The perfect blogger

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about what makes a really good blogger. I’ve read some blogs with tips and also some comments on Facebook about it, and collected a list of skills/traits that a “perfect blogger” must have, and what things you should never do as a blogger:

Journalism education

“The perfect blogger must be a trained journalist or at least have knowledge in journalistic writing, no matter what type of a blog he writes—even if he is blogging just for fun, but especially if he blogs professionally. “
I was encouraged to read a book about journalistic writing. Apparently, my writing style is too layman and does not meet the requirements of professional print and online media… I apologize for the fact that I simply publish my posts” on paper or in a database, without any journalistic knowledge. Well, I’m writing a personal blog and not a professional newspaper. So why should you, as a hobby blogger, now learn something in this direction? Does this not mean that the honesty and individualism of writing style is lost, which is what gives a blog its own personality to begin with? Those who like the impersonal writing style are certainly not looking in the right place on my blog…

Photographic training

“The perfect blogger must be trained as a photographer and must also have appropriate equipment. “
Sorry, but again apparently my pictures are too layman. I am only a hobby photographer- for fun- and not with the ulterior motive to create photos for a living or a business. I have never attended a photography course– I am simply learning as I go. Yes, I admit: I haven’t even set up a photo studio at home yet. But you know, this whole thing is also associated with costs. Of course you can get a half-decent piece of equipment for a little money, but honestly, as soon as you have to spend more time on the composition of the photos than on the actual writing, I think something is wrong. Do you really want to be like other blogs where their images look like glossy magazines? Why do you want this?

As long as the pictures are sharp and not blurry, it doesn’t matter if they were made with the cell phone or a phase one P65 +. Why do photos have to be decorated in addition to the products presented? Do the photographed cosmetics get better as a result, does the cat food taste different or do the children have more fun with a toy when there is a teddy in the picture? I say no! But good, everyone likes this style of picture. And if people don’t like one of my photos, on which I usually put the presented product in the foreground and do not want to distract with unnecessary frills, then I have to live with it. I also find that some bloggers make super great pictures and of course I have expectations for myself and my blog; but to criticize a photo without deco– in my eyes this is miles away from the goal.

Programming skills

“The best way to be a perfect blogger is to have excellent knowledge of HTML and CSS in order to be able to tinker with the egg-legend Wool Michsau template to make it satisfy all the wishes of the blog owner and the reader. Alternatively, you can also earn a lot of money in your hand and produce something. “
Yes, I only use pre-made themes, which I adapt slightly, and unfortunately without having the afore mentioned programming skills. My blog is still my hobby, on which I don’t really like to spend a lot of money. I don’t really earn anything with my blog; I just get a few test products once in a while. If you take a closer look at my blog, you will notice that I also often write about myself. So my personal cost-benefit bill doesn’t go up here either. Of course, the blog must be appealing but it can never be perfect and its impossible that everyone will like it. I can live with this. I still try, of course, to not be boring or dull.

Set to a topic and audience

“The perfect blogger writes about a specific topic for a very specific audience. People, don’t just write about cosmetics and cooking recipes, because then you make it hard for your readers to realize that they belong to your target group. Set a Theme! “
Do you find that stupid? Good, me too! I’m just writing about product testing, trips, my thoughts. Who do I want to achieve? Everyone who is interested in the respective topic to find this interesting too! My target group? Male or female from an age of about 12 years and up (I also write about PC games!). Do these two criteria apply to you? Congratulations, then you may come again in the future and read my blog, because you belong to my target group. And if you’re younger, you can still read!
You don’t feel like either a man or a woman? You can also read! Why does every blog have to be defined by only one topic? I do not know a daily newspaper that writes exclusively about politics or economics– all papers write about various topics and these papers are still bought. And if you are interested in just one topic, just buy specialist magazines. But even in those there are often enough a few pages that are “Off topic”.

Always blog to make money

“The perfect blogger, of course, doesn’t blog for fun or even just to tell his fellow man something- he always wants to earn money with his blog, be it through banner advertising, affiliate programs or paid blog reports. Put more clearly: blog not only to cover the running costs, but to become rich! “ This will inevitably lead to the next point:
6 Just don’t sell under value

“The perfect blogger does not sell under his value and does nothing for free. “ This is a great statement from people who also make money with their blog, perhaps even as the only source of money. She did not answer to my request for help, but I read her blog so often! But why would a little blogger not be allowed to write a blog report for €0 or €25 or €50 or €75? Why does he have to take money?

Why not just write about a test product or something you bought yourself? Of course I know this is free advertising, but you often get money only from a certain range and you have to build it first. As soon as you have a certain regular readership, you have the possibility to choose the projects more specifically. And if someone is satisfied with just getting a test product, this is perfectly fine.

Many blog posts bring many readers

The perfect blogger writes a lot. Preferably daily, if not several times a day. The crowd makes it, after all, the reader wants to be regularly supplied with new reading material. It’s no different with daily newspapers, either. And if nothing better comes up, you just write how many times the cat has gepupt again or which samples from magazines one has used once and how great they are. The main thing you always publish something, even if you have nothing to say.

Get Subscribers

“The perfect blogger knows how to bind readers (make them subscribe)“, namely the best bloggers have these obnoxious pop-ups, which always appear in the middle of the screen when you just started reading. The more of those you have and the more often you prompt readers to enter their email, the better. At some point the reader enters themselves in the list just to be able to read in peace.

Write about what everyone writes about

“ The perfect blogger knows that if everyone is writing about a topic or product that it must be good, so you should jump on the train and write about it yourself. “ The more you praise a product, the better it eventually becomes. Besides, it’s too much trouble to look for things that haven’t been written about by so many others. DM and Co. Yet there are such great opportunities, and even for little money.

Yes as you may have noticed, I have shown many things very exaggerated and overstated. Unfortunately, these are basically the key messages you get when you’re looking for help and want to assess your blog or read supposed “beginner tips”. Of course, many of the statements are true if you want to blog professionally and want your blogging as a source of money (and don’t see it as a hobby).
But for me the blog should be a pastime; I am happy about more readers, but I do not expect 5000 or even 10000 hits in one day. I’m happy when new blogposts have a few dozen hits and when people have fun reading and perhaps discovering something that they didn’t know.

That’s why I rarely write about things that are “popular”, because after the third micelles-Facial Water Blog post, one already knows the entire history of the product and how it works. I personally prefer to look at a blog when things that I do not know yet are presented and which give more of an “insider tip”. Although I have been blogging for a year now (sometimes more, sometimes less), I learn something every day and try to get even better every day.

And you?

Now I would be interested to know how you see the topic: what you can do, what should you be able to do as a blogger? Can blogs that do not rely solely on a theme in your eyes exist? Or do you only read it regularly if the blog has a clear orientation? What do you like about photos, would you rather come back if the texts are short and mediocre but great pictures are shown or would you rather come back, if the texts are very good, but the pictures rather plain? What do good texts and good pictures do for you?

PS: I too have started to include affiliate links and advertising in the blog. This blog also costs money and if the costs are reduced or I can even buy new photo equipment for a better blog, then I would be very happy! Therefore there is also a small advertisement under this post. Oh yes, I have a newsletter pop-up too, you can find it in the bottom left corner. If you would register, it would be very nice. Alternatively, you can also do this from the sidebar. UNF on Facebook and co you can follow me as well, since you will always get newest posts displayed.