Listography - Top 5 Tips for Bloggers

This week, Kate Takes 5 is asking for our top 5 tips for bloggers. I do still feel like a new blogger, but hopefully I've got some tips to pass on!

1 - Read and interact with other blogs. I found the blogging world extremely daunting at first, because there are so many out there. But you quickly get to know the sort of blogs that you enjoy reading, and find bloggers that adopt a similar style to your own. I read most of my blogs through Google Reader, which is a really easy way to keep up to date with new posts, and I can easily read most blogs on my phone this way. Also leave plenty of comments, and not just in the hope of receiving comments in return. I love getting comments, even just a quick note to say that you enjoyed the post!

2 - Join blogging networks. It's a great way to find new blogs to read and for readers to find you. I've joined a few but it becomes exhausting trying to keep up with lots of different communities so find out where you feel most comfortable and focus your efforts there.

3 - Don't obsess about stats. I use StatCounter to check my stats, and when I first installed it I would check it constantly. Now I find it much more satisfying to check less often, as there is (hopefully!) more likely to be a bigger change!

4 - Think very carefully about who may be reading your blog. It is very easy for people to track you down online, especially if you are as open about sharing names and photographs as I am. If you want to write about personal issues, consider remaining anonymous, otherwise you will find that you are always reading back what you write through the eyes of the people that you know are reading it. Also remember that once you have hit publish, what you have written can never really be deleted. There is a very good chance that your children will read your blog one day. Personally, I don't write anything that I wouldn't want my children to read when they are older, but they are still tiny and I accept that if I continue to blog as they grow older there may be things that they don't want me to share with the world.

5 - I love taking part in memes, blog hops, photo challenges and other ways to link up with other bloggers like the Listography. They are a great way to both get some inspiration and to read different interpretations on a theme. But don't rely on them too much, remember to make sure that you still have plenty of original content of your own. Also, unless you are writing a review blog, be sure to intersperse with more interesting content to keep readers that will just skip the review or sponsored posts.