I have two favorite things that go hand in hand with blogging. Photography and writing. With blogging, I can express both! First and foremost, I blog for myself. I enjoy it. Second, I blog for our family and friends who still live in Kentucky, USA, while we live 2000 miles away in South Mexico. I can share a piece of our life with them despite the distance.
There is one last reason I blog, and that is because we have a unique story to tell. How many folks can move their family of six to a foreign country? Not very many. For this reason, I don’t want to keep our adventure to ourselves. I want to share it.
When I create the content for a blog post, I am very critical of my work. I read over it, again and again, to make sure I have the wording just the way I like. I always spell check. If I use a quote, I make sure I know where it came from and I attribute it to the author.
I try to include photos in all my blogs. Sometimes my blogs have more photography than writing. It depends on the post. I edit all my photos in Adobe Photoshop CS5. I have a few Photoshop skills up my sleeve, thanks to my moonlighting days as a professional photographer in Kentucky. I brought my expensive DSLR cameras and equipment with me to Mexico. It was something I could not leave behind. I am putting it to good use on Los Gringos Locos.
I feel pretty confident about my posts when I publish them. When I receive likes, comments, follows, shares, or subscribers it makes me feel good. I am happy someone found my work appealing or interesting.
There are a few other tips I have found on the thought of how to blog, for bloggers young and old:
- Keep your blog attractive. If you are not stylish by nature, get the opinion of others. Look for a pretty template that fits your personality. That’s what I did, and I love it! Now I use Photoshop to design matching headers for my social media networks.
- Don’t let your blog get cluttered. It makes me want to run away! I had to remove most of my badges because there were just too many. Now I have a Blogging Resource Page that I will continue to add links too.
- Post your best photos and take clean, clear shots. Only a few months ago I was using my Instagram photos on the blog. Then I realized that my Instagram photos have nothing on my DSLR photos and Adobe Photoshop. I was doing Mexico an injustice! Everything I do is self-taught. Teach yourself to take great photos. You can do it!
- Write about what you love or what you know. That is your niche. Sometimes you can have more than one. I blog about homeschooling, living abroad, traveling, photography, family, and kids, not in that exact order. Is that too much? Not for me because I have experience in those topics. What’s your niche?
- Read, read, read! Google and Pinterest have a wealth of information for bloggers. I have so many articles pinned about blogging that I had to make a board for it! Ideas that are waiting to be implemented into my blog.
- Blog hops and link-ups have been very helpful the last month or so. I am growing an audience! I also have met many great bloggers that have been a big help and encouragement. I encourage you to try them out. Be sure to participate with comments and not just add your blog.
That’s enough tips for now. I am new to this rodeo, and I can only give tips that I know work! So in conclusion, ask yourself, “Why do I blog? How do I blog?” Think about it. Have fun doing what you love and do it well! Signing off, Tina at Los Gringos Locos
Tina Ernspiker lives abroad in Mexico with her husband and four children. She loves photography and writing, which is perfect for blogging. Tina blogs about her life and family, as well as homeschooling, traveling, and photography.
You can find Tina at the following places:
Using Evernote to Be An Organized Blogger
Syndicated Blog Posts: What You Need To Know
The 2017 BC Stack: The Help You Need to Grow Your Blog