How to Build a Successful Blog
Tuesday, May 11, 2010 Posted by Felicia
Find Your Niche
- What are you good at?
- What do you have a lot of knowledge on?
- What are you passionate about?
Have the 3 R's: Relevant, Readable, and Reliable Content
- Don't just write to be writing. If you have nothing to say then wait. On that same note, you do need to make sure you are posting consistently.
- Use bullets and headings when necessary. Keep it short and sweet (in most cases).
- Make sure you REALLY know what you are talking about. Readers are smart and they will know if you are lying or faking! You need to build trust.
Find a Community to Build a Community
- BlogFrog is a great general community no matter what your niche is.
- For Moms: Mom Bloggers Club, Twitter Moms, Savvy Source
- Be a guest blogger on one of your favorite blogs. It never hurts to ask and you will have a link back to your blog.
- Participate in BlogHops or Memes (Wordless Wednesday here every week)
Find a Friend
- Someone you trust that is in the same niche
- Bounce ideas and share what is working
- Critique each other honestly
Be a Friend
- Comment on other blogs (remember what it felt like to have your first comment that wasn't your mom, dad, brother, sister, etc?)
- Comment back when someone comments on your blog
- Email readers back (many of my readers do not have blogs and email is our main form of communication)
Truly, the more I look at it, having a successful blog is a lot like treating others the way you would like to be treated. You all know that Golden Rule right? Chances are if you are truly thinking about starting a blog you already have the first 2 steps down, the next steps are all about being that person that you would like others to be. It just makes sense right?!
I know that several of you posted more specific questions last week that I am going to try to answer in another post as well. I hope that you find this information: Relevant, Readable, and Reliable!
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May 11, 2010 6:29 AM
F, Thank You for sharing your insights with our group of Social Media interested people in Asheville. I enjoyed and learned from each presentation. Oh, and awesome that you decided to add it to your blog and share with everyone! I hope to make improvements to my own blog from what I learned.
Amanda. @AVLCustomCloset
May 11, 2010 9:21 AM
Thanks for the info! I'm just starting to get my blog back up and running after a long break, so all of the tips are really appreciated!
Have a great day!
May 11, 2010 11:20 AM
Thanks for the great advice. I just started my blog and will keep your suggestions in mind.
http://cleverlychanging.com
http://twitter.com/Cleverlychangin
May 11, 2010 1:37 PM
It would have been fun to hear you speak!!!
May 11, 2010 6:16 PM
Love these tips! And I am loving your blog, too. Off to read some more ... Thanks!
May 12, 2010 1:30 PM
Great tips! Enjoyed your talk at the social media school Monday night.
May 12, 2010 5:18 PM
1000 black lines...
Thank you so much!
May 15, 2010 5:49 AM
This is true and very interesting. I try to do all of these while I'm still learning.
May 20, 2010 3:05 AM
Great tips :)
March 23, 2011 8:49 PM
Wonderful post!! I am sharing this with everyone that asks me beginner questions. You covered so much in just a few words. Kudos! Loved it!
March 23, 2011 9:00 PM
Great tips!
I need to get it together with my blog and start writing! I love your tips,
Thanks,
Shannon
March 27, 2011 11:04 AM
I have been blogging for almost two years and couple of tips like partcipating in memes and communities as alway been at the bottom of the list but you are right, those are things you need to need to do to get more exposure.
And what you said about communicating via email. I have really fallen down on that one when readers comment. I need to figure out a way to get provide comments back not just on my site.
http://www.nycsinglemom.com
November 10, 2011 3:41 PM
Great article, Felicia! Another tip is to attend a blog conference in your niche, such as Reviewer's Retreat which will give you the means to aspire, build and connect (and hear Felicia speak, too!)! ;)