Blogging Tips: 10 Lessons I Learned
In retrospect, I’ve been blogging at WebStudio13 for the past 5 months. The overall experience is somewhat satisfying as I have been constantly improving my blogging skills by writing 102 blog posts. In presence, WebStudio13 has attracted a fair amount of fans. With the momentum, we will continually grow in 2010, which is for sure.
So what have I learned personally? Here allow me to share the 10 biggest lessons that I learned the hard way by writing 100+ blog posts. Hope this article will help you avoid these mistakes as a professional blogger.
Lesson #1 – Never Give Up
There is no such thing as getting rich (or famous) overnight. We are living on the earth, not on another planet. So get real. Building a reputable blog is just like growing a business. Taking steps is crucial. In other words, bloggers must blog consistently. I’ve written 100+ posts in the past 5 months. Not writing 1 post per day, but pretty close, given that I had to work on my blog design from time to time, which, by the way, is a time consuming process. So rule #1: never give up, because consistency matters.
Lesson #2 – Enjoy The Game
To live a meaningful life, the #1 thing we need to keep in mind is do something we enjoy. The 9-5 grind is not for you or me. If you are reading this article, I assume you are an entrepreneur. So, before you start out with your blogging career, think twice about what’s your passion. If you like social media, start a blog like WebStudio13. If you like gadgets, then something like Gizmodo or Engadget may be suit your need. If it’s celebrity gossip, then go with TMZ. And so on and so forth. You get the idea here. Rule #2: never waste your time doing something you have no interest in. If you do so, you are already defeated from day 1.
Lesson #3 – Relationship Is The Key
Relationship is probably one of the most overused words in today’s marketplace. However, it still can not be emphasized enough in our context, especially for bloggers. We must take this concept deep to our soul and heart. Treat it seriously. Because at the end of the day, relationship is what sells. As bloggers, we must become the trust agents for our readers. We must gain their trusts. Rule #3: never underestimate the importance of relationships. Take time to build it and it will come back on you tenfold.
Lesson #4 – Develop A Routine
Full-time bloggers are totally committed in making the magic happen. In other words, blogging daily is not a must, but preferred. It may be counterintuitive if you are not used to writing daily articles. But hey, if you choose a career in blogging, you should have foreseen this challenge. Of course, it’s another story if your intent is to blog for fun.
I assume there are a large portion of people who like to build a viable income-generating business out of blogging. If that’s the case, ensure you have the will to win. Everyday, I take out 2-3 hours to brainstorm for ideas and write my blog posts. Rule #4: be patient with the process and prepare certain time each day just to work on your blog.
Lesson #5 – Blog Design Is A Work In Progress
There are many components for an excellent blog, proper site design being one of them. Don’t expect to complete 100% of your blog’s look & feel in the 1st day, because that’s not possible. I had to work on my site design all the time. For example, as I wrote more and more content, I started to realize how important it is to have a “Popular Post Widget.” As the site attracted more and more fans, I had to put the Facebook fan widget in the sidebar. Rule #5: take baby steps with the site design. Reader feedback is also helpful.
Lesson #6 – Integrate Social Media In Your Marketing Mix
Social media has shifted the entire paradigm to promote one’s blog. Bloggers don’t hire any PR agency to get the word out about their blogs. Instead, it’s a DIY project from start to finish. Do it on Twitter, on your Facebook fan page; email it with Posterous; post it on LinkedIn groups; etc… When you start to use your imagination, the sky is the limit, because social networking sites are a dime a dozen in 21st century. Rule #6: do not sell yourself short by ignoring social media tools, which, when used properly, can set great blogs apart from the mediocre ones.
Lesson #7 – Focus On Building Traffic First
Too many of us, myself included, were preoccupied on the wrong things when we first started out blogging. Monetization is important but you can’t monetize without traffic. Therefore, focusing on developing content and pulling readers to the site should be the right things to do for any beginners. The logic is very simple: no traffic equals no clicks, which, in turn, equal no $$$ coming in. Rule #7: never aim on making money too early. Traffic is the key for a good income-generating blog.
Lesson #8 – Give Valuable Content
No one wants to waste their time reading junks. If you have no knowledge whatsoever about the topic you are tapping into, maybe it’s not a bad idea spending some time researching the subject first. Never write a blog post just for writing-a-blog-post’s sake. Useless/irrelevant information hurts your credibility and scares away your readers. Rule #8: it’s not the amount of posts that counts. It’s about the quality of your posts.
Lesson #9 – Get More Inbound Links
The more sites that point to your blog, the easier it can get discovered on the Internet. There are quite a few ways you can gather useful links pointing to your blog. Here are the most frequently used methods:
- Writing guest posts
- Leaving comments on blogs focusing on similar topics as yours
- Commenting frequently on forums in your niche area
Rule #9: start building links from day 1. Great content alone doesn’t make your blog sparky if it can’t get found.
Lesson #10 – Leave Your Comment Below
The biggest lesson I’ve learned over the past 5 months can be summed up like this: interaction with my readers is the key to success. I respond to 99.9% of the questions asked in the comment area. The same applies to what I do on Twitter. After all, we wouldn’t call it a viable relationship if there is only one-way communication. Rule #10: be responsive to your readers’ concerns and suggestions. Interactivity opens the door of success for all bloggers. Rule #10: make every comment count by paying attention to what your readers say.
Let us know if you have any additional tips we did not cover in this post. Happy blogging!
Related posts:
- How to Improve Your Writing Skills via Social Media People have different communication styles. There are several types....
- 6 Lessons I Learned By Being an Arrogant Marketer At about 8:45 AM on Tuesday I was waiting...
- 5 Places You Can Find Ideas For Your Blog Being a blogger has helped me shape many skills...
- 5 Tips to Increase Your Blog Credibility Rankings Blogging has gained huge popularity in the Web 2.0...
- 6 Innovative Ways to Write Your Next Blog Post (With Case Studies) Do you have a blog? Have you ever spent...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
