The blogosphere is a tough world and successful blogging seems to be a magical word. It’s an incredibly competitive arena, with more than 100 million blogs in existence. Let me say that again, ONE HUNDRED MILLION!
That’s a staggering number, right? Sure, most of these represent business brands and fandoms - but let’s cut this figure by a third and you get like 32 million. That’s still impressive!
So what does this tell you?
It means IT’S TIME TO START YOUR OWN BLOG!
Give up the battle and surrender to the call of blogging. Years ago, it may have been met with scepticism and raised eyebrows, but now it’s the most popular trend and shows no signs of stopping just yet.
If you’re thinking “I can’t write so I don’t think blogging is for me. (Let alone successful blogging)”, think again! Writing is just a small part of the game. To chase the support of millions of blog readers out there, you need to master these secrets:
Readers are the life force of EVERY blog
Every single one of them has a personality, has a preference, has a voice, and has a very specific reason why they may read your blog. Think of it like this, you are writing for them ONLY.
In fact, you could say that your life as a blogger revolves around your readers!
But the question is; how can you treat them like VIP guests?
It’s pretty straightforward. You talk to them. It’s not about posting articles that convey messages - that merely encourages a one way conversation - but about really interacting with them via the comments section.
Sure, it sounds like a trivial strategy, but it’ll definitely make your readers more loyal to you. Plus, you will gain useful feedback and responses, which you can later use as basis for the tone and topic of your blog posts, from your visitors.
Make sure your replies aren’t robotic or conventional, like a mere “thank you for reading” or “thank you for taking the time to comment.” It’s important to sound genuine and polite because, again, your readers are your lifeline!
A blog niche should be something you’re interested in, not what’s “in”
I’m sure you have a favorite blog or two. Now, ask yourself why you marked it as your favourite. Is it because of the layout, the design, the blogger, or the humor? Obviously, you’re hooked on the topic. It’s the content and the information you’re chasing after.
Most likely, your readers are the same!
Blog niches are the most difficult part to figure out, particularly because there are simply too many to explore. It is best to narrow down your choices to at least five topics, those that you’re keenly interested in.
Once you shortlist your options, take the time to go through them and figure out which one you’re really passionate about. Do some research on the Internet and look for reliable discussions about the subject.
More importantly, find something that YOU can write about. It doesn’t matter if you talk about two-ply tissues or Brussels sprouts. If you can talk and write about it in an interesting manner, go ahead!
Successful blogs are built slowly and surely
A lot of newbie bloggers are under the impression that it’s okay to publish dozens of articles in one sitting.
They do this in the hopes that it will help them garner more audience attention.
This is a HUGE misconception.
Every successful blogger knows that patience is a virtue. It won’t make sense if your blog suddenly sprouts fifteen articles overnight—it won’t seem logical to Google’s algorithms as well. Therefore, my young padawans (Jedi students), learn to keep pace.
Volume won’t really propel your blog forward, but quality will! Don’t write posts for the sake of publishing them; instead, create your articles because you want to satisfy and delight your readers. However, don’t make this an excuse not to upload blog posts.
At the very least, publish one or two articles each week, and then increase this consistency as you gain more visitors. Ideally, schedule your posts so your readers will know when to tune in.
A blog’s individuality is its greatest virtue
You’ve probably heard of this a dozen times: a blogger’s voice must be unique.
Essentially, it means that your words, your topics, and even your images and videos must have a personality—YOUR personality and purely YOUR own. Again, there are millions of blogs out there and the only way to make yours noticeable is to make it original and entirely your own.
Circling back to the issue of “purely your own”, it basically rings the same. Your blog has a niche and a voice, but it’s sometimes easy to lose track of them, especially with all the trending topics mushrooming all over the blogosphere.
The only thing you can do is to stay focused on your niche. You may think that writing about this and that is good because it’s “trending”, but your readers will only lose sight of what your blog is really about. If you’re accepting guest posts, make sure you edit them first to match the image and style of your site.
Successful blogging: What’s Next?
With all this talk about do’s and don’ts, it’s easy to get intimidated and simply give up. But that is what blogging is all about! It’s a challenge to all of us—a chance to make a difference through our words and our thoughts and a chance to share your voice to the world!
Richard Eaves is a Digital Marketing Specialist who oversees more than 300 campaigns for Smart Traffic, a London SEO company that offers search-marketing strategies for various companies.
