Hello everyone,

Reading new blogs and learning new tips and tricks about blogging is something that I constantly invest my time into. I can't even scroll down my Twitter feed without taking a moment to check out a post about a blogger giving tips on either How To Grow Your Blog Traffic, Improve DA or Grow Your Social Media Platforms to become the best blogger you can possibly be. When I visit a new blog, the first thing I check out is if they do share some blogging tips, and if not I do simply click away unless they really have amazing content on there that I can really relate to. Do not blame me though, my blog focus is to help other young online content creators grow their influence, but that's no excuse right??

The last couple of weeks I had been overwhelmed by the amount of blogging tips I have been consuming everyone. I mean, every other blogger comes with their own tips and tricks on how they grew from 0 to 20000 blog visitors a month and who does click away from that type of content, a few maybe. I had been really consumed in this information that I got to realise that I was swiftly drifting away from why I really started this blog and was getting caught up in this thing of tripling my readers and creating a loyal 'fanbase'. Personally, that is the reason why most bloggers are sceptical about the future of the Blogging & Influencer industry because we are getting more interested in numbers than content and community, the more followers and comments/likes you get, the more influential you are. Buying followers and likes is something most influencers are doing and the community is becoming a survival of the 'richest' kind of thing.

Getting caught up with the wind is something that we can't avoid, but it is one's choice to follow the crowd or remain authentic in the industry, and here are my tips on how to stay authentic in the blogging industry.

"Its Good To Grow But Don't Get Yourself Obsessed With Wanting To Better Yourself That You Lose Joy In The Activity That You Wanted To Perfect In The First Place" - Just Natonya

Define Your Mission Statement

Knowing why you started blogging is very essential step in building an authentic blogger brand. Obviously for most of us it was not about the money or likes and attention, but to be part of an authentic community which supports each other during growth and personal development. During my blogging break to focus on my examinations, l took a really good time Defining My Blog Focus and Finding My Purpose. l mean, we are all unique and we have to work tirelessly to stand out in the pool of other bloggers, right?

What is something unique about your blog that differentiates you from Blogger A and Blogger B? Martin Luther King once said 'Everything That You Do, Do It Delicately That People Will Remember You For That. If You Are A Cleaner, Be The Best Cleaner That The Angels Of Heaven Will Look Down And Admire Your Work'. Same goes with blogging and building your brand. If you are A College Lifestyle blogger, why should people click on your link and not the others for the same kind of posts? Focus on curating your 'Why' in blogging and define your own unique Mission Statement.


Be Part Of The Community

As bloggers, we are all part of the umbrella blogging community, but the truth is we belong to a specific community of bloggers who literally talk about the same thing. Building an authentic community of like-minded people who are passionately interested in each others content is one of my goals and missions for this blog after l did my blog rebrand.

Interacting with other bloggers not only makes you relatable in the blogosphere, but it also takes part in Growing Your DA Score, Grow Your Blog Traffic With The Right Audience and also a simple way of supporting other bloggers out there. One of my goals now is to comment on other blogs more and interact on Social Media on a regular basis. A simple act of kindness like replying to a tweet goes a really long way and is the starting point of building an active community for your blog. Though, l myself know l am one little mouse on the net who not only feels shy to open up his mind especially on SM, but also can't even leave a compliment on another bloggers' achievements. I am really working on this at my own personal pace and l am loving the progress l am making.


Interact With Other Non-Bloggers

Do not just be a blogger for bloggers, but try to interact with other non-blogger communities. I believe as bloggers we should actually put more effort in the non-blogger communities because that is the audience we are really trying to appease. Who is your target audience on your blog? Who do your imagine clicking on your blog post and leaving a comment when you hit 'Publish' on a new blog post?

Bloggers out there are really supportive of each other and the majority of interactions we get on our blogs comes from the bloggers community. Pushing your content into the non-blogger community should be as well a priority as it is with marketing your content on Blogger RT accounts. Join Facebook groups and Pinterest Communities targeted for your target reader. Put more effort into SEO because most non-bloggers still use Google and Pinterest for ideas and answers, and SEO Optimization is a must for you. If, like me, you publish mostly for the blogger community, why then worry about all of it?


Be Passionate & Research More

Finally, passion goes a long way. You are unique from another blogger who is talking about the same thing because of passion. Having a passion for something means you have a unique way of doing it which is different from the rest. Invest time in researching about your passion BUT my advice here is keep it minimal and focus most energy on creating. I have come to realize that there are resources from bloggers whom I love and are the one i gotta use for the blog rather than jumping aboard with other every blogging tip out there. Find at least five sites whom you know you will love and trust information from and invest in those sites and blogs for your vital information you need.


There you have it guys! My final tip you should keep in mind is you are unique and no matter how long it takes you to grow, that is who you are and embrace that. Better to have a small community that genuinely loves and share your content than buy thousand of bots and followers who do not even check out your blog.