Building Home Improvement Blogs
The DIY, home improvement, and life-hacking niche is some of the most popular blogging out there. Reports have shown that blogs are the 5th most-trusted source for information.
There’s so much potential for home improvement blogs to succeed because of this fact. DIY instructions, especially with clear photo instructions, can quickly gain trust and loyal followers.
If you’re someone who has a lot of experience with home improvement or is passionate about solving common home problems, this could be your big break. It’s only a matter of seizing the opportunity and knowing what the audience wants to see.
If you’re thinking about starting up your own home improvement blog, then keep reading. We’ve compiled a list of tips, tricks and blogging advice that will help set yours apart and build a strong following.
How to Build Awesome Home Improvement Blogs
#1. Securing the Best Tools
Like any home DIY project, you need to invest in high-quality tools that give you the best shot at succeeding. If you’ve never run a blog before, then keep reading. If you have blogging experience, then keep reading and compare notes.
First thing’s first: decide on your platform. This can come down to personal preference, but if you want simple, no-nonsense blogging that’s easy to troubleshoot, choose Squarespace.
For the most prolific and slightly more affordable (with the caveat of using free features), go for WordPress.
#2. All in the Name
A strong domain name will go a long way towards future branding and memorability.
Once you’ve got something in mind, you’ll buy your domain and choose a hosting service. You can do this by either buying the domain separate or simplifying it by buying the two together.
GoDaddy’s domain+hosting packages are pretty fool-proof. You can likewise purchase your hosting and domain through the blogging platforms.
#3. Brainstorm Content Ideas
Home improvement blogs like GetThatRight.com didn’t become an authority voice overnight. They worked hard to curate information that readers find valuable.
When it comes to launching a brand-new blog, you’ll want to start out with a least 10-20 concise and well-thought-out topic ideas. You’ll be feeding new posts to your blog on a daily basis, building up a readership.
The last thing you want to do is start a blog and begin to fizzle out on fresh content or start posting uninspired things that people have seen before.
#4. Work on Featured and Guest Posts
When it comes to SEO, or search engine optimization, your goal should always be gaining valuable backlinks from larger blogs. You can do this a few different ways, but the most organic way includes guest posting and featured posts.
If you have a really great blog topic in mind that you could see published on other blogs, reach out to them. Offer free content in exchange for you plugging your new blog.
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Once you have a good number of articles published on your blog, start thinking about featuring bloggers who you respect. Ask them to do a quick Q & A interview with you to share on your blog.
The same strategy can be used to get your early followers engaged, sharing on social media. Field comments and do a “reader comments” post every week.
The key is providing unique and fresh content and staying connected with taste-makers/authority blogs.
#5. Be a Social Media Boss
You won’t succeed as a blogger without a strong social media presence on multiple platforms. Home improvement blogs live and die by great, shareable pictures. Make sure you brainstorm every post with social media in mind.
Craft your headlines in a way that is not too clickbait-y, but also grabs readers’ attention in 100 characters or less.
Take your content and spread it around in Facebook Groups, Pinterest Groups, message boards, and Reddit subs. Use hashtags everywhere else, make it very easy to discover.
Don’t just flood your social media accounts with your own content, of course. This comes off as spam 99% of the time online. Only established brands can get away with social feeds full of their own promos.
Be personable, be humble, and be fun. Home improvement blogs are meant for personalized content, so you must be accessible.
#6. Get Local
Going local with your home improvement blog may sound odd, at first, but it’s actually an easy way to shoot up SEO rankings. The idea is simple: promote local contractors and exchange backlinks with them.
If you are a local contractor yourself, consider reaching out to local newspapers to get your blog posted online. Having local newspaper article published online with make your blog come up on top of local searches.
Google LOVES blogs that get backlinks to local news outlets. It adds a lot to your credibility and gives you an edge over all the other non-local blogs in your niche.
#7. Photos Take Priority
Don’t settle for stock photos as a home improvement blog. If you want to really make money in this niche, you need to source premium, original images.
If you don’t have a nice house that you can use for staging photos, try finding a neighbor. Don’t know anyone who can help? Commission a photographer to do it for you.
As long as you’re sourcing great, high-quality photos, you’ll gain favor by your audience. Just think about how difficult it is to follow some DIY instructions when all you have is line drawings or blurry shots.
Another great asset to any blogger is the infographic. This is something you can fill in content gaps with interesting facts or history lessons. They add major value and trust to your blog.
Succeeding with Home Improvement Blogs
The journey from relative nobody to blogging mogul is a long and difficult road, especially by yourself. While you can try running everything solo, you’re going to want a team behind you.
Starting a successful blog can get expensive, so the first thing you should do is save whenever and wherever you can. Take these deals, for example.
It’s all about (Outsource) working smarter not harder, kind of like the whole idea behind home improvement blogs. We hope these blogging tips give you the boost you need to take off running.
If you ever feel like you’re stuck, don’t feel discouraged, there’s plenty of blogging tips by those who have hit those same obstacles.
Good luck, happy blogging, and, hopefully, enjoy your new self-made life!