I have been blogging about three months and joined the Yakezie Challenge for about a month and a half. I couldn’t be happier with where I am, but if I had to do it all over again, here’s what I would do differently. Hopefully a newbie blogger can benefit from my growing pains. I don’t have any regrets as I learned a lot from my missteps, but perhaps this list can make your process more fun and more efficient.

Bread and Butter

No matter what, since you are creating a blog, make sure you work on good quality posts. This does not apply if you have some time to kill and just want to vent your mind. But nothing will kill your traffic faster than stale, uninformative, or uninteresting articles. Do not stress on stats (traffic or money), focus on your bread and butter and everything else will fall into place.

Invest In Yourself

If you are using a free blogging site, cut to a self hosted one, IMMEDIATELY! The only exception to the rule is if you are not that serious about your blog. You find enjoyment just writing and posting your thoughts. However, if you are serious, you need to move to a self hosted site to show you mean business as better opportunities await you in the future. You look more legit. Advertisers want to work with people who look more legit. If you take the Yakezie Challenge, the sooner you cutover the better as your Alexa ranking will be reset. This reset almost derailed me from the start. But because I did it early I was able to persevere and make up for the lost momentum. If I cutover later down the line, it would have been way more difficult resetting my better Alexa ranking and I might not have even gotten off the ground. Also you actually feel more legit as you continue along your blogging career.

No Wallflowers, Be a Social Butterfly

Similar to real estate’s golden rule of “Location, location, location”, in blogging make sure you “Comment, comment, comment”! Second to producing good quality work, you have to get your name out there by leaving good quality comments, interact in community forums (setup your signature with website and social media links), participate in blog carnivals, and look into guest posting. On top of this, make sure you tap into your different social media streams by selflessly promoting others while continuing to expand your network through reading and wait for it… commenting.

Monetize

Although my passion for writing drives me to post, what’s wrong with getting rewards for your effort? As you expand your network and grow you readership, you can get some returns with AdSense and affiliate links. If you are just in it for the money, like a lot of other career paths, you will not be a happy camper. Blogging requires a lot of hard work and dedication and you may discouraged by the slow trickle of funds. But like I said before, if you stick to your bread and butter and you setup some monetizing options in the beginning, you don’t have to worry about it in the future.

Buddy System

Blogging is an adventure. But it is even sweeter with a good support system. Besides your immediate friends and family, make sure you lean on your blogging buddies. For me, I couldn’t have made it this far without the help of my friends at Yakezie. I must have asked countless questions and never once did I feel inadequate or dumb for asking. By selflessly helping others with support, guidance, advice, and links, we are all growing together as a community. Just like how Iron Man couldn’t do it all on his own, you don’t have, too either. Whether it be Alexa rankings, advertisers, fighting SPAM, or drones, make sure someone has your back. Yakezie Assemble!

Do you have any advice for newbie bloggers?