10 things you need to know to build a successful blog

10 things you need to know to build a successful blog according to Omar Oualili

Last Saturday the Blogoma, AKA the Moroccan bloggers sphere, gathered in the NWL at 10AM to meet with one of the greatest Moroccan bloggers the Weboma has known; Omar In A City Near you alias Omar Oualili. Omar is a 22 years old Moroccan Travel blogger that visited 35 countries so far. You read that right, 35, no less! And he came all the way from London where he studies a Master in Finance, to host, in partnership with the NWL, a class on how to build a successful blog. Here is a restitution of the essential of his advice in 10 main points:

1 – On being a blogger

It takes time, patience, and consistency so “Don’t expect to go big from the start” he says. “At first you’re going to have 0 views, but you start gaining audience, little by little! “.

2 – On Finding your Niche

Omar suggests that you focus on what you love talking about the most. It’s no problem to have many interests he says, you just need to keep it consistent

3 – On Getting Started

To get started you have to choose a platform. The most used platforms are: Blogger, WordPress.com, WordPress.org, Jumla…Omar’s tip here is to start with a long time vision and use self-hosting from the start with the help of a programmer to avoid having to migrate over time. To “ Can I choose Facebook as a platform for my blog?” he responded that even though many are those who use Facebook as a blogging platform, one should take into consideration that a Facebook page is not secure and you could lose it at any given moment as it’s not a proper blogging platform…yet!

4 – On the must-bes on your blog

– The about section

– Your contact info

– Links to your social media profiles

5 – On creating relevant content

Your content must be in line with your niche says Omar. Content according to him is conditioned by three main aspects:

First: Quality, and to achieve quality content you have to be authentic.
Secondly: frequency, and that’s something that most bloggers struggle with as keeping up a rhythm isn’t easy. Omar’s top tip here is to bulk-write posts ahead so you have time to review them before posting them.
And thirdly: Photos. As separating between paragraphs with photos makes reading more enjoyable. Good quality pictures make your content more attractive. A professional camera is not a must knowing that today most smartphones have decent cameras.

6 – On bettering your visibility

Use SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and tags gets you better referencing and therefore makes your blog rank higher in Google searches.
Think about investing into more dynamic content such as videos as they have higher shareability than articles.
Take part into the community and collaborate with other bloggers to gain in terms of visibility. The said collaboration can take many forms among which is guest posts.

7 – On knowing your audience

Check on who reads your content using statistics, optimize and adapt to your target using information such as location, demographics and interests. Even better: become friends with your audience. Organize meet & greets, go to your audience for feedback.

8 – On how to promote your blog :

Blogs promotion happens essentially on social media:

On Facebook. Tip: Reply back to all interactions. It increases the engagement of your audience.
On Twitter. Tip: use the right hashtags and twitter chats.
On Instagram. Tip: 1-3 posts per day max. Engage with users and use hashtags.

=) Use the same profile picture/pseudo on all social media so you can be recognizable.

9 – On taking it to the next level :

Build your brand
Seek sponsorship. Tip: Find them! Omar says that 80% of the time he is the one that goes to the sponsor and not the other way around. So do not hesitate to contact brands!
Monetization
Awards and competition. As awards and titles give you credibility.