This is a guest post by Jeff. First of all, I would like to thank him for guest posting here as this is the first guest post in my blog. If you also want to guest post at Bloggers Ethics, please use the contact form.
It’s easy to get lost in the sea of information about blogging tactics and strategies. The most successful bloggers aren’t the ones who pump their heads full of all the latest information about blogging. They are the ones who spend a little time each week staying up to date, and spending the rest of their time mastering the basics. Here are ten basic rules that every blogger should always be trying to master.
1. Be Personal
People can get dry, objective news from much more credible sources than your blog. People don’t read blogs just to stay informed, they read them because their writer’s have personality. Bloggers are more like micro-celebrities than news anchors. People will read you because they feel aligned with your point of view. They read you not just because you keep them knowledgeable, but because you entertain them and they feel a sense of camaraderie. Write your posts as if you were writing them to somebody specific, rather than to an audience.
2. Keep Your Blog Updated
You don’t need to post ten pages a day to stay current, but you should have a blogging schedule that you can stick to. It’s not so much about quantity as consistency. Readers should know when the next post will be up. If they don’t, they will eventually give up and leave.
This doesn’t mean you should commit to more than you can handle. It’s far better to start out slowly and pick up the pace than to do the opposite. Consider how much time it takes you to write the best possible post you can. Schedule your posts so that you have twice that amount of time, and get the post finished as soon as possible. Set up the posts to update automatically at a certain time each week.
3. Amazing Content is the Key to Success
Attracting a loyal audience demands the best posts you can possibly deliver. This means that you have thought carefully about well-researched information and delivered your response in a concise, entertaining, and useful way. The best content comes from intense research, personal experience, or discussions with an expert. It also motivates the reader to take an action like leave a comment, subscribe, or share you on a social network.
This is a process that requires a lot of work before you even begin writing the post. By the time you are writing the post, you should be so knowledgeable on the subject that you’re thinking more about how to convey the information in a clear and entertaining way than about the subject itself. It also demands that you revisit the post before submitting it, looking for changes you could make to improve it.
4. Do Something Different
Visitors won’t remember you if you don’t stand out. You need to do something different than your competitors if you want to succeed. Don’t just flock to what’s most popular in your niche. Find a way to make obscure things interesting. Look for connections that other people won’t see. Put a different spin on things and think critically about what other’s in your niche are saying. Step outside of your niche and look for analogies. Try different formats, mediums, and approaches than those around you.
5. Build Connections With Other Bloggers
This is where many bloggers fail. Until other bloggers in your niche know who you are, you will continue to be invisible. Approach them like a human being and you’ll discover it isn’t actually that difficult.
6. Reply to Comments
It takes time to reply to a blog post and readers will feel abandoned if you aren’t talking to them. Get involved with your audience and find out what they are interested in. This will keep them coming back and provide you with a place to mine ideas from.
7. Don’t Neglect Plugins
Take your blog to the next level by using plugins to maximize its potential. Use them to optimize the site for SEO, to link your site with your social networks and an RSS feed, to block spam, to make your site more attractive and functional, and to increase interactivity.
8. Write for People
Your readers are people. Write for them, not for search engines. Think like a reader.
9. Include Images
Buy stock photos, take snapshots, or use creative commons licensed images. It doesn’t matter how, just make sure there are plenty of images on your site.
10. Don’t Give Up
It takes a lot of time and effort before things start to pay off. The biggest mistake that most people make is giving up. If you don’t, you will eventually learn enough to succeed.
Author’s Bio
Jeff is an internet marketing consultant and a part time blogger. He writes mostly about blogging, internet marketing, Pay Per Click Strategies and Search Engine Optimization techniques and best practices. Jeff is also a consultant and content contributor for Queens luxury condos community.
About Lee Ka Hoong
Hey Jeff all these points are just amazing. I am new to blogging world and these points will help me a lot in my blogging. I personally treat blogging as a relationship building with the readers as well as with other bloggers. So I myself will concentrate on giving a quality information to my readers, so that they can get a huge benefit.
Hi Manish,
content is a king, that you probably know. Without quality and interesting content nobody can’t succeed as a blogger. Good luck!
Good list. Especially “don’t give up.” In reference to your first point, “be personal,” I had one business person comment that I should be less personal and not talk about myself in my posts. I prefer your way of blogging (let personality shine through).
Dear Leora,
totally agree with all your points. You are doing great job with blog in your signature. Maybe I prepare next guest post for you. Good luck!
Thanks for the great tips. I was happy to share your post with my membership site. Wishing all the best for blogging success in 2012 and beyond!
Thanks on great words Danna!
All practical tips, Jeff. One thing that I might add is to be true to yourself. If we start a journey such as we hope for our blogs, we want to enjoy things in the long run. We can’t do that if we are pretending for the sake of a following. We have to ensure our passion lasts, and having personal integrity is paramount for that.
Hi Jason,
the key is to blog about things you love and share this energy with your readers. This is great way to be recognized in your niche. Thanks on your comment!
I have been in this blogging business for the last two months and look forward to the new year with your great suggestions. Hope to implement some of those for my blog. Wish me success.
“Don’t Give UP” should also be the #1 tip! You never know when that A-list blog might link back to yours, or you’ll write an amazing article that gets referenced by a major newspaper website! On the wild, wild web anything can happen!
Happy New Year, and BLOG ON!
You make some very interesting points on blogging. I noticed your blog is not bombarded with comments that are not related to this topic. I get alot of unrelated comments and the purpose behind comments are for readers to gain more information related to the topic in question. Traffic seekers unrelated to the topic on a website will build links to your site and build traffic, but the misconception behind it, is that they are only interested in getting a link back to there site and the traffic is not targeted. It is important to gain traffic that is targeted to your niche and volume will only use more bandwidth. I hope others understand this.
Hi Dan,
if your comment is worthy (like this one) and proves that you read post above, every blogger should approve it no matter from which niche is URL behind your name. Relevancy is key to get traffic on your blog, but search engines will also appreciate if you get links from other niches. That will help you to rank better for your keywords.
Great and unique content is the key to success in blogging.
Good work done by you! I will work hard to grow up my blog in this year!
A very good list!
In particular, number 1 and number 4 truly resonated with me. However, the whole list is good and I’ve now got a couple of ideas for my own blog.
Thanks!
11. Read BetterBloggingWays.com
just kidding…
My motto for this year is..
Learn from what you have done
Believe in what you’re doing now
look ahead to what you want to do next.
Really nice tips. However, it need patience and time beside good skills to be a better blogger ..always and not only for 2012.
Thanks for sharing this.
Blogging is fascinating, but it is not everyone’s cup of tea. Discipline, dedication and having a clear vision are indispensable requisites to succeed in blogosphere. Thanks for sharing nice tips.
Hi Jeff, really nice tips for 2012… Young to the blogging sphere and I’ve been trying to give my readers quality content and also network with other bloggers…
I really have to work on adding images to my blog post… Thanks once again
Kelvin Igbinigie
Those are all necessary tips for running a successful blog. Neglect any of them and your blog won’t live up to it’s potential!
Great tips here Jeff. It’s amazing how many bloggers neglect their readers by not replying to comments. It really is neglect. Enjoyed reading the post.
blogging can be really enjoyful and profitable once you work hard but if you dont you wont see any results at all, its really long term.
Hi Tushar,
I am agree with your points you mentioned here.Specially with 4th point that says Do Something Different.I personally like that word.
I think one point you have missed here that must be included in this post.That is setting up target for each year and doing hard work to achieve that.
Really nice post,Thanks for sharing.
Great tips here,
I started doing videos just for a change and now I like it so much I can’t stop……..:)
Akos