Productivity

What do you think? How do you create a stronger blog? Let me know in the comments!