How to be a blogger : Clarity

Since we’re at it with emails, here’s another one I received. Not as bad as this one but still in the realms of not knowing where to start. I sympathise with the email-sender and will proceed to answer to the best of my abilities and to also rip the email apart.

– – – Start of Email – – –
Hi Naina,
Since I am a beginner in the field of blogging, I need to ask you a few tip and queries for the same.
How does one spread the word of the blog?How to increase your foot-fall? How much does a freelance blogger charge for blog managing? What makes a good blogpost a hit?

Some clarity would be of much help.
Regards,
xxx
– – – End of Email – – –

A link to the blog would have helped. I could have visited and mentioned something about the design, about the focus / goal etc. But of course, I would charge for a consultation session. [ No joke. Why in the world would I just give away hard-earned expertise that no one ever helped me with? If you’re good at it, never do it for free – especially when doing it for someone who intends to use the information / skill for further money-making. ]

#1 “How does one spread the word of the blog?”

You want to spread the word of the Lord, I can understand, but of the blog? Tch tch. There’s your first problem – learn better English and Grammar. Nothing repulses readers more than bad language. So many of my friends [ my blog readers are all friends when they aren’t trying to tell me how much my blog posts suck ] point out spelling errors as soon as I’ve hit “Publish” on any of my blog posts. People see and people know and people talk about it. Get your basics right.

What’s the content on your blog? Does anyone want to read it? Does anyone care? What value are you adding in their lives? Are you reviewing products and hence helping people make informed buying decisions or are you writing about and showing pretty things to add beauty and serenity to readers’ lives? What’s the goal?

Without a goal, your blog will tank. You will lose interest because no one will engage with it. And people will engage if they enjoy it. They will tweet it, share it on Facebook, email it, talk about it and leave comments and have discussions.

#2 “How to increase your foot-fall?”

A blog doesn’t have “foot-fall”. [ Unless you really were asking how to increase “your” foot-fall, in which case, you will have to clarify further. If not, then go back to #1 above. ]

To get more visitors, write / create / share better content. Be genuine. Be personal. Be persistent. Blog blog blog. Your blog, in all likelihood, is NOT going to get thousands of new subscribers overnight. Unless you’ve been plugging away at it for a few months / years consistently.

Give people a reason to visit your blog – even if you don’t promote it on Twitter / Facebook. If you ask me about keywords & meta tags & SEO, I will slap you. Those are AFTER you’ve created good content. Get your basics right.

#3 “How much does a freelance blogger charge for blog managing?”

Er. You’re asking the wrong person. Assuming you mean you would like to manage a blog for a company / organization / another person. Because I’ve never done it – between this hardly updated blog on design and branding and blogging, my other two blogs on my photographic pursuits and wedding photography, take up all my time. If I did manage a blog for someone else, I’d charge based on the frequency of blogging, the content I’d have to create, whether I’d be involved in the design and deployment of the blog or whether I’d simply be uploading content that they provide to me, what the client’s short term and long term expectations are for the blog etc. I can’t give you a number because I don’t know for what you need the numbers and I don’t know your background.

I could charge more than the market average [ I don’t know the market average ] because I have proven my blogging abilities with many of my own personal blogs. It’s a kind of “blogging portfolio”. This helps with negotiating a higher rate.

I also have been on social media for a while and use it to leverage everything else I do – which will be an added bonus, should a client decide to hire me for their blogging needs.

#4 “What makes a good blog post a hit?”

Isn’t that a rhetorical question? A good blog post is a hit by virtue of being good. [ Also, I really don’t know what a “hit” blog post is. Mine mostly just languish with no comments or RT’s or shares on Facebook. ] If you’re talking about blog posts that get the maximum traffic, I can give you can example – this blog on branding and design gets most of its hits on my blog posts where I provide Diwali Wallpapers for download. If that tells you something, please share.

I apologize if I have not been able to provide clarity but this really is the best I can do.
Most people assume it’s all glamorous – being a photographer, being a blogger – maybe they think I have a six figure income and have minions doing my bidding. Neither of these is true. I enjoy what I do – photography, blogging, editing, being on Twitter, Facebooking – and I’ve been doing some of it consistently over a period of time. Hence, it’s been noticed.

Remember, no one gives a fuck. You are valued for the value you provide. If you / your blog provides no value, it will receive no attention. [ I know it sounds harsh but you wanted some clarity. ]