7 Ways to be a Successful Multi Niche Blogger

When I began my blog, from the start I thought that Daily Dose of Design would be strictly a design blog - I would share design tips, decor palettes, the whole nine yards for every. single. post. That idea went out the door REALLY quickly and I decided I would write fashion and design posts.. This worked for a while and then I got kind of bored - I wanted to write about more and as stupid as it sounds, I didn't know that I could! (cut me some slack, I had been a blogger for three months tops!)
I hear a LOT from other bloggers - in Facebook support groups mainly - that you should stick to one niche or not branch out into too many different topics on one blog. Granted, a majority of bloggers agree with what I'm saying on this but there are a ton of people who don't. To each their own; your blog is your blog for a reason. If you want to blog solely about fashion, blog solely about fashion. But if you want to blog about travel, food and life experiences, you can do that too and you shouldn't let anyone tell you otherwise! Now, I totally see what people are saying when they say that it's important to sort of stick to a topic and I agree, but that's only to a certain extent. I consider myself a fashion/beauty and lifestyle blogger but in that "lifestyle" category there's so many subcategories: design, travel, food and actual lifestyle based posts.
My point here is to run your blog how you want to run your blog and don't let others make you think that its wrong. There's really no wrong way to blog (unless of course you're stealing content or something stupid like that, ya know, the obvious things) and as long as you work hard at what you do, there's room for success for all blog niches. I've learned a lot when it comes to blogging about multiple topics and I think there's some really important things you can do to make sure that being a multi-niche blogger is a success for you.
How I manage being a multi-niche blogger:

What I Learned in My First Year of Blogging

I cannot believe it but I've officially been blogging for an entire 365 days! It feels way longer and I've accomplished way more than I ever thought possible with this blog, but every day is a new adventure and I love always having things to do to improve and work on. From blog design, to posts that have gone semi viral, to learning to utilize Pinterest and growing my Instagram, it has been an amazing first year of blogging and I am so excited to see what's to come this year and beyond!
Blogging is a never ending learning process and I've said it tons of times and I'll say it again - that is by far my favorite part. Taking as much time as I can each day to work on posts, sharing on social media, updating my theme, etc. is what I look forward to most. It is a never ending process and with that comes learning new things each and every day. Not a day goes by that I don't learn something new either from reading other blog posts or from bloggers who have experienced it before.
Here are the 8 most important things I've learned throughout my first year of blogging:

Useful Tips & Resources for Bloggers!

I still am finding it hard to believe that Daily Dose of Design is 6 months old already! I've learned so much about blogging already and I continue to learn more and meet new people every single day - which is definitely my favorite part about being a blogger! With everything I've learned comes the hundreds (seriously) of articles and posts I've read about blogging, things to do and not do, ways to grow your blog, the list goes on and on. I still consider myself a fairly new blogger and I wanted to put together a guide for you guys that would be helpful whether you're a new blogger or have been blogging for years! While I'm definitely no expert, I think I'm starting to get the hang of what's useful, what isn't and what you should use and when you should use it.



Here's some resources, tips and websites that have helped me along the way that I think you'll find useful too:
Blog design: over the years I taught myself HTML and coding to get through creating my tumblr themes and editing them (I'm a perfectionist that can never get anything to be within my idea of perfect). I still would love to create my own blog design one day, but until I can find the time to learn some more HTML needed, I decided a few months back it was time to get my blog professionally designed. As a newer blogger and college student, I definitely don't have the hundreds of dollars to spend on a blog design. That's why when I found Theresa from Always in Bluhm Designs I was SO excited. Having my blog designed was one of the best things I ever did for my blog and I highly recommend using Theresa if you use the Blogger platform. If you're on Wordpress, you can just as easily search Etsy for designers who cater to WP users!

Social media: I've always been a social media junkie, but being a blogger has really made me realize just how important social media outlets are for your blog and for promoting your blog and your content. I mostly utilize the typical outlets - Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook - but there's so many outlets out there that it's hard to keep up! There's also insanely helpful apps you can have right on your phone that'll organize your blogging life. Check out my post on that here!

• Pinterest: ever since creating pinnable images for each of my posts and posting them ALL over my boards and group boards, I've seen huge traffic growth. I'm talking a difference of hundreds of pageviews per day people! Seriously, Pin Groupie will be your best friend. You can narrow your search by Pinterest category and I've found some seriously awesome group boards to join that way. Being a part of group boards that have a lot of followers = more blog post views! I try and set 30 minutes aside once or twice a week searching pingroupie for new group boards to join and it's been super beneficial to me! You'll be amazed at just how many group boards there are out there! 
• Instagram: nowadays, who isn't obsessed with Instagram? I know I am and I only made my blog's account two or so months ago. I highly recommend making your blog it's own Instagram ASAP! It's a great way to meet new bloggers and it's also a great sharing source as well. Be active and utilize it; like other blogger's pictures and leave comments as you would on blog posts - it's a great way to connect! You can also Google hashtags that bloggers in your niche use and tag ALL of your photos with them. For example, #blogpost #fbloggers #lbloggers. Even more of a chance to have your posts reach new people!
• Facebook: even though it seems as if Facebook isn't as popular anymore, in the blogging world it's the complete opposite! No if's, and's or but's - make your blog a Facebook page! I post on my blog's Facebook page nearly every day. Always post a link to your latest post and stay active for those who like your page. Facebook is also a great resource for growing your blog and meeting other bloggers as well - joining Facebook groups is one of the last things I ever would have thought to do, but believe it or not - they're INSANELY worth it! These groups usually have daily threads where you can interact with other bloggers and exchange comments, likes, follows, etc. My favorite group that I'm a part of is Show Your Blog Love and I highly suggest asking to become a member!

Utilize free workshops and programs: so many successful and popular bloggers offer e-courses dedicated to different blogging aspects; growing your audience, making your blog more attractive, pretty much anything you need you can find a course on! These bloggers spend a lot of time creating and maintaining these courses so you can expect to have to pay for them, however they can be really, really helpful! From time to time some of these bloggers offer either free courses or free mini courses (enticing you to purchase the full course and also giving it a chance to see if its one for you). Dana Fox recently offered a free "blogging bootcamp" course that was sent in 7 emails in 7 days and they all had little tips for you to implement on your blog. Super helpful advice and I would recommend one for sure!

Edit your pictures: when I began blogging, I took all pictures for my posts on my iPhone 6 - which is supposed to have great quality, right? I was always proud of my pictures until I got myself a REAL camera and compared my phone pictures to my camera pictures. Good quality cameras are pretty expensive so if you aren't in the market for one of these yet, there IS ways to successfully use your phone! Even with using my camera I still edit my pictures and try to use the same brightness and contrast levels for all of my post pictures. I use Photoshop CS5 to edit my pictures, but there are tons of websites that will work perfectly if you don't have Photoshop - PicMonkey and Photobucket are two editing websites that both will do the trick! Moral of the story - always edit your post pictures and try to stick with a theme for all of them. This is something I learned recently and it makes sense; either make all of your pictures bright or make them all dark - it looks better than trying to mix both! I also have found that "pinnable" pictures are usually ones that have light or white backgrounds to them. For example, this is my best performing pin to date and I have a feeling it's because of the bright background!

Guest posting & creating quality content: these two aspects of blogging go hand in hand because you should always only post quality content and always look for opportunities to guest post - and create quality content for those guest posts also! I've both reached out to and have been contacted by bloggers with guest post opportunities (that you can read here!) and it's a great way to expand your reach. I was lucky enough to do a whole series of guest posts for Tracy at Nest Full of New while she was on vacation. Creating quality content on your blog is important - and creating quality content for your guest posts is as well since this is readers first glimpse at your work and what they can expect to see if they decide to visit your blog. Take your time creating your content - make a draft, edit, take breaks (if you can) and take time working on images for your post. Going back on my posts from March and comparing them to my posts from June shows a HUGE difference and is something I'm super proud about!



Having a pretty notebook/planner is also super helpful in keeping your blogging organized! I found this adorable notebook that doubles as a planner in Home Goods a few months ago and have been using it ever since! I also have a planner that I write out my post dates in - which I highly recommend doing!


Are there any blogging resources you use and have found very helpful? XOXO
Bloglovin|Facebook|Pinterest|Instagram

A link up party that you won't want to miss!

Today I'm SO excited to share the most exciting news that I'm lucky enough to be co-hosting Painted Teacup's Link-it to me Party!!! Chantal is one of my favorite bloggers I've met and she was sweet enough to ask me to co-host her amazing link up party this week! I love link up parties and the fact that one of my best blogging friends has one weekly is so much fun! The best part is meeting new people and finding so many new posts through link ups.
As I'm halfway through my sixth month of blogging (this is insane to me!), I'm always looking for ways to increase traffic and grow a following. If you're a regular Daily Dose of Design reader or even a new reader, from the bottom of my heart I truly thank you for taking the time to read my blog! Blogging has always been such a dream of mine and now running my own blog is such an amazing experience day after day. That being said, link parties are one of the many ways that I find extremely helpful in growing my blog. Link parties allow you to connect with other bloggers and find blogs that you may end up loving! I'm so excited to be a co-host for a link up party and definitely will be starting my very own in the (hopefully near) future!
Here you can find a blog post that Chantal wrote about how link parties work and how you can successfully host your own link party. If you're thinking about starting your own, I definitely recommend reading this post! It's helped me quite a bit and I'll be referring back to it a LOT when I'm ready to start my own link up parties!!
Without further adieu, meet the fabulous host of the Link-it to Me party, Chantal from Painted Teacup! You can follow Chantal on her social media including Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter!!


Every week, Chantal picks some links from the party to feature in the next weeks party post! Here's this weeks featured posts; check them out! I think you'll love them just as much as I have!! There's some really great links here:
16 Delectable Cupcake Recipes from Dreaming of Leaving

Free Kitchen Chalkboard Printables from The Ham and Cheese of It

How to Create your own photo map from Currently Kelsie

Gluten Allergy? Avoid these Four Mistakes from Dreaming of Living

Cocktail Popsicles for Adults from The Quinntessential Mommy


Now that you've had a chance to look at these awesome posts, let the party begin!
Before Linking Up, please follow these guidelines so everyone can enjoy the party! Please be sure to link a blog post, not a Pinterest link; you want to make sure others are visiting your blog, not just re-pinning!
The Guidelines Are Simple: 1. Check out my profile on Pinterest, if it interests you, consider liking my boards and/or following me. 2. Share the party on your social media. More visitors = more eyes on your posts! 3. Add any family friendly blog posts or pins (maximum of 3). 4. Share the love; view, pin, or share at least 3 other links on the link up! 5. By linking up, you agree to allow Painted Teacup and Daily Dose of Design to share your links and photos (credit is always given to you) on our blogs and social media sites. You also agree to allow us to contact you via email to inform you of future link-ups.
As a token of my appreciation, I will pin all links to one of my Pinterest boards! Happy linking! Thanks for joining, we'llsee you again next week! Link Up will run from 8pm EST Tuesday – 11:59pm EST Thursday.

An InLinkz Link-up