Meet the Blogger: Laura from Be In The Know
As much as I love writing blog posts for you full of blogging, search engine optimization, and Pinterest tips, it’s also important to me to build a platform that helps other bloggers/digital business owners grow as well. As a blogger, it’s important to always find new ways to be visible online and to find opportunities to be discovered by new readers.
That’s why I decided to start a recurring item on She Can Blog called Meet the Blogger! I will interview bloggers/digital business owners about their blogs/businesses and experiences. Who are these bloggers/entrepreneurs, what type of blog/business do they run, what drives them, how do they drive traffic to their websites and what else can you learn from them?
Featured on this Meet the Blogger:
Laura from Be In The Know
Who are you and what type of blog do you have?
My name is Laura Howat and I write the blog Be In The Know which is aimed at students and young people. My blog discusses topics including education, employability, and personal finance.
I am from Glasgow in Scotland and outside of blogging, I am a full-time postgraduate student of Marketing. I also undertake some volunteering and work part-time in the retail sector. My experience at school, university, working in retail, and volunteering for two youth organisations has taught me many lessons, most of which I share on my blog.
Why did you start blogging?
Employability and personal finance are two of the most important skills that a young person can develop. Sadly, employability and personal finance are topics that many schools in the UK do not teach on a regular basis. My volunteering experience, in which I worked directly with young people, made me realise that many young people leave school without learning about some key life skills such as personal finance or employability.
Therefore, I decided to create a blog aimed directly at young people and students that discusses important topics that are not often covered in schools. Writing has always been a favourite hobby of mine so I am able to do something I love at the same time. I launched my blog in June 2020 in the middle of the Covid-19 lockdown. As a lot of students and young people were learning at home and using online resources, I felt that was a good time to launch the blog.
“Many young people leave school without learning about some key life skills such as personal finance or employability.”
Laura Howat
What makes your blog stand out compared to other blogs in your niche?
I like my readers to learn something useful when reading posts as well as find them engaging. For that reason, I write about news stories that are likely to be of interest to young people as well as those offering useful information. A lot of my content is also based on my own experience so what I write is realistic. I try to provide real examples within my articles to help add value to what I am writing.
As my blog is mostly aimed at young people and students it is important for me to use a writing style that fits well with my audience. As a student myself, I try to use a style that appeals to my readers and that the key points are made clear.
Which aspects of blogging do you like the most? Which aspects do you dislike?
My favourite part about blogging is being able to reach out to a wider audience and be part of a blogging community. I like hearing from readers and being able to interact directly. It is really rewarding for me when I receive a comment on my blog or on social media from someone who has benefited from reading my posts.
I thoroughly enjoy all aspects of blogging so it’s tricky for me to choose an area that I dislike. Writing and maintaining my blog does take a lot of time and effort but it is something I love doing so it is definitely worth every minute.
I mainly use Twitter to promote Be In The Know although I also make use of Facebook and LinkedIn. So far my Twitter account has just over 1000 followers which I am delighted about. All of my new posts are shared immediately across my social media platforms. As I have readers in several countries I post several times a day at optimum times when I know people are most likely to read my posts.
Another social media tactic I have found particularly useful is posting short summaries of my articles on social media alongside a link to the full article. This helps to attract attention to my blog and encourages followers to read the full article. I have noticed that social media posts containing these short summaries are most likely to be liked and retweeted.
Which strategies do you use to get more eyes on your content?
I find that using social media adverts is the easiest way to reach a new audience. I’ve tried placing ads on both Facebook and Twitter although personally, I find Twitter ads to be most effective. On social media, I also make use of hashtags to reach a wider audience particularly if I am writing about a topic that is currently being discussed in the news.
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Which SEO tactic has helped you the most to improve the SEO of your website?
Since I first launched my blog I have been using the Yoast SEO WordPress Plugin which is a huge help. With practice, I soon became familiar with what tactics to use to ensure my posts get a ‘green’ score (those who use Yoast SEO will know what I am talking about). As a marketing student, SEO is something that I have learned about throughout my studies but it is interesting to be able to put theory into practice and develop my skills using my own website.
Using keywords in my post headings and within the text is probably the most effective tactic for me. I carry out some research on Google to identify keywords and ensure these are used in my posts. Another SEO tactic that I’ve found helpful is to include lots of good images in my posts. Not only do images make posts more visually appealing but their alt text (a written description of an image) can help improve the blog’s accessibility.
Any advice you’d like to pass along to beginning bloggers?
My advice to new bloggers or anyone thinking of starting a blog is choose a topic that you are interested in and know enough about it. It is much easier writing about a subject you are passionate about
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What’s in store for the rest of 2022? What can readers expect if they start following you?
My most popular topics are employability, education, and personal finance so I am planning to expand content in these areas. However, I will soon be launching a new list of articles in which I interview current university students about their courses and student life.