7 Things You’re Forgetting To Do

Even the most organised blogger is going to be guilty of one of these from time to time. They’re pretty simple little fixes, so here’s a list of things to make sure you’ve done or are already doing.

1. Check to see if your blog could get mixed up
   Choosing a blog name is hard. It needs to be totally unique, relevant to you, easy to spell and easy (and not too embarrassing!) to say out loud to strangers. Make sure you Google the name and slight variations on the name to make sure that you’re not going to get mixed up with other bloggers. Names that are [noun] and [noun] are a little generic by now, so before calling your blog Macarons and Angora, think about what else it could be confused with. (Read how some of your favourite bloggers chose their blog names here!)
2. Making sure you have all relevant usernames on social media sites
   Even if you have no intention of using another Twitter account, it is worth registering the various Twitter, Facebook and Instagram profiles when you set up your blog just in case – otherwise, someone else could choose the name for their blog (meaning you two will be forever confused by others) or worse, they could pretend to be you!
3. Not completing bios and profile pictures on social media
   OK, so you’ve clicked follow on a Twitter profile. Why should that other Twitterer follow you back? Do you have a profile picture? The first thing that will put others off from following you is if you’re still an egg. Twitter bios (especially) are difficult to write but try to make those 160 characters as interesting as possible!
4. Make the links to your social media profiles obvious on your blog
   So someone goes to your blog. They think you’re pretty awesome (obviously, right?) and they want to hear more of your ramblings, or they want to tell their Twitter followers about this awesome new blog they’ve found. Except…well, who are you?
5. Make sure the search and archives are easy to find and use
   A new reader or person looking to work with you will want to know much more than the few posts that are on your front page. They’ll want to know if you’ve written about specific topics before, or what your opinion on something is. Make it obvious and easy for the reader! Archive pages are useful, but depending on what your blog is about, you may want to create a special sort of page which links to specific things (e.g. if you write a craft blog, all your knitting how-tos, all your DIY’s, etc.)
6. Make it easy for others to get in contact with you
   Make your contact page prominent – it’s not just good for your readers to know how to get hold of you, but of course, for brands to get in contact. (Here’s a list of things to include on your contact page if you need a checklist!)
7. Write an amazing About Me page
   It’s probably the first thing you should do when setting up a blog, but the About Me page is usually one of the most sparce pages on a blog. Your readers (and potential brands that want to work with you) want to know more about you! Find out what to include on your About Me page here

What would you recommend that other bloggers should include?