Nine reasons why blogging is good for your mental health

The beauty of blogging is that it can be about whatever you choose. Unlike exercise, travel, or other brain-boosting activities, writing doesn’t require training, finances, or physical abilities. All you have to do is pick your subject—or lack thereof!

Here are some of the top reasons blogging is good for your brain:

1. It can help clear the mind

Sometimes, writing can take a minute to settle into. Like leaving the house to go for a run, the simple act of putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and getting started can be the hardest part. 

But you can easily get lost in the flow once you’re going. In this way, writing gives you a break from anything else that’s weighing on your mind and helps you focus on the single task at hand.

2. It’s a great creative outlet

Whether you’re writing down your own thoughts or coming up with a work of fiction, writing can be a brilliant way to get your creative juices flowing. Applying yourself to creative tasks activates different parts of your brain that might be underutilized—especially if you don’t work in a creative field or have another outlet.

Even if you don’t consider yourself a creative person, you might be surprised by the joy you find in undertaking a little creativity for your own benefit. You don’t need to invent something entirely new or special. Simply writing in your own way about the things that spring to mind can be a great way to let off steam and release endorphins.

3. It can help you make sense of issues you’re working through

If you start writing about a subject that you’re struggling with, you may find that the process of getting the thoughts out of your mind and onto the page actually helps you see the matter in a new light, find clarity, and come to new conclusions.

4. It’s a recognized tool for the management of depression and anxiety

Mental health experts often recommend journaling as a tool for the management of depression and anxiety. There are a few reasons for this.

Firstly, writing can help you increase your self-awareness and discover new viewpoints and perspectives on your personal issues and situations. And blogging, in particular, is a positive hobby for people suffering from depression and anxiety because these illnesses can withdraw us from our friends, families, and communities. 

Through blogging, you can connect with others—who may not know you or your experiences—without even leaving the house. And, if you decide to be open about what you’re going through, blogging is also a great way to find communities of people who have similar life experiences or challenges—something that many people lack in their real-life social circles.

 5. It gives you dedicated time to yourself

The world can feel busy and stressful, especially if your mental health isn’t at its best. So taking the time to write can offer valuable and much-needed “me time.” This is especially important for people with high-stress jobs or dependent families, who can often fall into the trap of neglecting themselves in favor of others. 

Even writing for 10 minutes each day can be enough to help you feel like you’ve really taken some time to do something just for yourself.

6. The process of writing is soothing

Keeping a journal is known to bring a sense of order and routine to your life. Since the world can often feel chaotic, even for those who aren’t struggling with their mental health, finding hobbies that soothe us is useful for everyone.

Letting the thoughts flow freely from your mind onto the page offers a sense of release without judgment or pressure. Of course, if you choose to publish your work, you can always go back and edit it afterward. But the feeling of letting everything out is the real endorphin-boosting element of blogging.

7. It can help you tune into and better understand your emotions

It can be easy to suppress or ignore our emotions and go into a kind of survival mode. But minimizing our issues and pushing them to one side rarely makes them go away. So, if you’re struggling to confront your emotions, writing might be the answer.

Sitting down to write encourages us to take focused time to reflect on how we’re feeling. And once the thoughts are flowing, it’s much easier to fully process those emotions. It might be difficult. You might even need to take breaks. But one thing is for sure: you’ll feel a weight lifted once you’re done.

8. It gives you something to do each day

For people struggling with mental health issues, it can be hard to follow routines or get things done. Sometimes just getting out of bed, let alone leaving the house, can feel challenging.

Dedicating yourself to writing each day can improve your mental health by promoting a sense of purpose. It doesn’t have to be for long—though you might find that once you’re started, you don’t want to stop.

9. It can help improve your productivity in other areas

Sometimes, getting on with your first job of the day—however simple it is—can feel like an overwhelming challenge. But, once we’ve done it, we realize it wasn’t so bad after all and are able to crack on with the rest of our duties. 

Once you’ve been able to achieve one thing, it makes it easier to get on with other tasks too. So starting your day by blogging can be a great way to inspire you.

You can even do it in the Notes app on your phone: just write down how you feel in the moment or what you can remember from your dreams. You might find that the rush of endorphins you’ll get from completing that small task will drive you to tick more off your to-do list.

Once you’ve established the routine, you can decide whether you want to publish what you’re writing or keep it private. Some bloggers find that making their work public gives them more of a drive to produce content, while others prefer to keep their private thoughts and feelings that way. Either way, your brain is sure to feel the benefit.

.blog Featured Site: urbannature.blog

June Hunter is an English photographer and artist living in Vancouver. She turned her childhood passion for photography into a career as an artist, with a specific interest in urban environments, crows, and other birds. Her work is featured and documented on her blog, urbannature.blog.

What’s this blog about?

As a professional artist, June uses her blog both to promote her work, but it also introduces her work in more depth. Her commentary gives readers a glimpse into the history of June’s passion for birds. It contextualizes the images she shares and adds extra information about the birds, the areas they live in, and even their characteristics that June has picked up on through years of documenting their lives.

What makes it special?

June’s blog reminds us that joy and beauty can be found anywhere—including urban environments. Each of her blog posts focus on a different topic, showcasing her particular interest in crows but also in starlings, hummingbirds, and other species. By exploring urban areas in Canada, she highlights how easily nature can be found and enjoyed, not just in wild or rural places.

Highlighting how to make more from the mundane: June finds delight in everyday things that she captures within a few streets of her home in urban Vancouver. It encourages us to find beauty in our cities and inspires us to pay closer attention to the everyday things we so easily overlook.

 Ideas for inspiration

  • Instagram galleries are a great tool for photography blogs. Having an Instagram gallery in the menu of her blog makes it easy for fans of June’s work to browse a more curated selection of her art.  
  • If you are selling online, use your blog to promote your products. Urbannature.blog offers product suggestions in the footer at the end of each blog post.

.blog Featured Site: skill-yoga.blog

A blog can be an important tool for businesses in establishing a brand and expert voice. It can also play a role in attracting new customers online. Skill Yoga, a company that offers personalized online yoga training plans, understands this very well. Let’s take a look at how they use skill-yoga.blog to publish expert content on all things yoga, health, and mindfulness.

Who is the blog for, and what’s it about?

The information shared on skill-yoga.blog is broken down into three clear categories: movement, mindfulness, and strength. Some posts focus on just one, while others cover all three. Topics discussed on the skill-yoga.blog website and podcast include the benefits of yoga for the mind, different poses to help various ailments, and information on the fundamentals of yoga for beginners. 

What makes it special?

The world of yoga can feel like a daunting realm to enter, but the blog’s friendly approach introduces the fundamentals as well as diving deep into more specific topics, such as how our goals can hold us back or how to make yoga work better for your knees.

The visuals and overall aesthetic are consistent, calming, and appealing.

 Ideas for inspiration

– What kind of information may your potential new customers be seeking? How can you incorporate that information into your blog?

– Skill-yoga.blog includes lots of how-to articles such as how to do a certain pose or what poses are good for achieving certain goals. Think about what kind of content you can offer customers to help them get the most out of your services or products.

From Blogging Novice to Pro: How a Coach Can Help

The Benefits of Working with a Blogging Coach

Hiring a coach is common for entrepreneurs who want to break deadlocks in their progress. In fact, 92% of small business owners have said that coaching has positively impacted on their business.

So, what exactly can a blogging coach help you with? There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to blogging, and it depends on your current experience.

Blogging newbies can benefit from learning how to develop a content strategy, increase traffic, and begin to monetize your blog.

If you’re more experienced, you might need someone with skin in the game to teach you how to break writer’s block or get a second pair of eyes on your content strategy.

The key is finding the right blogging coach who can work with you to save time and money. When you procrastinate or don’t know where to begin, you’re wasting energy and resources and can often end up not starting at all. A blogging coach can help you understand which tasks need more time and how to prioritize them.

But before you hire a coach, let’s talk about whether you’re ready for one.

5 Signs You’re Ready to Hire a Blogging Coach

A blogging coach can be a valuable investment, but you might be unsure if you really need one. If these situations seem familiar, there’s a good chance that it’s time to hire a blogging coach.

1. You’ve set goals but aren’t sure how to achieve them.

It’s great having goals like starting a blog and getting 50,000 monthly views, but knowing how to get there is a different story. 

When you work with a coach, you can learn from their experience of what works and discover how to emulate those practices to achieve success for your business. 

2. Having trouble with a consistent publishing schedule.

Writing is difficult, and it might not come naturally to you. Whether it’s because of a lack of inspiration or writer’s block, one of the biggest signs that you’re struggling to write is inconsistency or large gaps between published articles.

Sticking to a regular publishing schedule is crucial to achieving the goals related to your blog. A coach can help you develop a system to publish content habitually, from finding topics to scheduling article publication dates.

If you consistently meet roadblocks, a coach will show you how to overcome them and stick to your publishing schedule.

3. You want to learn how to improve.

When developing any skill, it’s common to plateau or hit a wall in your progress. If you recognize you’re stagnating, you can work with a coach to reach the next level of your blogging journey.

How they can help depends on what you want to learn. The right coach can teach you new skills to add to your blogging arsenal or refine your abilities in certain areas.

4. You’re not getting the expected results.

Seeing very few views and impressions after you publish articles can be seriously demoralizing. This happens to many bloggers, and 90.63% of all pages on the internet get zero views.

Without experienced help, it’s hard to know how to improve when you think you’ve tried everything. If you’re losing confidence due to low views, this could be a sign that you should speak with a blogging coach.

5. You’re unsure where to begin.

When you’re just starting out, you might have a million ideas about what you should write. A common problem that rears its ugly head is uncertainty about which, to begin with, and feeling overwhelmed, meaning your blog never gets off the ground.

This is often because new bloggers don’t have a system in place to find valuable ideas that matter to their audience and don’t create consistent content schedules. A coach can help at any stage of your blogging journey, from getting you going to keeping you on track. 

How to Find the Right Coach for You

The right blogging coach brings invaluable experience to the table. They can help you launch your blog from the ground up or teach you new skills to help you grow as a writer.

However, pairing with the wrong coach who isn’t a good fit for your experience level or doesn’t deliver what they promise will leave you with sub-optimal results.

To set yourself up for success, you should know what to look for in a blogging coach who will help you achieve your goals.

They’re clear in what they offer

Run for the hills if you ever meet a blogging coach that promises you the world.

A good blogging coach should be upfront with what they’re offering and what you’ll get when working with them. A couple of red flags to look for include vague information on the type of coaching they provide and a lack of interest in your situation and what you hope to get from coaching.

For some people, being bombarded with many questions during the prospecting phase can be off-putting, but we’d argue that it’s a great way to start. A good blogging coach will want to know about your goals in as much detail as possible so they can create a bespoke plan.

A coach has proven success in their method

Talk is cheap, as they say. While anyone can call themselves a blogging coach who has taken zeroes to heroes overnight, it’s concerning if they can’t show anything to back that up. An experienced blogging coach will have a portfolio they can share of who they’ve worked with.

Along with a portfolio, they should be able to describe their process and how they achieved success with former clients. This will give you an idea of their approach and how it might align with your goals.

Look out for testimonials, which will give you an idea of what it’s like to work with a coach, as well as the types of clients they take on.

Their fundamentals are solid

If you’re still unsure after checking a blogging coach’s portfolio and speaking with them, you can check their writing samples.

While everyone expresses their creativity through writing differently, it’s concerning if the blogging coach claims one thing but shows they don’t have the basics down. For example, you might spot consistent grammar mistakes, or their content could leave you confused, even after reading it a few times.

Looking through a coach’s writing portfolio gives you an idea of how well they write but also gives you a chance to see if they practice what they preach.

Final thoughts

Whether you’re just beginning your blogging journey or have been doing it for a while, you could benefit enormously from hiring a blogging coach.

To ensure you benefit from their experience and external point of view, it’s worth checking that you’re ready to hire a coach. It can be time intensive, not to mention the expense, and you might not get the most out of it if the situation isn’t right for you.

With the right person, if you need to break a plateau or improve your blogging progress, hiring a blogging coach could be the best investment you make in yourself this year.

.blog Featured Site: thinkinginenglish.blog

This week we introduce Thinking in English, a podcast for English learners. We delve into how its creators use thinkinginenglish.blog to enhance and support their podcast, offer listeners additional resources to help them achieve their goals, and to act as a portal for their English conversation classes. The team behind the blog promotes the importance of thinking in a language you’re learning as a key part of developing fluency and delivers content and materials to help people achieve this goal.

Who is the blog for, and what’s it about?

Founder Tom Wilkinson came up with Thinking in English in response to the frequent complaints of students about a lack of suitable and accessible resources for advancing their English. Today the blog features three qualified teachers with experience working with both adults and children learning English as a second language. 

Thinkinginenglish.blog offers additional resources for listeners of the podcast, including podcast transcripts, vocabulary guides, reading comprehension practice, and conversation classes.

By publishing content around talking points like politics, the news, and philosophy, thinkinginenglish.blog helps English language learners take in and consider information in a second language. This helps them get used to processing their new language and also encourages them to engage in topical discussions.

What makes it special?

Thinkinginenglish.blog brings together resources across multiple mediums to support their listeners’ language learning goals.. Creating accessible short-form content for students learning a new language makes learning more fun and achievable while helping them fit lessons into their everyday lives.

The creators had existing expertise and found a way to transfer it into a blog and podcast that reaches beyond their classrooms.. By offering both written and audio content to their audience, they increase not only the ways in which their students can learn but also how new audiences can find their content. 

From pronunciation guides to discussing sports and considering wider societal issues, the range of topics available to English students on thinkinginenglish.blog helps users progress at their own rate, dip their toes into new topics, and increase their understanding of the basics—all of which contribute to becoming fluent in a new language.

 What to incorporate into your blog?

– Think about the different mediums and platforms where you publish. How can they interplay and work together to create an even better experience for your readers? Thinkinginenglish.blog publishes both written and audio content to help reach a wider audience and present a broader offering to their students.

– Publish podcast transcripts on your blog. This offers greater accessibility and has potential SEO benefits as search engines index text better than audio.

– Offer paid users premium content or courses such as the conversation courses on offer at thinkinginenglish.blog.

What’s the Difference Between Blogging and Microblogging?

Though they might sound like almost the same thing, there are key differences between blogging and microblogging. Let’s dive in and take a look at how to incorporate both formats into your content strategy and how the two can complement each other.  

What Is Blogging?

Blogging takes its name from the original phrase ‘web log,’ referring to websites as online journals. This practice has evolved, and now almost all businesses have a ‘blog’ section on their website where experts share industry insights, business or personal news, and other updates relevant to the brand. 

The biggest advantage of blogging is that you can own and have complete control over your content. This gives the bloggers the freedom to design the website however they like and host it at their own personalized domain name, for example, my.blog. 

Blogs tend to be longer-format content, with more space to go into detail on your topic. They can also contribute to a website’s SEO performance. 

What Is Microblogging?

Blogging can come in many forms of content creation, and one example of content that you may not typically think of as blogging is microblogging. Microblogging is a content form, you might have guessed, that is much shorter than a regular blog. Usually, it takes place on a dedicated platform such as Tumblr, a platform where users post short-form content, including links, quotes, GIFs, text, and other multimedia. 

This allows users to express their thoughts and opinions quickly and concisely and update their feeds in real-time as they respond to news, other posters, and current topics. Some microbloggers update their feeds daily or even multiple times per hour. 

The topics they discuss might be confined to their area of expertise, or they could be completely random as they respond to world events, share memes, or comment on their own daily lives.

Microblogging usually takes place on specific, dedicated platforms where users create a profile to share content.

What Is The Difference Between Blogging And Microblogging?

While the two practices are similar, these are the main differences between microblogging and blogging:

Character limits

Microblogs can be as short as the user wants them to be and are often limited to something between 250-1,000 characters. Blogs do not have a character limit.

Definitions

Blogs are written, designed, and often follow a specifically developed content or marketing strategy. Microblog posts can refer to any topic the user feels like commenting on and are not always focused on one specific industry or niche.

Ownership

Blogs can be launched and owned by a single user (or group of users), while microblogging takes place on a designated platform like Twitter or Tumblr. People running their own blogs can choose their own domain name and website policies, unlike microblogging sites, where users must adhere to the policies of the parent website.

Interactions

Though blogs can enable comments and gain followers, microblogs offer a more effective platform for gaining subscribers and interacting with followers and other users.

Timing

While there is no limit on how often you can blog or microblog, the time it takes to write and publish a blog means that most websites don’t publish more than a couple per week. Microblogs, on the other hand, can easily be updated however often the user chooses.

In Summary

So, are you ready to launch your blog and/or microblog? Now you know the difference, it should be easy to understand how each discipline can work for you. If you’re launching a blog to share news and information about your business or industry, be sure to launch a microblogging account too. There, you can share your blog and become part of a bigger conversation that will benefit your brand.

.blog Featured Site: thesporting.blog

Blogging about sports can mean competing for readers against major media and news networks, but thesporting.blog has a clear strategy on differentiating from the competition, and it’s all centered around producing quality evergreen content that stimulates debate and discussion. From martial arts to cricket, thesporting.blog covers just about everything within the world of sports.

Who is the blog for, and what’s it about?

With an aim to be the internet’s biggest publisher of evergreen sports content, thesporting.blog produces informative recaps, reviews, and articles, lists, and interviews by and about people involved in sports.

The blog was started in 2017 as a place for founder Oli Harris to write about and interview professional and amateur sports people. In the years since it has flourished to become a platform for fans of all sports to explore and discover more about their favorite teams and hobbies.

Now, thesporting.blog is more than just a blog. It’s home to a community of avid sports fans and runs its own podcast. In fact, there’s just one thing thesporting.blog doesn’t do: publish sports news. 

You won’t find the score of last night’s game here. Oli’s vision for an entirely evergreen sports website, where audiences can refer to any article at any time and find relevant information, need not compete with the hundreds (if not thousands) of sports news and commentary websites out there. They’ve carved their own timeless niche, and it’s working for them.

What makes it special?

Thesporting.blog is entirely inclusive. Fans of NFL, rugby, and kabaddi will all find sources of information, interviews, and expert insights into their favorite games. Having developed a community of passionate writers with one thing in common—a love of sports—thesporting.blog is able to offer unbiased information about even the most niche sports from across the globe. 

This sets it apart from other dedicated channels that are focused on just one sport or one team, and it offers new audiences a chance to explore games, teams, and other aspects of sports that they might not otherwise have known about.

 What to incorporate into your blog?

– When choosing a domain name for your blog, think about how you can use both sides of the dot. Thesporting.blog is easy to remember because it’s a phrase that incorporates the Top Level Domain, and tells us exactly what kind of website to expect.

– Creating evergreen content is a great way to keep your articles relevant for longer and makes room for annual updates, which helps boost your SEO.

.blog Featured Site: bulgarianonthego.blog

Travel blogger bulgarianonthego.blog is on a mission: not only to share the most beautiful attractions across the globe but also to fight against over-tourism and demonstrate the joys of ethical, off-the-beaten-track travel. After studying journalism and communication science in Vienna, Austria, writer Lyubomira launched her travel blog, which takes readers on an educational and inspirational tour of the world’s hidden treasures.

Who is the blog for, and what’s it about?

Lyubomira describes her blog as a “platform to share all of my practical tips and tricks with you, to tell you about places you might have never thought of visiting, and most importantly – inspire you to go out there and see the world, because nothing makes you richer than traveling.”

Her goal is to encourage would-be travelers to discover underrated destinations and hidden gems rather than following the crowd to all of the world’s most-visited tourist sites. Her blog is divided into three sections: 

  • Destinations, which rounds up her travels across three continents 
  • Useful Resources, which offers tips and tricks for travelers
  • Bulgaria Travel Community, a group that connects travelers to the best spots in Lyubomira’s home country

What makes it special?

By focusing on lesser-known travel destinations, bulgarianonthego.blog sheds light on hidden spots that many travelers miss out on. It also carves its own niche, setting itself apart from the other travel blogs that cover the same old ground— literally.

Her inspirational writing, aspirational photography, and oozing passion make the blog—and the destinations she writes about—a place you want to be. Always informative and not patronizing, her view of the world, travel, and discovering the lesser-known is perfectly conveyed through her posts on topics ranging from ski resorts to Christmas markets. And to accompany her prose, Lyubomira’s gorgeous photography would make even the most unadventurous reader want to pack their bags and book a flight.

All the content is clearly well-researched and thought-out, and all of the posts balance opinion with fact.

What can we learn?

In 2018, Lyubomira combined her passion and education by launching bulgarianonthego.blog. She was already traveling the world, one unblemished country at a time, so what better way to put her journalism studies into action than by writing about her adventures?

But it’s not just Lyubomira’s passion for travel that makes bulgarianonthego.blog one of the most inspiring travel blogs on the web. Her niche—promoting the benefits of exploring lesser-known, sustainable travel—gives her site an edge that appeals to an educated, engaged audience. 

From considering climate change to over-tourism and the devastation it can wreak on under-resourced communities, bulgarianonthego.blog offers the conscious traveler a wealth of alternative destinations and ideas.

 What to incorporate into your blog?

  • Discover your niche and run with it: When your audience understands what you’re about, they’ll come to you for the information they know they won’t find elsewhere.
  • Work with your passions: They say that if you find a job you love, you’ll never work a day in your life. Lyubomira combines her love for travel and expertise in communications and proves that perfectly.
  • Don’t skimp on the details: The consistent aesthetic of Lyubormia’s aspirational imagery is as important and impactful to bulgarianonthego.blog as her writing.

How Four of Our Dotbloggers Reached the Front Page of Google

You probably hear it all the time…SEO. To some those letters may mean nothing other than a typo for CEO, but almost every blogger knows what they stand for. Search Engine Optimization is a familiar concept—whether they like it or not.

Not all bloggers care about SEO or Google rankings equally. To businesses or people blogging as part of a career, these measures matter greatly; to the teenager blogging about their college application process, they may not matter at all. Whether you are blogging as a hobby or professionally, and whether or not you’re regularly monitoring SEO, it feels good to be acknowledged. And we’re here to tell you that regardless of your niche, you can rank on the first page in your area of expertise.

This article will highlight some of our bloggers who have found success ranking on the top page for certain keywords. We will take a peek at their blogs, see how they’ve found SEO success, and learn what we can take away from their experience.

SEO Without the Gluten

Blog: The Sightseeing Coeliac, Eating Gluten-Free Around the World 

Top Ranking Keyword: “Gluten-free Dublin”

This blog is the ultimate resource for gluten-free eating around the world. Rachel takes her readers around the world, sharing how a Coeliac diagnosis doesn’t have to be the end of eating out and adventuring.

Rachel didn’t want her medical need for a gluten-free diet to hinder her love of travel and eating, and her blog is a way to share how this is possible. Now, not only is she helping others who have a gluten-free diet, she is ranking on the top page of Google for the keyword “Gluten-free Dublin.”

What we can learn:

If we haven’t heard it enough already, a clearly defined niche is key to SEO success. This blog is not simply dedicated to travel or food, it specializes in the intersection of a specific diet and international travel. The more specific and detailed your niche, the greater the chances of ranking.

Suited for SEO

Blog: https://davidjones.blog/

Top Ranking Keyword: Suit ideas

David Jones is an in-person and online department store that shares a wide range of guidance through their blog. It’s an excellent reminder of why all businesses need a blog and demonstrates how good SEO understanding can increase sales and revenue.

By ranking on the top page of Google for “suit ideas,” David Jones can gain new customers who are searching for fashion advice and then stumble upon their brand. 

What we can learn:

Blogging and business go hand in hand. Good SEO practices, like strategic keyword use, can get your brand in the eyes of a larger audience. By providing useful content and focusing on well-searched keywords, businesses can bring new customers to their brand.

Sweet Sweet SEO

Blog: https://thissweetlife.blog/

Top Ranking Keyword: Palm Springs Bedroom

This lifestyle blog directed at moms is the equivalent of a virtual hug from your best friend. Blogger Natalie created This Sweet Life to provide entertainment, support, and advice for mothers. On her journey to create an online motherhood community and a place to discuss travel, style, and decorating, she hit the SEO sweet spot by ranking for “Palm Springs Bedroom.”

Even though her blog is not dedicated specifically to Palm Springs or even interior design, using a longer, more specific keyword resulted in her top-page ranking, which will help new readers find her blog.

What we can learn:

Long-tail keywords are longer, more specific keywords that are searched less often but have a higher conversion rate. By targeting these, a blog can rank higher because there is less competition. Using long-tail keywords can be especially helpful for bloggers in very saturated niches.

The Mother of All SEO

Blog: https://www.theorganisedmum.blog/

Top Ranking Keyword: The Organized Mum Method

Developed by a mom who was looking to organize her own home and life, the Organised Mum Method (TOMM) teaches moms how to keep their homes clean without spending all their time and energy doing it. Creator Gemma took her personal plan, made it public, and became a best-selling author and businesswoman in the process.

TOMM is featured on multiple sites and social media platforms. Because the same phrase, “The Organized Mum Method,” appears on so many sites, the blog easily ranks highly for the keyword that describes her top-selling method.

What we can learn:

Building a personal brand can help streamline your blog and lead to business success. Using the same terms on multiple channels increases the odds of your blog being discovered in a search. When building your brand, in addition to focusing on cohesive visual themes, utilize the same language to help SEO ranking.

SEO Success

SEO success isn’t just for a select few. Any blog in any niche can achieve it. The good news is that one niche isn’t better than another, so you can write about what you love and know and still achieve a top-page ranking. As always, the key to success is knowing your audience, being educated on SEO, sticking to your niche, and getting your social media and blog working together.

Remember, even for the most highly-ranked blogs, SEO success doesn’t happen overnight. Consistency, dedication, and persistence are a blogger’s best friends. Keep writing and trust that your hard work will pay off.

Looking Back at 2022 and Planning for 2023

Believe it or not, the end of 2022 is upon us and we are about to enter another new year. Looking at blogs of today, who would have predicted this blogging trajectory back in the 90s? We are grateful for how far they’ve come and that we get to play a role in the blogging journey of so many.

While we can never predict the future, we can look back and learn from the past and make educated guesses about where we are going, and that’s what this article is all about. Join us as we journey through 2022 and take a look ahead to 2023.

A Review of 2022

2022 was another exciting year for bloggers. Here are the lessons this year taught us:

Content marketing leads the way

Content marketing is here and here to stay. Blogs provide the perfect home for articles, videos and ebooks, and both readers and bloggers benefit from this content. Readers appreciate free gifts in exchange for signing up for email newsletters, and for bloggers, content marketing draws audiences to their site, converts sales, and helps build trust.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is always changing

Just in the last few months, we’ve seen evidence that SEO is constantly changing–read about Google’s most recent update here if you haven’t already. Google is constantly trying to improve its user experience and, as a result, bloggers have been asked to prioritize the reader and to further hone in on a specific niche.

Video content gets more popular

2022 has seen a continued rise in video content production and demand. Many consumers even report that they prefer video content to written content. YouTube and TikTok are huge and bloggers who regularly embed videos into their blogs [link to article on fantastic hip-hop blog] are successfully appealing to this modern-day audience.

Build your brand

Unlike in the early days of blogging, having a stand-alone blog is no longer the goal for most bloggers. Rather, a blog is one part of a greater brand. Bloggers must know their niche and their brand, being intentional about pairing their blog, social media, and other marketing into a cohesive brand image.

Getting Excited for 2023

2023 will continue to build upon the trends and lessons of this year; here are themes we predict will make their mark in the new year:

Quality over quantity

While regular posting is always worthwhile and desirable, especially in niches with quickly changing news, blogs will see an increased emphasis on quality over quantity. Prioritizing the reader means giving clear, detailed, informative, and interesting posts. Writing such thoughtful posts takes more time which may mean fewer total posts. Well-researched posts published once a month are better than shallow daily posts–unless, of course, the mission of your blog relies on daily posting.

Unique content wins

Blogging is no longer in its infancy. Most of what can be blogged about probably has been blogged about. But that doesn’t mean there is no room for more; it just means that blogs need to add something new and valuable. Remember that not all blogs have to look the same. Take a look at some of our featured dotbloggers to see how many amazing and creative blogs already exist. Emphasize what makes you unique and remember to take advantage of adding video content to your site.

Cater to shortened attention spans

Whether we think it is a good or bad thing that attention spans are decreasing, as bloggers, we must keep this fact in mind. When formatting your posts, remember that your readers are used to receiving information quickly. Make it easy for them by utilizing headers, having engaging visual content, and providing summaries. Lists are also a user-friendly way to share information with your readers.

Remember the world outside the Internet

Even though bloggers live online, there is a whole other outside world that is easy to forget. As the peak of Covid continues to become more of a memory than a day-to-day reality, many are eager to meet in person again. Actively look at networking opportunities so that you can connect with and learn from others in person in addition to virtually. Remember that just because your job is online, you too can benefit from the community.

We’re Here Through the Years

The end of the year is always an exciting time to review how you and your blog have grown. It is also a good time to take note of blogging trends that rose or decreased in popularity throughout the past year. In addition to reflecting, we love looking ahead to another year. It’s a time for bloggers to build anticipation and excitement about the new year, set goals and plan for another year of blogging. As we ring in 2023 together, we will continue to be here to support you and are grateful to experience another year of blogging together.