Is surfing your biggest passion in life? You can share your passion with others by starting a surf blog. Today, you have all resources necessary to become a blogger and build a community of like-minded people.
Basically, you don’t have to be an outstanding writer to succeed. If you truly love surfing and want to inspire other people, you will quickly learn how to create remarkable blog posts.
Here are a few tips that will help you to start out on the right foot.
Find your niche
Before you set up a blog, you should choose a blogging niche that appeals to you.
You should understand that there are many surf blogs out there, but just a few of them are displayed on the first page of Google search results. And if you create generic content, your articles will likely get lost in the sea of content.
Your task is to find a blogging niche with low competition. Instead of covering any topic that somehow relates to surfing, you can focus on one of the following themes:
- Tips for newbie female surfers
- Dog surfing
- Cold-water surfing
- Extreme big-wave surfing
Research keywords
If you want to make your surf blog a success, you should understand how search engines work. And the first thing you should do is to learn how to choose the right keywords.
Keywords are the search queries created by users. For instance, if a user wants to know what wetsuit is better to choose for cold water surfing, he may create such search queries as “best cold water surfing wetsuit” or “wetsuit for cold water surfing.”
As a blogger, you need to define these keywords and insert them naturally throughout the article. You can find relevant keywords using tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest, or Keywords Explorer by Ahrefs.
By using relevant keywords, you will convince Google that your content is relevant to the search queries created by your target audience. It will improve your website ranking, make your content more visible, and you will reach more readers.
Find interesting topics to cover
As we have mentioned above, you shouldn’t create generic content. You should strive to provide your readers with interesting, valuable information that they struggle to find online. You should define the specific questions that your target audience has and create unique content that provides comprehensive answers to these questions.
You can use the following tips to come up with good topic ideas for your surf blog:
- Visit surf forums and define the frequently asked questions.
- Check out popular surf public accounts on social media. Read comments and analyze frequently asked questions.
- Ask your surf friends what they would like to read about.
- Check out surf blogs in your niche. Define the topics they have already covered – it will help you understand what topics are already “occupied.”
Find your unique writing style
Many newbie bloggers face one problem – they can’t find their own writing style and start copying writing styles of more popular bloggers. And that’s a big mistake you should avoid at all costs.
You are a unique person. You have a unique background and unique surfing experience. Your writing doesn’t have to be perfect. Just be yourself, write your heart out, and you will find your readers.
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. And most importantly, don’t try to compare yourself to other surf bloggers. Be the most authentic self – it’s a key to successful blogging.
Write in a personal and engaging tone
If you want to engage your target audience, you should find the right tone for your blog. Here are a few tactics you can use to improve your writing and make your articles sound more personal and engaging:
- Write as you speak. Don’t try to make your writing more sophisticated.
- Use the words “you,” “your,” and “we.”
- Picture a person while you are writing. For instance, if you’re writing a post, “5 tips for teenage surfers”, imagine that your reader is 16-year-old girl Jessica, who dreams of becoming a professional surfer. Try to find the right words to answer all her questions and help her to accomplish her dream.
- Make sure to order proofreading services – that’s the benefit of an objective second set of eyes to ensure that your content will not contain any errors.
Improve readability
Modern users have a short attention span. And if you want them to read your blog, you should make your texts easy-to-read and easy-to-scan-through:
- Keep your sentences short (under 20 words)
- Create short paragraphs (each paragraph should include just two or three sentences)
- Add bulleted lists
- Use active voice
- Create headings and subheadings
Once you improve text readability, you will attract more readers to your website. You will make your content more accessible for non-English speakers and engage a global surf audience.
Don’t skip the proofreading part
Now let’s talk about the least fun, yet not the least important part of the blogging – let’s talk about proofreading and editing.
Well, one typo will not scare away your readers. But poor grammar, in general, has an indirect impact on your website ranking. It may increase the bounce rate and affect the credibility of your blog.
For this reason, you should proofread your blog posts. Always. Even if your article looks perfect to you, you should double-check the correctness of your writing. If you don’t want to spend your time on this task, you can use AI-powered tools like Grammarly to proofread your texts automatically.
You can do it!
If you have been thinking about starting a surf blog for a while, don’t hesitate to make the first step.
Set up a website and create great content to express yourself. Provide fellow surfers with useful information, and they will reward you with their support and loyalty.
