It's here, the holiday season and I've put in a lot of effort to compile this gift guide especially for all of us bloggers and creative business owners out there.
If you've read my previous post about how I fell in love with Etsy, then you'll know I love shopping on Etsy because it is that one platform which truly cares for us "bloggers" and creative business owners.
Do you know why? Because Etsy is made of such small business owners, bloggers, creative business owners, etc.
I've seen so many bloggers and small business owners never tell their friends and family about this "side" hustle of theirs which they put a lot of time into until they become a happy and successful story.
But if you have been fortunate enough to be told about your friend's blog or small business, then you should try and help them out by getting a little creative with your holiday gifts this time and show them that you support their venture.
So if you know a blogger friend or a creative business owner, etc. then it's time to give them gifts that will help them take their blog and businesses to the next level, and trust me they'll thank you for it!
And you won't have to spend a fortune and break your savings either.
Wait... Why Can't I give my blogger friend a more common 'gift' item?
Actually, you can. You can give your friend whatever you want. And while it's really fun to get those funny mugs (I love funny mugs, and they make for great gifting items), but if someone gave me a gift and it helped me in my overall blogging journey, it would be special to me, and I'd always remember that.
It's like telling your friend that you know, understand and support them in everything they do. For example, your friends will help you through a lot in your life but your best friends go that extra mile for you, don't they?
And this is why I insist that if you have any blogger friends, you should consider buying these gifts this holiday season instead.
A premium blog theme
With a lot, and by a lot I mean A LOT of bloggers out there it's getting harder and harder to get noticed. The competition is more than just stiff; the big guys seem to have beautiful and professional looking blogs because they've spent a lot on their design.
It's not possible for a newbie blogger to be able to afford to spend thousands of dollars on a blog they're launching and get a custom design, in fact, most bloggers can't afford custom designs until their blogs start giving a decent ROI (Return on Investment).
So instead, why don't you play Santa this time and gift them a premade premium theme for their blog or website?
You'll be surprised to know the amount of professional and beautiful themes out there on Etsy for just under $30 and as low as $5.
I consider my blog's theme to be very elegant and professional, just the way I like it. And it cost me just $5, (Update: it now costs $10 as the shop owner has ended her sale)and it comes with support so if I mess anything up, I just get in touch with the owner (who made this theme) and she's always ready to help! That's my theme, by the way, it's called Orianna and was made by FearneCreativeDesign.
Update October 2017: I'm no longer using this blog template, instead I have a custom blog design which was designed by me and developed by my team member Kate.
I know it's not about the money, and if finances are not a problem with you and you can afford to or want to spend a few hundred dollars on a gift for a loved one, then why not!
It's not possible for a newbie blogger to be able to afford to spend thousands of dollars on a blog they're launching and get a custom design, in fact, most bloggers can't afford custom designs until their blogs start giving a decent ROI (Return on Investment).
So instead, why don't you play Santa this time and gift them a premade premium theme for their blog or website?
You'll be surprised to know the amount of professional and beautiful themes out there on Etsy for just under $30 and as low as $5.
I consider my blog's theme to be very elegant and professional, just the way I like it. And it cost me just $5, (Update: it now costs $10 as the shop owner has ended her sale)and it comes with support so if I mess anything up, I just get in touch with the owner (who made this theme) and she's always ready to help! That's my theme, by the way, it's called Orianna and was made by FearneCreativeDesign.
Update October 2017: I'm no longer using this blog template, instead I have a custom blog design which was designed by me and developed by my team member Kate.
OR
A custom blog or website design
I know it's not about the money, and if finances are not a problem with you and you can afford to or want to spend a few hundred dollars on a gift for a loved one, then why not!
Depending on which platform the receiver of the gift is blogging or running their website on, a custom blog or website design can cost you anything between $100 to $1500 on Etsy.
And if you find someone outside of Etsy it's around $800 on a minimum with just the development part of the website or blog, the branding, graphics, etc. are all separate and not included in that.
So if you're looking for quality at the best prices, then Etsy should always be your go-to! (Just make it your homepage xD)
If your friend or a loved one is on the blogger platform, I've seen some sellers offering custom blogger templates at an affordable price of $60 (Update: the owner is now selling this design at $85) as well.
A premade blog logo
If you're wondering what a blog logo is, then it's that thing that defines your brand. You'll see a lot of people using logos instead of their own pictures on social media, better yet, logos are like icons that people can identify you or your brand with.
For example, when I think of Etsy, I think orange with a white letter 'E' on it and that is Etsy's logo. In the long run, your friend's blog is better off having its own branding in place, that means your friend needs a blog logo, and it's time to be Santa again and gift them one they like!
You can go for a one that you think resonates with them a lot, premade logos cost around $2.5 to $150, or you can buy a custom logo listing around the price range of $50 or up and they can tell the designer what they want and how they want it.
Or buy one from me at PrettyBlogGraphics for just $10. I've got a pretty good collection of premade blog headers in my shop and if you want a custom one my pricing starts at $89 for those, feel free to get in touch for that as well :)
Or buy one from me at PrettyBlogGraphics for just $10. I've got a pretty good collection of premade blog headers in my shop and if you want a custom one my pricing starts at $89 for those, feel free to get in touch for that as well :)
Styled stock photography
The big guys in the blogging world, yeah, they get professional photos taken, yeah, those cost a lot. And there's no way your friend as a blogger can compete with that, right?
Wrong.
If you've not heard about it before, styled stock photography is professional photography at throwaway prices! These photos can make your friend's life as a blogger or business owner smooth and easy.
They can also be used as social media templates, and all you have to do is find photos that a have a similar colour scheme as your friend's blog or business and they'll love this unique thing you did for them!
Styled stock photography can easily be purchased at a starting price of $10 per photo on Etsy. Or buy this bundle of 9 photos for just $15.
Mockups
These are particularly beneficial for those who run a creative business, for example, those selling printable art, tend to use mockup where they can just drag and drop their prints into professionally taken photographs and showcase their products.
Much like stock photography but a little different. I love mockups because they help me showcase my designs to my target audience in a professional manner without having to pay for a photoshoot.
So if your friend is selling mugs on her website, then gift her some beautiful mockups, and she'll love that you put in so much effort just to help her out.
Mockups on Etsy generally start from $6 and go up depending on the product you're looking for.
Blog Planners and Diaries
Blog planners help bloggers stay organized, plan goals and keep track of everything else. Gifting your blogger friend one of these is something they'll surely be using, and it won't be a gift that gets lost in some corner either.
You have two ways to do this thing, either buy them a printable version that they can keep re-printing when they need it or purchase a beautiful diary, and they can use that as a blog planner.
You can't go wrong with a diary as it can be used for anything that has to do with writing. I use both a printable planner and a physical diary to keep track of my work. And being given cute stationery and things I can actually use, just makes it all mean so much more.
ClipArts
These are images of objects clubbed together in a theme, such as fashion, food, Christmas, etc.
They're wonderful because they can be used in a lot of ways. They can be used to make social media templates, featured images for your friend's blog, etc.
Your friend can even make items for resale with those clip arts, provided they come with a commercial use or an extended license (Just ask the seller. Usually, it's written in the description of the listed item).
I'll give my example, I use florals to make my most of the images of my blog, featured image, Pinterest-able pictures, etc.
Get my point?
So if your friend runs a fashion blog, buy a fashion clipart and just gift it to them, they'll find creative ways to use them, and they'll love it for sure! (Just be sure to ask the owner of the shop that you want to purchase this for a friend as a gift as a lot of the times these sets are non-transferable so they'll guide on how to go about it.)
Digital Papers
These are a set of 12 x 12 inch or 8 x 8 inches or 6 x 6 inches patterns, that are delivered to you for keeping. You can print them out, wrap something in them or you if your friend is a blogger, they can use them as social media templates, featured images or graphics for their blog or business.
There is such a huge variety of these on Etsy, and they're really inexpensive.
Look how beautiful this set of Christmas digital papers is at just a little over $3.
Look how beautiful this set of Christmas digital papers is at just a little over $3.
And I believe they make for a perfect gift for a blogger or creative business owner.
Blog Branding Kits
These help blogs get a brand of their own. A colour palette, fonts information, etc. they help you visualize your brand.
They are perfect for bloggers that want to appear professional and serious with their blogs and the work they're doing.
You can pick one you think your friend will like, or ask them to choose, and it helps them craft their own identity online.
Have a look at this Blog Branding Kit (Update: this branding kit is now $37) I made:
Have a look at this Blog Branding Kit (Update: this branding kit is now $37) I made:
Services
Not everyone can do everything, so if you know your friend is really struggling to write their "About Me" or "Hire Me" page, chances are they could use some help.
Just gift them a copywriting service from an Etsy shop that has good reviews and let someone else handle that work.
And if you're wondering what to give your non-blogger friends, then browse Etsy's Editor's Picks for great gifting ideas right now!
P.S. A lot of the times Etsy sellers don't want people to share items they bought, so make sure you tell the owner of the shop that you're looking to purchase the said item as a gift for a friend before you buy the item itself. They'll help you with the rest.
Etsy sellers till date (in my experience), have always been understanding and really welcoming to me in all purchases I've made, so be sure to clear whatever doubts you have, they're always willing to help out :)
Etsy sellers till date (in my experience), have always been understanding and really welcoming to me in all purchases I've made, so be sure to clear whatever doubts you have, they're always willing to help out :)
I first came across Etsy, as in, I got to know of its existence in 2014 and decided it was just one of those things I could live without.
Fast forward to 2016, I launched my blog in April this year after I decided that freelancing was still leaving me with a lot of free time on my hand. And I wasn't ready to take on more clients yet still wanted to do something productive in my free time.
After careful consideration, and keeping in mind the advice almost everyone gave to me, I decided to go with the blogger platform keeping in mind I might have to migrate to some other platform someday; as many others have — I didn't want to spend too much on a design.
But, I still wanted a clean and professional looking design.
And that's how I found Etsy for the second time, And when I searched for "Blogger Templates" Etsy had so much to offer!
So I adjusted the filters in Etsy and kept my budget to a minimum. To my surprise, a seller was selling such clean designs for only $5.
I knew then that Etsy has something for everyone, no matter your budget, and I fell in love with the marketplace. <3
My first purchase from Etsy made me fall in love with Etsy
My blogger template was the first purchase I ever made from Etsy; I purchased it from FearneCreativeDesign, and the name of the template is ORIANNA. And It was only $5.
Update: The price for this theme has now changed to $10.
I asked for the free installation that Eve M, the shop's owner offers. She was so helpful and quick to respond; I even ordered another template from her for my sister's blog.
Update May 2017: My sister decided to move to WIX as she felt that platform suited her blogging needs more.
In September, I wanted to have some changes made into my blog's theme and thought I would have to pay for it, to my surprise I was told that the themes come with support and she (the owner) never charged anything for it!
Made me love Etsy even more.
Update October 2017: I do not use this theme on my blog anymore, instead I have a custom theme designed by me and developed by my team member Kate.
Update October 2017: I do not use this theme on my blog anymore, instead I have a custom theme designed by me and developed by my team member Kate.
My second purchase from Etsy gave me a realization of the diversity of the marketplace
My first experience with Etsy was so great that it formed a trust, and I started exploring other things one can get on Etsy.
I was having difficulties in being productive, and after being advised to get a planner I thought, let's do it.
So I searched 'Blog Planner' on Etsy, and it didn't fail me. There were so many options to choose from here as well.
And I finally settled on this one from PlanningInspired.
Update: The price of this planner has changed to $10 now.
Blog planners are perfect for helping you stay on track with your blogging goals, and have all your blog related information in one place.
The good thing about these printables is that once you download the file you can print it as many times you want, if you lose the file, just contact the Seller, and they usually provide it to you again, or you can download it from your purchases panel.
How Etsy has helped me as a blogger
I never thought to get a blogger design I liked would be so easy for and for my wallet. Etsy helped me set up my blog; it helped me get a blog planner so that I could plan more efficiently.
And now, I'm considering buying some beautifully styled stock images from them, so that I can get my blog looking and feeling exactly the way I want.
Styled stock images are great especially if you want your blog to have a distinct yet professional feel to it.
And since it's Etsy, I know I'll find what I want, even if I'm on a budget.
Why Etsy is for you, no matter who you are
Like I mentioned before, and being totally unoriginal here, "There's an Etsy Shop for That."
So far, results have turned up for everything I searched for on Etsy, and that makes me glad.
Whether you're a small business owner, a lover looking to surprise your loved one, a mother homeschooling your child, I've seen Etsy have dedicated products for your need.
Everyone is unique, with different tastes and likings, and this Difference is what Makes Us Who We Are. Etsy understands that.
And that is why I wanted to be a part of Etsy's DifferenceMakesUs Campaign.
If you're looking for something today, for anyone, or yourself, I say, give Etsy a chance. It won't disappoint you.
P.S. you'll love the little Thank You notes people include when they send you your order.
Did I mention I run my own Etsy Shop as well?
You know now! Here's a special something in case you're starting your blog:
- Get your blog design from FearneCreativeDesign at $10
- Get a Premade Blog Header from my shop PrettyBlogGraphics at $10
And you'll have your very own professional and distinct looking blog in just minutes without burning a hole in your wallet.
P.S. we both offer free installation :)
Think of high-quality content as the founding pillars of your blog. The higher the quality of this pillar the more solid your foundation becomes.
With a solid foundation backing your blog, you can grow your blog to be profitable really fast! (Not an overnight fast but, fast enough)
How will high-quality blog posts help my blog?
I don't think there's a single blogger out there that doesn't want to write high-quality content that both the search engines and readers love.
The reason you can even make money out of blogging is that you have "readers" or "traffic" on your blog.
Writing amazing content that your readers love serves you and your blogging business well. These high-quality blog posts keep attracting readers to your blog over and over again for years. And that's why your safest bet is to create content that your readers can't live without!
What are the attributes of high-quality blog posts?
- They are highly relevant to your readers
- They often solve a problem or a query
- They are entertaining
- They provide detailed information
- They are easily readable and not hard to understand
- They have stunning visuals
- They have catchy and curiosity-inducing headlines
- They make people think "oh that describes me" that is, they are relatable to the reader.
- They are well-structured and error-free (no spelling mistakes, no punctuational hazards, etc.)
- They are well-researched
- They are written in a conversational manner
- They usually end with a call-to-action
Your Blog Post Should Be Relevant To Your Readers
It's very important that every single time you sit down to write (in this case type) a blog post, you have a specific reader in mind.
Without that, your blog post could turn out to be all over the place. When you write, think about the person reading your blog post, think about what he or she wants to know, why they want to know it and what will be the best way to give them that information.
For example, while writing this post I have you in mind, you are a person that already has a blog, or has started a new blog, and you want to be able to write posts that your readers will love, the search engines will love. And a blog post that will become a solid traffic-driver for your blog in the long run.
I also think that you want to make your blog profitable, and so you want to write all your blog posts in a manner that strikes with your audience. You want most of your blog posts if not all to be of great value to your readers.
Deciding on all these things helps me write a blog post in which I can teach you all I know about writing high-quality blog posts.
Your Blog Post Should Not lack in Giving Crucial Information on Your Topic
Say, if I have a blog about making healthy ice creams at home, I can not get by without telling people the recipe of the healthy ice creams I make at home.
Similarly, I also can't tell them the recipe without telling the exact measurements of the ingredients.
If your post is lacking in giving proper information to your reader, they will want to look up to other sites as well. That is where you lose a reader and as a blogger, you don't want that.
If you've chosen to write on a particular topic, you should have a structure laid out so that you don't miss any important points to add in your blog post.
The practice that will make sure you never miss any important points in your blog posts is a one I often use myself:
I make rough drafts, in my blog planner. These drafts are often hand written as I enjoy writing itself.
They also help me plan key points that I must add in my blog posts.
This one habit will help you out so much when you're writing a blog post. You don't necessarily have to write them on paper like me, if you're more comfortable using your laptop then write it down there.
Your Blog Post Should Solve a Problem or Answer a Query
A lot of people use search engines to help them find answers to their questions or help them solve a problem they are facing.
Giving your readers a solution to their problem through your blog posts will help them identify you as an authority on that subject. They will come to you seeking your help, every time they have a problem.
These kinds of posts that have a 'problem-solving' nature are loved by readers because they help your readers in solving their problems. They're also often loved by search engines.
Your Blog Posts Should Be Detailed; Appropriately.
If you're writing a post that teaches someone about something, you can't afford to miss on the details.
You should try to give your readers the best and the most detailed information possible.
If you're wondering why, the answer is simple — there are so many blogs out there that have written what you are writing about a thousand times before.
Why should your blog post be chosen over any other? The answer should be because you wrote the most detailed piece on that topic, ever.
Please don't get me wrong, by writing detailed posts I DO NOT mean writing lengthy posts, some posts become lengthy (have a lot of words) because they are detailed.
But even a fashion blog post can be detailed without being 3500 words or more. It doesn't always matter how many words you write, what matters is that the information is complete and makes enough sense to your reader.
Your Blog Post Should Be Entertaining
Unless you run "iwillboreyou.com" your blog post should be entertaining to your readers.
That domain name is available *wink wink*
Let me give you an example of an incredibly entertaining blog post I read in 2012, that is when the iPhone 5 came out. Wait, what does iPhone have to do with high-quality blog posts?
You'll find out...
Let me give you an example of an incredibly entertaining blog post I read in 2012, that is when the iPhone 5 came out. Wait, what does iPhone have to do with high-quality blog posts?
You'll find out...
These were the opening paragraphs of You don't need a f*cking case for your iPhone 5 written by Jesus Diaz for GizmodoI've never used a case for my iPhone 4. Not even after the back broke for the third time. I didn't do it because, unlike my grandma, I don't cover my sofas with plastic. Or unlike idiots, I don't protect my car's front with a bra.And while you and the other billion people who bought iPhone 4 cases had the totally legitimate excuse of the fragile glass back—arguably the stupidest pretty thing Apple ever did—and the questionable antenna—the second stupidest—you just don't need a f*cking case for your iPhone 5. Really, you don't.The fact is that there's no fragility excuse anymore because the iPhone 5 is made of aluminum casted by Asgardian dwarf blacksmiths and put together with magicomicronometric precision by virgin she-dragons made of living gold. It can't break, unless you shoot it with a silver bullet at the witching hour under a full moon."
This was back in 2012 when I never used to read any tech-ish or gadget-sy blogs. And while I didn't even have an iPhone back then this blog post was extremely entertaining!
There was humour, and it was spot-on. I've always remembered this blog post, even when I got me an iPhone, and you know what, I'm still convinced that my iPhone does not need a case — ever.
This is the impact you want to leave in your reader's mind as well, make them want to remember you because you wrote it all so well, and in a manner that it didn't bore your reader at all.
Your Posts Should Be Visually Appealing
Here's another thing you need to have in your blog posts! Visuals.
Our brain processes images 60,000 times faster than text, and that's why it's easier to understand infographics than just paragraphs and paragraphs of text.
Written text is and remains important for bloggers, but that shouldn't be an excuse to concentrate only on the text. Your blog needs visuals, and so do your blog posts.
Visuals help people associate with what you're writing, they help them see something different now and then between paragraphs in your posts, they are a great call-to-action and beautiful images lift people's moods. You see men and women both; are visual creatures.
So make sure you leverage visuals and graphics in your posts.
Make Your Blog Posts Easily Readable
Nobody will read your posts, or like to read them if your posts aren't easy to read and simple to understand.
How to make sure your posts are optimised for readability?
- Keep your language simple
- Avoid using words that make people feel their English isn't good enough or what you've written is hard for them to comprehend (understand).
- Use Headings, Sub-Heading, and minor headings to make your content easily scannable.
- Keep your paragraphs short.
- Use proper spacing between lines.
- Your font should be easily readable.
Alternatively, you can use Readability Score for measuring the readability of your content and improving upon it.
Write Catchy Headlines
Headline or your post's title is like a first impression, and you need to get it right.
Most of the time people will judge a book by its cover. And that's why your post's headline is so important.
These words are like your first impression, and you know what they say about first impressions, don't you?
You want to write headlines in a way that they spark your reader's curiosity, and makes them think "what's this about?". This way, they'll click on your headlines and read what you have to say.
Some headlines that people usually like, have the following components:
These words are like your first impression, and you know what they say about first impressions, don't you?
You want to write headlines in a way that they spark your reader's curiosity, and makes them think "what's this about?". This way, they'll click on your headlines and read what you have to say.
 |
| John Jantsch in his article at Duct Tape Marketing |
Some headlines that people usually like, have the following components:
- How-To [Anything]
- "N*" ways to do [anything] (a numbered headline)
- Tips, Tricks, and Hacks
- [Anything] on a budget
- Headlines with real data (for example, 81% bloggers never make more than $100 here's how not be one of them)
A good practice is to brainstorm at least five headlines when you start writing and then choose from them. I've noticed that I always end up changing the original headline I came up with once my post is ready to be published.
You don't need to be Tim Ferris to write hit headlines (he too wrote several titles for his book, which then became a mega hit), for now, all you have to do is try to write headlines that you think you are likely to click on as a reader.
Take note on the headlines you usually click on when you're reading news online, other blogs, and on social media and gradually you'll start to get the hang of it yourself.
Write Original and Error-Free Content
Google hates plagiarism, and your readers won't like it either, so it's best if you don't get into that. If you're really serious about blogging then make sure your content isn't just cut, copy and paste from lots of other websites (which can also get you sued by the way).
If English is not your native language, write a blog in your language or use free programmes like Grammarly to help you reduce errors in your content.
I've written about the importance of writing error-free content before, and it's crucial for your blog posts to be considered high-quality.
I've written about the importance of writing error-free content before, and it's crucial for your blog posts to be considered high-quality.
Think about it, if your reader can't make proper sense of what you've written will they ever think that your advice or the content that you write is good enough? No.
For checking Guest Posts submitted to your blog for plagiarism
In case you want to check posts others have submitted to you like guest posts, you can use Grammarly if you have their paid plan. Honestly, I think it is worth every penny as it helps you catch those mistakes you usually overlook. And with Grammarly I don't have to double-check my posts because grammarly does that for me on its own.
I use Grammarly's Plagiarism Checker (I have their annual plan, and you can read my experience with Grammarly here).
Conclusion
I wrote this post with one thing in my mind, helping you (the reader) to be able to write quality content on your blog day after day.
Some more tips that I would like to mention are that when you write your posts, write them in a conversational tone, as if you're talking to someone one on one, it helps the reader connect with you and the advice you're giving them in a better way.
Some posts require to be well-researched, and filled with data to back up your claims, so make sure that you add appropriate sources wherever necessary.
Another useful tip is to add call-to-actions in your blog posts, if you're writing about health, encouraging your readers to be healthy in your finishing lines is a great call-to-action and reminds them to take healthy choices every day!
You can even use interactive elements such as polls, quizzes, etc. to make your posts even more engaging for your readers.
If you follow all these tips I've mentioned in this post, you'll always be able to write quality posts that your readers will love, and they'll come back for more!
And if you're stuck anywhere, just leave a comment down below and let me know what it is that troubles you.
Grammarly is a reputable, and widely-used cloud-based, English writing enhancement tool developed by Grammarly Inc.
It was released in 2009 and is co-founded by Alex Shevchenko and Max Lytvyn. In 2017, it was made public that Grammarly had grown into 6.9 million users that used Grammarly every day.
In 2018, Grammarly has 10 million users using it every day! That’s quite the growth, I would say.
What is Grammarly?
Grammarly is a tool, for writing error-free content. It is a software that you can purchase, as well as use for free.Grammarly's free version checks spellings and many grammar errors, whereas its paid version has added features that check the structure, vocabulary, performs more than 400 grammar checks, proofreads, and has a robust plagiarism checker.
Grammarly helps you write well, making your content more readable and easy to understand.
I find it particularly useful because I’m not a native English speaker even though I’m quite fluent in speaking and writing but everyone makes those silly mistakes and gets their grammar wrong from time to time.
Features of Grammarly
- Grammarly is a fantastic tool for anyone that writes, really. It’s that simple.
- However, this blog post is going to focus on Grammarly features that help bloggers and freelancers but, that doesn’t mean that these features aren’t useful to anyone who is not a blogger or a freelancer.
- Grammarly is a fantastic grammar checker.
- It checks for punctuation errors so that you don’t have to worry about missing your commas and risk sounding like an idiot.
- It checks writing style and structure, it can even do personalised checks based on the “tone" of your choosing. You can choose from Work, Academic and Casual.
- Proofreading, now here’s where it gets really fun. You can actually send out the content you’ve written to a proofreader who will then revert back to you. This one costs extra even if you’re on the premium plan, but the value that it provides is impressive.
- Grammarly is available for Windows, MS Office*, Mac, and has a browser extension* as well.
- You can choose from British or American English (Here in India, we follow British English).
- Not only does Grammarly catch spelling errors, but it is also smart enough to detect where you might have confused two similar sounding words based in the context of your write-up.
- Grammarly, based on the "tone" I mentioned above in point three gives you writing and word suggestions
- Grammarly is not only for writing blog posts or articles, but it also helps you check everything you write online, on dozens of websites and social media such as Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and more.
- Grammarly performs more than 400 checks making the chances of errors really slim.
- It integrates with Outlook.
- And Grammarly will make you a better blogger or freelancer, you might not notice it at first, but you’ll start seeing that you’re not making as many errors as before. And this, I say from personal experience. Grammarly intuitively offers an explanation to every single thing that is wrong or not placed right in your blog post or articles. If you spend just about five minutes reading and understanding what it’s saying and why what you wrote was wrong, months down the line, you’ll notice you have become a better writer. And you make fewer mistakes now, it will help you grasp the language in a better way. It’s like your personal teacher, which for the amount you pay for Grammarly is AMAZING in my opinion.
- Grammarly has a plagiarism checker, I believe the tool was built so that it would be easier for teacher and students to see if plagiarism was something that affected their write-ups however, it is such a useful tool for a blogger and a freelance writer! As a blogger, you’re often accepting guest posts from numerous places, how do you make sure someone isn’t ripping you off? Or how do you know that a guest author has provided original content to you? Well, that’s what the plagiarism checker is for. You can thank me later. :)
What makes Grammarly an obvious choice for bloggers and freelancers?
Well, if the feature list hasn’t impressed you already, I don’t know what will. Kidding.But the features I love the most, and the ones that made me choose Grammarly over other competitors are:
- Proofreading services. I love the fact that I can send a write-up I’m feeling concerned about to a human proofreader.
- It helps me save time. As a blogger, until I can expand more, I am just one person charged with administrative tasks, writing blog posts, editing blog posts, coming up with appropriate graphics, social media promotion, SEO and much more. Not to mention, I have graphic design work during the day, and the house chores, making time for my hobbies and more. I can only do so much. With editing and revision blog posts for errors taken care of, I can actually free that time up for a nice warm bath, and I don’t have to feel guilty about not completing my goals for the day.
- Grammarly works on a lot of different devices, so even when I’m on the go and using my phone, I can rely on Grammarly to have my back and help save myself from embarrassing e-mails, text messages, client chats and of course, chats with prospects interested in advertising with my blog.
- The ability to select a tone helps me keep my blog posts conversational, which is very important to me as a blogger because I’m writing for people, I’m not writing for a paper at my college. I want you to know from my tone and the way I write that I’m pretty laid back and I am easily approachable.
- Grammarly works on all social media sites plus, most blog publishing platforms. I use blogger, and it works there, I’ve tried Wix, Squarespace, and WordPress and it works there as well.
- And did I mention the plagiarism, checker? ;)
Where Grammarly needs to improve
So Grammarly’s MS Office (Microsoft Office) does not work if you have a Mac. Bummer.I know a lot of people use MS Office and a lot of them with a Mac use the pages app, for which it doesn’t work either.
The only workaround is to either copy the text you wrote up in Pages or MS Office to Grammarly, check it and paste it back in or upload the document and then check it and hit save.
And the second is that the browser extension is not compatible with all sites, it’s compatible with most, but not all.
And this last complain that I have is, more 'Graphic Designer', based, I just wish Grammarly worked with Adobe Creative Cloud as well, I could really use some spell-checks and Grammarly magic there.
Do I recommend getting Grammarly for yourself?
Well, that’s a no-brainer! It’s free, so what are you waiting for? You can use the free version to test it out and decide to upgrade it whenever you do.I use Grammarly Premium, and I love it, to be honest. It is worth every single penny it costs and more. I can’t sing enough praises for Grammarly, I’m so glad I discovered it back in my college days, and I’ve been hooked ever since.
Now, I totally get it, if you can’t afford it right now but the good thing is that if you go for an annual plan, you end up saving a LOT more. And it becomes affordable that way.
Detailed Comparison between the Free and Premium Grammarly version
| Feature | Grammarly | Grammarly Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | Starts from $11.66 per month |
| Grammar Checks | Yes | Yes |
| Spelling Checks | Yes | Yes |
| Advanced Grammar Checks | No | Yes, checks for context, punctuation, and other grammatical errors. |
| Vocabulary Enhancement Suggestions | No | Yes |
| Genre-specific Writing Style Checks | No | Yes, you can choose from work, casual and academic. |
| Plagiarism Detector | No | Yes, checks across 16 billion web pages. |
| Native Apps Windows, Mac, MS Office and Browser Extensions, iOS and Android Keyboard (Safari, Firefox and Chrome) | Yes | Yes |
| Explanation of Grammar Rules | Yes | Yes |
| Performance Sats via e-mail | Yes | Yes |
| Definitions and Synonyms via double-click | Yes | Yes |
| Add words to your personal disctionary | Yes | Yes |
| Works with Social Media platforms | Yes | Yes |
| MS Outlook Integration | Yes | Yes |
| Apple Pages Integration | No | No |
You're no longer a blogger if you've decided to start making money with your blog.
I'm quoting Jon Morrow:
If you've taken the decision to build a profitable blog, you've just become an entrepreneur, and your blog is your business. "
It doesn't matter if you're new to the blogging world, you can make your very own profitable blog this year, remember:
A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step." — Lao Tzu
This simple blogging framework outlines and discusses what you need to do to start a profitable blog.
1. Find Your Blog's Voice
There were 152 million blogs on the internet in 2013 when this infographic came out:
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| Source: WPVirrtuoso |
That number of blogs didn't stop there. That's why it's crucial for your blog to have its own USP (Unique Selling Point) that people like, trust and associate you with.
By virtue of you being you, your blog will be different than others, even if you pick a topic other people are already writing about. But your efforts in making your blog unique, valuable and trustworthy shouldn't just stop there.
Here's a list of other exercises you can do to find your blog's voice, even if you're in an already crowded niche or otherwise (Kimberly Gauthier mentioned these exercises in a book she wrote about standing out in a popular niche):
- The "So that" exercise — Get a pen and paper and write down "I want to stand out as a professional blogger "so that" and then continue writing all the reasons you can think of.
- When it comes to writing, which subjects are you most excited about?
- Who is your ideal reader? Your ideal reader is someone like you! After all, you're writing this blog and giving it so much time and effort because you care about it, right? Identifying your problems can help you identify your ideal reader's problems and then offer solutions.
Alternatively, I also suggest reading the following posts by my favourite bloggers:
- How to choose your blog's niche and focus by Melyssa Griffin
- Why you need to hone in your blog topics to see growth by Holly
2. Content is King — more than ever!
If you've read any articles out there on the internet, you must have read this little piece of advice at least a thousand times! Do you know why? Because it's true!
These two love well-written, error-free, long-form, valuable content. And if you're blogging, these two are the only two you should be caring about!
- Google (Basically Search Engines)
- Your audience (readers that come to your blog)
I put Google on top because it is from Google that these readers will stumble upon your blog, and if you want Google to think you're worthy of showing in the top ten results, you've got to have some killer content.
The logic behind this is pretty simple. Google would lose its value if it started giving out bogus, spammy results to its searchers (its audience) and why would Google want to lose its position? So as a search engine, it wants to show its audience the best content out there.
So if you're able to write the kind of content Google thinks is valuable (Google is smart) you're going to get readers back on to your blog. And these readers will most probably believe that you have high-quality content (why else would Google rank you and not anyone else?) and will become your readers. In the long run, your content will get shared on social media, and you'll be creating the buzz, you bee!
If you're not convinced to write good content, then I'm hoping this will convince you!
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| Source: Inklyo |
What does this mean?
It means, most marketers out there believe that content marketing is most beneficial to their businesses, even in that quality content is what matters, marketers are investing in getting quality content.
They even believe that content marketing is the only marketing there is. It only means that you need quality content to succeed, and your readers (your customers) need quality content. [Tweet This]
How to write quality content?
No matter what you're writing about, these are some characteristics that quality content is identified with:
- Your content should be easy to read, and well organised. Yoast in their SEO plugin, even measures the readability of your content, for a reason. The posts that you write should be structured in a way that it is easy to read for your readers, and your vocabulary shouldn't be better than a fifth grader unless you're running a blog about teaching your readers English. Neil Patel, an expert online marketer, believes in readability and well-written content as well.
- As I mentioned before, your content should be error-free and by that I mean you should be able to write without any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors. It's alright if your English isn't too good, or if you struggle with writing in English. I use Grammarly for making sure that my copy is free from silly mistakes, grammatical errors, and many other advanced writing issues.
- Your content needs to be valuable for your readers; it should be the most detailed piece of advice, information, and solution to your reader's problems. Write all content keeping in mind that after reading the information or advice you've offered your readers they should be satisfied and happy knowing they have got the information or solution they wanted (through you).
3. Search Engine Optimisation
Mostly referred to as SEO is a method of optimising your website and the content it has in a way that search engines easily find it. It is how you can guarantee that people will be able to find your blog.
You don't need to hire an SEO agency; you can get by for much less. For those of you working with a self-hosted WordPress site, you can download the Yoast plugin for optimising each and every post you write and making in SEO friendly.
But in case you can't do that, keep these basic Search Engine Optimisation tactics in mind:
- Your content should be at least 300 words (I recommend more than 600 words).
- Your content should be focused on the right keywords for your niche.
- Make sure your keyword appears in the title of your post and its meta description.
- Your keyword density should never exceed 3% if you want to avoid Google penalties for trying scam the system.
- Your content should have well-placed images (plus, it's boring to read content without any visuals)
- Your headings should contain the keywords (please don't add your keyword to all the headings you have.)
- Place links in your content for citing sources of information, whether to your posts or someone else's. (Don't make it too spammy, there's a penalty for that).
You can also read Neil Patel's guide to advanced SEO (it's free, and I have it downloaded to my PC for reference.)
You can also start following me on Instagram as I put quick SEO tips there all the time! ;)
4. Get A Premium Blog Theme or Design
I mean, get a paid theme. Seriously. Your blog's design is a part of your brand. If it's crappy, or just not easy to navigate, people will bounce off your site, and they probably won't trust your advice either.
Having a clean, easy to navigate and memorable design is your gift to your blog, and it will help you grow.
Personally, I love floral, vintage, minimalistic, and black and white or black and gold designs.
Think about it, if you go to a blog and see a beautiful design that looks professional and feels authentic you'll most likely trust the advice of that blogger, right? I know I would!
Other than paying attention to your blogs design, also make sure that the design you get (buy) is fully responsive, that is, it has a tablet and mobile responsive design. Why? See for yourself!
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| Source: FatBit |
4. A Social Media Strategy For Generating Buzz
Social Media can be a fantastic tool to grow your online presence. It will help you generate that buzz you need to build your very own profitable blog.
Marketers already know this, and that's why they love it so much:
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| Source: Social Media Today Photo Credits: New Media And Marketing |
So, more than 60% of marketers believe that social media is important, and have integrated it into their marketing plans.
By generating buzz around your blog and a proper social media strategy, you can double your traffic and increase your profits. [Tweet This]
Here's a social media strategy by a blogger that I like — Holly, she says that this social media schedule will help you increase your blog's traffic by a 100%.
If implemented right, your social media strategy will help your blog grow, in terms of visitors, and profits.
I want to point out, though, don't start with all social media platforms you can think of. When starting a blog stick only with one or two social media platforms at once. I only use Twitter and Instagram, but Google+ shouldn't be too bad a choice for starting out with social media. Google+ shares and +1's are also a Google ranking factor.
Here're two Google+ social media strategies you can use:
If Google+ isn't your thing, remember, it's really about finding the social media platform that you enjoy most because you're going to have to spend time on it, each day building your presence.
I use Twitter because it's fun and challenges me to keep it short and to the point, and Twitter and bring in a lot of traffic to your blog as well.
I also started experimenting on Instagram and am liking it so far; I'm not using any social media strategy for Instagram yet, but this one caught my interest:
5. Get Familiar With Google Analytics
Google Analytics is what most bloggers out there use to measure their stats — all kinds of stats.
Launched in 2005, after Google acquired Urchin, Google Analytics is now the mist widely used web analytics service, and it's free!
What can you measure with Google Analytics?
Launched in 2005, after Google acquired Urchin, Google Analytics is now the mist widely used web analytics service, and it's free!
What can you measure with Google Analytics?
- Number of visits to your blog
- Number of Unique Visitors that visit your blog
- Returning Visitors
- Bounce Rate (number of people that only read one post on your blog)
- The time people spend on your site
- E-commerce
- Set goals
- Revenue
- Downloads of your ebooks etc.
Google Analytics will give you some crucial insights about how your readers interact with your blog, and with that, you can further identify what kind of content your readers like the most, improve upon existing content, and more.
You'll also find that most brands, and advertisers will want your Google Analytics Data before sponsoring you. So it's best you say Hello to Mr. GA (Google Analytics) and start spending time with him on a daily basis.
Here's a post that will help you with Google Analytics:
6. Grow An E-Mail List ASAP
Your mailing list is your top most priority! Traffic will come and go, but e-mail list stays. These are the people that genuinely like what you have to say; these are also the people that trust you enough to buy from you. [Tweet This]
Your e-mail list is your audience; it is also where most of your profit lies. A new reader may land on to your site because you have great content, but after he's/she's satisfied with the information he/she wanted, they'll leave.
With this same reader signed on to your mailing list, he/she will never leave you. You can always be in touch with them and have a one on one personal relationship with them.
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| Source: Plain Wrap Printing |
With every $1 spent on e-mail marketing, the ROI (return on investment) was $40, and that's why it's so important — it works.
How can I grow my e-mail ist?
Marketers have been offering people, what they call incentives, for getting people to sign up for an e-mail list.
It could be an e-book, a video course, a cheat sheet, free printables, or some other exclusive content. You know, get creative!
So people will sign up for the free content, and if they genuinely like you.
Using pop-ups, and smart bars to collect e-mails is also an excellent option especially if you don't have your incentive up for grabs yet.
Alternatively, here's some great advice on growing your e-mail list:
7. Build Your Brand
The whole point of social media, having a blog with amazing content, getting your premium design is so that people can start identifying you and your brand.
When people like what you write, they should subconsciously be able to connect you with your brand, and the message it gives.
Growing your brand takes time, and doesn't happen in a matter of 6 months, let alone overnight.
I'll give you some example of people, their personal brands and how they give out a message by establishing themselves:
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| Designer Blogs |
This website design screams to me that these people make beautiful, stunning and stylish web designs. The way everything blends in perfectly tells me that they are no novice in their field and me as a customer can trust them. They also appeal to my feminine senses, and I have a major gut feeling that most of their customer base is female, meaning they are targeting female bloggers and entrepreneurs.
Here's another example of a good way of branding:
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| Melyssa Griffin |
Melyssa Griffin, I've been following her blog long enough that I now see these two colours, a beautiful yellow and a sky blue and immediately think of her. When you visit her blog, it's clear that she wants people to be focusing on her courses, which help her audience to grow their audience and monetize what they love doing.
She rebranded her blog to her name, from "the nectar collective". Now that's some smart way to grow her brand and herself.
and the last one:
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| QuickSprout |
Neil Patel, the face behind Neil Patel and QuickSprout, he's a smart entrepreneur and is great at what he does — internet marketing (I wish he would just... just show us his angel wings already!)
So you can clearly see a solid green colour, a QuickSprout logo and an e-mail list incentive I was talking about earlier, they all build his brand. He's already a brand. If you see his other blog, you'll see a solid orange (I think orange is more his colour, but green is my favourite).
And you'll quickly figure out he's targeting businesses, other internet marketers, influencers, SEO specialists, etc. and he's already helped a lot of them.
What have you learned from these 3 examples?
- Visuals play a great role in branding.
- Your brand's logo is very important.
- Make sure your design is simple and not all over the place.
- You should ideally have your photo in the about me section, or it should be put somewhere on the blog where it's visible to your readers.
- Your graphics should match your brand
8. Have A Proper Monetisation Plan For Your Blog
You could be doing everything right, all the seven points I mentioned and still be struggling to make money from your blog if you don't have a proper monetization plan in action.
Luckily for you, I'm here to help you build and experiment with your very own monetization strategies.
How do I monetize a blog?
There are many different ways you can choose if you want to start monetizing your content and audience. So these are the ways in which a blog makes money:
- Advertisements
- Selling A Product/Courses/E-Books
- Setting Up An E-commerce Shop On The Blog
- Affiliate Marketing
- Donations
Now let's take a deeper look into these particular ways that you can use to build your profitable blog:
Advertisements
You can start selling space on your blog whether directly or through programs like Adsense, Chitika, etc. in return you get paid.
There are different kinds of advertisements your can place on your blog such as:
- PPC Ads (Pay Per Click) these ads pay the publisher every time someone clicks on them. They are usually ads that Adsense and Chitika serve.
- CPM Ads (Cost Per Mile) these ads don't pay you when someone clicks on them, but they par for even 1000 impressions of the advertisement that's displayed. Adsense also has these types of ads, but CPM networks like Conversant Media, Technorati Media, and Clove Network are better known for CPM advertising. It's useful to have these ads when you get a large number of pageviews per month.
- Selling Direct Ads is often considered better than advertising through a network, but you need to be a well-established blog to get any high-paying advertisers that want to advertise on your blog. BuySellAds is a good place to get started with selling ads directly.
Sell Your Product
This can include physical goods as well as digital products. The good this about selling your product is everything goes into your pocket. And you don't need to have a large audience either. You just need to have an adequate audience.
You can sell anything you like, but most people tend to sell courses, e-books, consultation, or something that they made. Setting up an Amazon Shop or an Etsy Shop is quite easy, you just need to make sure that your product has a good market, and you have a loyal reader base.
And your product should be good as well, or people won't buy it.
Setting Up An E-Commerce Shop
For instance, let's say you have a fashion blog, which has a decent amount of following and people trust you to give them good fashion advice.
So for example, you did an "Outfit Of The Day" post, now you can set up your shop in a way where people can buy what you wore if they liked it with simple "Shop This Post" buttons.
Similarly, a beauty blog can sell beauty products in its e-commerce store.
Affiliate Marketing
Not everyone can manage an e-commerce store for selling things. After all, running and maintaining a blog is hard work enough.
And that's why we have Affiliate Marketing. The formula here is simple, Brand X has a product, and then brand X has an affiliate sign up. This means if you sign up and become their affiliate, you will promote their products and every time someone makes a purchase; you will get a commission.
Most blogs depend on affiliate marketing as advertisements don't always guarantee a recurring income.
Donations
The least used way to make money from blogs, and I'm not even sure why. Probably because people think that donations are only for non-profit organizations, but hey, bloggers need to live too!
You can easily put up a Paypal donations button on your blog, and if people want to, they will make a donation. And that's also a reason nobody looks at donations being a way of making money through blogging.
It's unreliable, and sometimes you'll get a lot, and the other times, just enough to get by.
But here's an interesting thing: many websites in the world make money, or rather raise enough money because people donate to keep them living.
Here's a website that makes money from donations:
and there's also a browser that uses donations to keep itself funded:
So why can't a blog do that? If you kept all your services free and just asked for donations, would that work out for your blog? Yes or No? What do you think?
9. Consistency Is The Key To Growth
Hard work is important without a doubt. And so is determination. But it all won't mean a thing if you're not consistent with your goals and work. [Tweet This]
You need to be consistent with your efforts, not just in blogging but in everything you do. People haven't built highly successful blogs overnight; they spent years making their blogs profitable.
You just need, to not give up, even when things get tough and you feel like you want to give up.
10. Build Your Authority
Time heals all wounds, time also makes you wise, wise enough to be the authority in what you do.
If you follow all these nine points, each time you blog, little by little you will build your authority.
And when you are an authority in your field people will want your expertise, they will want things you tell them, and they will be your audience.
Look at Arianna Huffington from The Huffington Post; she's an authority at what she does. And yes it took her all that time to build her authority.
And if you are consistent with your efforts, you will succeed too.
To conclude, I'd like to quote Biz Stone:
Timing, Preservance and Ten years of trying will eventually make you look like an overnight success."
Happy Blogging :)
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