7 Steps To Successful Blogging

Posted at July 29, 2009

How to Blog – Seven Habits to Apply to Online Blog Marketing

1 – Successful Bloggers Share Knowledge & Never Hoard It

Insular blogging is by far one of the biggest mistakes new bloggers make without even knowing it.

A critical success factor to Blog exposure is to offer up content to other blogs, website owners and other media outlets in exchange for your email address. Don’t be shy about asking for content. More importantly, make it a point to continuously offer your content to others.

As with any successful Blog Marketer, have the following mindset: We live in a universe of plenty.

When you think about it, know that you are making a big mistake if always hold the cards and hoard the content. I am not saying to give away the farm. What I am saying is do not sell yourself short; get a much exposure as you possibly can. Fact is if you create your own content and retain all rights of the content, you control how it is distributed.

Rule of thumb, share knowledge through well written content and you might be surprised who reads your blog when you are not around.

By the way, if you want content for your blog or website, do not hesitate to contact me? I will try to respond to you in within 48 hours.

2 – Successful Bloggers Consistently Post Content to their Blog on Topics They Are Familiar With

You will find that when you write on a topic you are familiar with, you can produce content incredibly fast.

It’s almost like any other activity; if you are familiar with a topic or area of expertise, knowledge will flow more freely. Make no mistake about it, this holds true for blogging.

More importantly, you will find that informed visitors to your blog will instantly know you are knowledgeable about the topic(s) discussed. If they are intrigued by what they read, chances are they will return back to the blog and/or spread the word.

If you are looking for exposure, continue to research, network and seek out knowledge from others about the topics you are familiar with. Doing so not only makes it easier for you to post more content, it empowers you to make a bigger footprint on the World Wide Web.

3 – Successful Bloggers Interact with Readers and Leverage Social Media Tools

Blogs can improve communications between bloggers and readers interested in Blog content. Look around! Blogs are growing in popularity because Bloggers have a simple way to upload content to readers who are interested in their content.

Blogger’s who take the time to interact with readers benefit everyone.

Here’s why:

Google’s algorithm is always on and while it gets changed approximately 450 times a year, the robots that go out on the web look for changes on blogs and websites. Click here to learn more about Search Engine Marketing Blogs.
Blogs are all over the place and many of the Blog Aggregators are watching and promoting blogs which have high value content, readership and ties into the social networking sites.
Blogs, as many readers know, continue to grow in popularity and rank as some of the most heavily visited websites in the world.
Blogs, while relatively new are not a fad. Blogs are here to stay and serve as a preferred medium over conventional websites.
Blog readership is increasing and successful bloggers cross-pollinate other media segments including television, radio, books and the big screen.

4 – Successful Bloggers Build Their Brand and Build Other Brands Around the Clock

Let’s be honest here, most people (like me) who manage blogs do so to generate traffic, gain readership, promote their company, their affiliates and build their brand.

There is nothing wrong with doing the aforementioned. What’s nice about blogs and the Internet is they always on! They never turn off and for those of you who enjoy writing and building businesses through different mediums, blogs can serve as a great tool to get feedback on your products and services; simply ask.

Earlier I made mention of two things:

A. Insular blogging is by far one the biggest mistakes new bloggers make without even knowing it

B. Share knowledge through well written content and you might be surprise who sees you when you are not around.

Know that when you share knowledge about other people’s products, services and brands, they tend to reciprocate (simply ask). Take the challenge and don’t try to be self-serving; you will be quite surprised at how many bloggers will serve up content to you if you simply ask.

It’s a great way to meet others with common interests and friendships along the way.

5 – Successful Bloggers Produce Unique, Knowledge Rich Content in Multiple Media Formats

I recently read an informative article in a popular offline trade magazine only to find that the article in the magazine was almost identical to a television commercial I view here in Las Vegas just a few days later.

When you produce content that is unique and provides value to the reader, there’s a good chance that same content is recycled, and then repurposed in another media format. That’s branding 101!

If you would like to see how it’s done, simply email me and on the subject header type in SHOW ME HOW IT’S DONE.

Speaking of multiple media formats, think how much easier it is to take a blog post you have written, convert to an audio production and then change the title to give you double exposure to both readers and listeners.

As you become familiar with blogging, don’t lose sight of other media platforms – leverage them!

6 – Successful Bloggers are Good Writers and Can Talk to You through Blogs

All too often we see bloggers who have great ideas, goals and objectives, yet they fear writing.

Know this: You do not have to be a great writer to post information or knowledge to a blog. If you are a poor writer work on sharpening your saw, or find someone to outsource your writing to.

The fact is everyone on planet earth has a finite skill set. Identify what you are good at and focus on the 2 or 3 skills you do extremely well.

Never assume you have to be the all-in-one web developer, graphic artist, PHP programmer, writer, proofreader and editor. For 99% of us, that is a recipe for disaster.

When you write, forgive yourself when you make typos and grammatical mistakes. The goal here is to get the word out about the topic you are writing on. Chances are you will receive comments from others who have nothing better to do than critique your writing. Thank them and move on.

Should you write something, post it to your blog and then receive a barrage of comments about how horrible the grammar is, improve your writing skills or hire someone to proofread and edit your content.

7 – Successful Bloggers Learn Well In Advance What Topics and Technologies Work Well with Blogs.

The fact is most successful bloggers had no idea blogs would take off in the manner in which they have over the last couple of years. Blogs and social media websites are now major players on the Internet.

We can all remember when skeptics were downplaying and murmuring negative comments that the Internet was a white elephant; it really was of little or no value in mainstream media communications.

Would you say that assumption was correct? I don’t believe so.

It behooves us, regardless of skill set, goals or the industry were in to follow the 7P Rule:

“Proper Proactive Planning Permanently Prevents Poor Performance”

As with any other hobby or profession, you can approach any endeavor flat-footed or arm yourself to the gills with education and training. With blogging, strike a balance that makes sense for you.

Be a believer in yourself, get educated on blogging before you dive in. It can only benefit you to answer an important question, “Do I want to make blogging part of my marketing strategy?”

Warning! Don’t use your lack of experience to delay you from getting started. I was guilty of this and I regret that.

Utilize the Internet during the pre-launch planning phase to see what other people are blogging about. Nowadays, there are thousands of books available on the topic of blogging at libraries, bookstores and online.

If you are on a shoe string budget, take a guess where you can go? Blogs!

Also, do not forget to look at opt ins for newsletters, RSS feeds, hosting services and the numerous other technologies that help you build your blog correctly the first time. If you want to scale your blog and automate most of what happens on the blog, expect to invest time and money into auto-responders and other dynamic communication technologies.

Note: You do not have to purchase the aforementioned technologies to get started. However it would be wise to know what you can do at a later date should you want have a more of a dynamic blog.

Like many of you, I’m continuously trying to improve on my blogging skills. Again, as with any discipline seek to find out what works with other successful blogger’s.

Read their blogs, listen to what they say, look for mistakes they may have made in the past (ask them) and conduct extensive research online.

Some of my best picks for ultra-smart bloggers are: Yaro Starak, Willie Crawford for audio blogs and for video blogs, Bill McRea has got video blogging down to a science.

Beyond the habits you’re encouraged to look at these informative audio and video presentations – enjoy.

Outside of the online research it behooves to also tap into local resources you may not have thought about: Try to get face time with someone close by who can help you jumpstart the blogging experience. Whether it be an instructor, friend or by attending a local workshop in your area; expect to see more and more local support for blogs.

To your continued success.