Tips for Blogging & Gaining a Genuine Following

Are you an aspiring blogger? Have you recently launched your blog but don’t know how to grow? Or have you always wanted to blog — but just don’t know how to start or cultivate a genuine following?

Some of my blogging and non-blogging friends have reached out to me for advice. Although I’m not a professional paid blogger with a massive following, it has been awesome to implement these tips and see results in my own blog!

If you’ve been wanting to start a blog, but just don’t know how — this may be for you. Or if you’ve would like to know how to gain a genuine following and grow, this may be for you…

Blogging Basics

• Determine what you’re about and be all about it. Figure out your niche — do you want to blog about fashion? Health and fitness? Lifestyle? Faith? Travel? Motherhood/Family? What are you passionate about sharing? Figure out what you want to share with the world. When you chose a focus, or two, be ready to invest your time and produce the best content you can in that arena. People are drawn to bloggers who know who they are and are passionate about what they preach! 
• Be 100% yourself. Don’t try to be someone else. When I first started blogging, I started to compare myself to other bloggers — their clothes, captions, pictures and sites. Let me tell you something — God made you with immense individuality and it’s for a reason. You have something to offer that someone else doesn’t have! Embrace your God-given qualities and stay in your own lane! The right people will be attracted to YOU.
• Have a consistently active presence on social media. Something I’ve learned is to be consistently active on social media. If you’re truly interested in being the best blogger you can be, here are socials I recommend being on: a blog site, Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook. To cultivate a genuine audience, it is important to bring them into your life on a day to day basis. Sometimes you can get major burnout from posting and creating constantly, but if you can — try to post at least everyday. (Once a day or every other day on Instagram at least!)
• Make sure there is value to EVERYTHING you post. It can be tempting to just post aimlessly to be consistent, but try to offer the most value to your readers in everything you write. Whether it be a blog post, Instagram caption/story or Facebook status… always give the reader a question, encouragement or tip to carry them! Give them something to walk away with that will challenge or help them.
• Seek out counsel & encouragement of other bloggers in your arena. I cannot say enough good things about this tip! Ever since I started blogging, I inevitably met all kinds of bloggers. Never be afraid to shoot them a message and get to know them better. Most of the time, they are willing to also answer any questions you have about blogging if they seem more experienced. No one understands this world more than they do! Plus — you can make some amazing friends! I’ve made some wonderful friends and it’s such a blessing 💗
• Giveaways, giveaways, giveaways. I’m sure you’ve seen many a giveaway on your Instagram feed — why?! BECAUSE WHO DOESN’T LOVE FREE STUFF?! Not only can you gain new followers and exposure, its a great opportunity to give back and thank your current following. ** TIP: Try to stick to doing giveaways with other bloggers in your niche / or close to your niche. Doing giveaways with bloggers is an awesome way to support each other and you have more control over the process.
• Be patient and give yourself grace. Be patient with this process. If you truly care about genuine followers and serving the Lord in all you do, don’t worry about how long it takes. This is a process as much as anything else is — sometimes it can be slow, but never rush and never compromise who you are.
• Don’t worry too much about consistent themes. Some people care a lot about cohesive Instagram feed themes for the aesthetic. There’s nothing wrong with it — they actually look really cool! But especially when you start out, don’t fret if one picture doesn’t quite match the color scheme of another. Focus on the content (words) you infuse into the picture more than the looks.
• Never dwell on the numbers. This is a trap, let me tell you. NEVER dwell on your number of followers, likes or views. Especially starting out, it will only make you frustrated. Grow a genuine heart and love for the followers you do have and the right ones will come. Personally, I believe that touching and encouraging just ONE life for God’s kingdom is enough for me.
• Let Colossians 3:23 be your motto. Colossians 3:23 encourages God’s children to do anything and everything for God. Whatever you blog about — whether it be fashion, faith, lifestyle, health or beauty — do it for Jesus. Do it for God’s glory. Do it to shine bright for the Lord and encourage your followers. You can still shine bright for Jesus through fashion blogging — you can do anything for the glory of God. Never lose sight of that! Submit your entire blogging journey to the Lord and humble yourself to His will. He will use it in beautiful ways if you do it for Him!

 

Did you find any of these tips helpful? If you have any specific questions that I didn’t touch on — PLEASE comment below and I’ll get right back to you! 💗