How to become a better blogger: 5 killer storytelling tips from Niel Van Herck

January 1, 1970

min read

Anyone can be a blogger these days. As long as you have Internet access and a laptop, tablet or even a smartphone, you're good to go. This makes blogging a very approachable way to share your stories and interests with the world, but unfortunately it also causes your feed to be flooded with blogs. Niel Van Herck of the travel blog Tjoolaard gives his 5 great storytelling tips for anyone who wants a blog that works.

Fortunately, there is Niel Van Herck, of the travel blog Tjoolaard. If you follow his 5 great storytelling tips, your blog will become like a life preserver in this "blogflood.

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1. Find your topic and find a niche

It is difficult to be original or unique. Try to be different by knowledge, style or point of view.

If you want to stand out in the blogosphere, you have to be unique. But: that doesn't mean you can't become a travel blogger, just because there are already lots of them. If travel is your passion, just go for it, as long as you stand out from that flood, with your knowledge, style or angle. The following travel bloggers have all found that particular niche.

The Family Without Borders

A blog about traveling the world with young children. When Thomas and Anna's daughter was only 6 months old, they decided to take a six-month road trip around the Black Sea. This was the first of many more trips.

Thomas and Anna travel the world with their daughters Hanna and Mila.

Atlas Obscura

A blog about traveling to unusable, hidden places around the world, from places with scientific wonders or incredible history to gastronomic wonders.

This crashed plane lies inland on the shore of the black sand beach of Solheimasandur in Iceland.

Hand Luggage

Another unique concept is Sam De Bruyn's travel blog: he travels for 48 hours and also tells the story of his trip in 48 photos.

This is one of the photos taken during his trip to Alicante.

2. Create your identity, add a personality to your blog

Know who you are and guard it all with your life.

A name, a color palette and a logo

People connect with people, not things. So add a strong personality to your blog. Make people who visit your blog feel like they are having a meaningful interaction with a person. In other words, showcase your personal brand. And if there's one thing you shouldn't skip when creating your identity, it's a name for your blog. The pressure is on to find a good one that stands out. Try using humor, alliterations, a different language to make it stand out from that flood.

However, always make sure people can write it down and if they misspell it despite your best efforts, make sure they still end up on your website. To make this possible, buy the URL for every spelling mistake people might make. Another challenge: your visual branding. You need a simple color palette, with 1-3 primary colors and 2-3 secondary colors, and a font that stands out. This can be an existing font or one you create yourself.

A photography style, including the filters you will use, is also something you cannot do without. You can create the filters in Lightroom. Last but not least, you will need a logo and/or a wordmark. Make sure it is attractive but not too detailed, like this one of "Tjoolaard";. It's not the best or the most original, but it works.

Logo and word mark of Tjoolaard.

Credibility

'Credibility, credibility, credibility' repeat it like a mantra. Once you've created your identity, stick to it. Not just when writing on your blog! Your personality should be at least largely the same offline and online. Tell from your own personal experience, be the source.

And above all, be honest. If you want to work with brands you certainly can, but find a balance between commercial and non-commercial blogging and have the courage to say no if the brand doesn't fit your personality. You will only lose credibility if you collaborate with every brand that asks for it.

So before you agree to collaborate with a brand, ask yourself the following questions: "Does the proposition match the brand values?", "Can I stay true to myself and writing style?", "Is the proposition right for my reader?" and "What about practicality?". If you decide to work with brands, make sure you have a page on your website with your services, accomplishments, past projects and collaborations and, of course, your contact information. Check out Tjoolaard to get an idea of what such a page might look like.

3. Create great content, because content is everything

Be good or be gone.

If your content isn't good, people won't come back. It's that simple. Unfortunately, creating good content is not easy. Try to look through the obvious things you see. It's important to add your own interpretation. Don't just give the facts, but tell how you see it. The following three elements are very important to create great content: data, function and emotion.

Data, function and emotion are very important elements for great content.

Data, function and emotion

Use data to know what your readers want, when they want it and how they want it. Good ways to get this data are through Meta Ads Manager, Google analytics or [Buffer](https:// buffer.com/).

Function refers to functionality for your reader. Try to create content that makes your reader feel stronger. If your reader can show someone else that they got smarter after reading your article, they will feel stronger and you have just gained a new regular visitor.

The last but probably most important element is emotion. An important part of conveying emotion is showing that you are human. Don't just show the success stories, but also show flaws, pain and struggles. This is how you create an emotional connection with your audience. But always remember: subtlety is key. Don't overdo it and never feign emotion.

Niels story about the origami crane he received from an old lady in Hiroshima is a great example.

An origami crane made by an old lady in Hiroshima.

The spaghetti movement

So you think you've created a great piece of content, but how can you be sure? Just use "The spaghetti move. If you want to know if your pasta is ready, throw it against the wall and if it sticks to the wall, it's good. Now change "the wall" to "your audience" and "the pasta"; to "your content. In other words, just distribute your content and your audience will let you know soon enough whether it is good or not. If, according to the data, it is not good enough, adjust or re-work your content until it "sticks."

Use "The spaghetti move" to find out if your content is ready.

4. Make it known, use some marketing techniques

Just ask people to share.

Now that you've created great content, it's time to publicize it. Because - well - you didn't write it just for yourself, right? But how do you make sure people know you exist and that your content is worth reading? Take care of your SEO, build a community and do some networking.

Take care of your SEO

I won't go into details about SEO in this article, but the following tips will already put you on the right track. First, you need to have great content, but I think we covered that part enough in the previous section. Second, it's important to know from data whether people are entering your blog through organic search, social, referral, direct and to adjust your strategy based on this information.

Furthermore, your content should definitely be adapted to mobile. Take a look at how "Tjoolaard" looks on mobile:

Build a community

It is very important to build a community because they will help you make it known. To build a community, the following three words are essential: listen, speak, engage. Always focus on interaction, on engaging your audience, rather than on reach. Also, people won't always like, share, retweet your blog post if you don't ask them to.

According to HubSpots Science of Social Media research, a phrase "ReTweet please" in your tweet gets you 4x more retweets (see table below). So make sure your audience knows what you expect from them, always end your blog post with a call-to-action. Every beginning is hard, so use your friends and family as the foundation of your community. In addition, collect email addresses.

Email is an easy way to get close to your audience and collect a lot of valuable data. Also, newsletters are back!

Networking

Networking is very important. Comment on other people's blog if their content is related to yours. But don't just network online, go out and meet new people.

5. Don't be a negative Nancy and other no-no's

Don't be a negative Nancy. The more negative you are, the more people will move away from whatever you are doing. This doesn't mean you have to pretend it's all butterflies and rainbows. Just try to end your blog post on a positive note. But you can be positive yourself all you want, you can't escape negative comments. So you better learn to deal with them.

First of all, avoid deleting them unless they are illegal. You don't have to respond immediately, just keep an eye on them and make sure it doesn't get out of hand. Also, never ignore a frustration, but try to find a constructive solution. However, don't argue too much and try to go private so you can solve the problem without all those prying eyes.

You could also go for a James Blunt move, which means responding with a funny but cheeky comment, but be very careful with this. Don't go too far and only do this if it fits the identity of your blog.

James Blunt's move The following things are also definitely two no-no's.

One: never ask for likes. And two: don't buy your followers. It may be attractive to write down a large number in addition to "followers," but eventually the bubble bursts and with it your credibility.

Well that's enough tips for now I think, it's time to start blogging!

Niel Van Herck gives blog tips to postgraduate Digital Storytelling students.

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