7 keys to succesful blogging

Don't let anybody tell you that blogging is a burden. While business blogging can involve a lot of work, it can also be fulfilling.

Here are two blogs by clients, and they're having fun as they benefit their readers: News Anchor Mom and Naturally Yours.


7 keys to successful blogging:



1. A goal for your blog.

Why are you blogging?

To educate? inspire? argue? stir controversy? provoke dissent? provide a new view? attract new clients? inform customers? announce news items and special deals? interact with fans? drive traffic to an ecommerce website? meet others who share your interests?



2. An intended and gradually assembled online community or audience.

You can't sit around waiting for them to arrive. Go become known on high traffic blogs relevant to your topic, by posting comments on them. Smart contributions to their conversations can cause others to check out your blog.


3. A sincere passion for a topic or activity.

This is the leading motivation, but you also need to incorporate the other core values of blogging: Transparency, Authenticity, Integrity, Honesty, Individuality, Audacity, Interactivity, and Creativity.


4. A love of self-expression, sharing, and occasional, sometimes heated, debate.

To express self is to share your feelings, insights, experience, and talents with others. To express truth is to share your insights and experiences with others.

Either way, you're eventually going to rock a boat that doesn't want to admit it's sinking. You're going to meet opposition to some idea or opinion or work of art or photo you display on your blog. Somebody's going to not like your video or your music. Some will have no need for your product or expertise.

So what? Keep at it, for the future of steadfast blogging is bright indeed!


5. A zeal to provide benefit: to help, instruct or entertain others.

This includes reading, and posting comments at, other blogs -- not just posting articles on your own blog.


6. A strong will to triumph

Including a tough mental hide that can take the trolling arrows that greet all pioneers and innovators. Many new bloggers quit because they don't like negative comments. Use comment moderation to filter out abusive trolls and spam comments.

Posting comments that are critical of you is a good idea, especially if you reply in a kind and receptive manner, when appropriate. Take the moral high ground. Don't be nasty in return.


7. The gift of stubborn and indomitable persistence.

Which means you don't quit blogging just because of destructive critique, lack of comments, or a lack of traffic and links.