The Secrets to Blogging Success

Suppose that you have plenty of patience and time, and now you need to know how bloggers can turn that patience and time into money. Believe it or not, there isn’t a secret recipe for success. Truly, success comes from commitment, time, and possibly a bit of luck. You never know when your blog might get picked up by a major news portal that can attract a lot of attention to it and possibly give your blog a big boost. Sometimes, success is a matter of being in the right place at the right time — the nearby sidebar “Perez Hilton’s lucky break” describes one celebrity blogger’s rise to stardom. However, for most bloggers, success comes with persistence. Here are some tips:
Pick a topic people are interested in. The potential size of your blog’s audience is directly related to the number of people who are interested in the topic you’re writing about. However, you should know that just because you pick a popular topic doesn’t mean that your blog will receive a flood of visitors. You also have to pick a blog topic that isn’t already covered repeatedly online. If you do pick a topic that has already been overdone, make sure to put a unique spin on your content so that it stands out in the crowded blogosphere.

Pick a topic you’re passionate about. Remember that because successful blogs are updated frequently, you have to write about your blog’s topic continually and for a long time. Make sure that you have the stamina to stick with it.

Be social. This is the biggest key to blogging success. From the tone of your blog posts to your responsiveness to comments posted on your blog and e-mail sent to you based on your blog’s content, you need to be friendly and constantly work to build relationships. Those efforts don’t stop on your own blog. You also need to visit other blogs and leave relevant comments, visit forums, join user groups, and more to get the word out about your blog and build relationships with other bloggers.

Keep learning. Successful bloggers never stop learning about new blogging tools and concepts, their blog topics, and their audiences. The more knowledge you have, the better equipped you are to take your blog to the next level.

Take risks. Don’t be afraid to be creative. Try new blogging features and functions, inject some unique content into your blog posts, or change the layout of your home page. You never know what might work. Just make sure to track the results so that you know what works (and what doesn’t work) to bring you closer to meeting your goals.

Every blogger has her own definition of blogging success. Before you start your blog, define your success metrics. Do you want to get specific results, such as sales or business contacts? Do you want to attract a certain number of visitors? Do you want to make a certain dollar amount from your blog? Do you want to network and build relationships and create an online pres-ence that leads to other opportunities? Or do you simply want to have fun? Write down your blogging goals and return to them every few months to see whether you’re on track to meeting them, whether you need to make some changes to get there, or whether you want to rewrite them completely. Only then can you find and achieve your own blogging success.

4 Blogging Topic Trends for 2010

2010 is just around the corner and I think it’s never too early to look at topics that could catch the netizens’ fancy.

The topics I’m recommending are ones that have shown a healthy rise in the last few months that is likely to carry over on to the next year. Here are four topics that may rise in 2010:

1. Television – Several new shows launched this year have definitely caught the viewing public’s attention. These shows include “Glee,” “V,” and “The Vampire Diaries” and these shows could gather more steam by next year and blogging about these shows with reviews could be beneficial in getting good traffic and possibly earnings.
2. Social Network Privacy – If we are to believe the online social networks’ data, more and more people are signing up and establishing their own online presences. This could also mean more compromised accounts and stolen identities. This topic could focus on a younger demographic that may need some resources on privacy and online reputation handling.
3. Social Games – We all know that games are big business but niche topics on social games like the ones from Zynga and Playfish are booming. Blogs on tips and tricks on FarmVille and Mafia Wars will definitely have an audience in my opinion.
4. Finance – The global financial sector is recovering and people may be interested in recovering their financial positions. If you have the know how and have the passion for writing, your financial blog could be 2010’s sleeper hit.

There may be other topics that will explode in December so this topics of 2010 blogging trends will be revisited.

10 Blogging Tips for 2009 to Make It Your Most Successful Blogging Year Ever

10 Blogging Tips for 2009 to Make It Your Most Successful Blogging Year Ever

Written by Yuwanda Black from Inkwell Editorial

With all the new internet marketing methods available, blogging has become a little bit “old hat” in the eyes of many. I mean, it’s not sexy like Facebook; it’s not as easy as Twitter and it certainly is not as glamorous as having a MySpace page.

In spite of all of this, blogging remains one of the most effective ways to brand your business online. So for this last day of 2008, I’m going to get back to basics, so to speak. Following are 10 reminders about blogging to keep in mind as you head into 2009.

Blogging in 2009: Going Back to Basics

Blogging Tip #1: Post Regularly. Readers will be more likely to follow your blog if you have a regular posting schedule. Post weekly, post bi-monthly, post monthly — it doesn’t matter what it is (although it should be at least once a week in my opinion) — but stick to a schedule.

Blogging Tip #2: Use Plugins. Plugins like “relevant posts”, “most popular posts” and “recent posts” make your blog more sticky because they encourage readers to hang around longer. The longer a visitor is on your blog, the better chance you have of converting them into a customer. And that, remember, is the goal when you’re in business.

Blogging Tip #3: Post from Experience. I like first-hand information. In fact, many web surfers are looking for this type of info. It’s no coincidence that “how to” information is the number one selling product on the web. Most of it comes from first-hand information.

So use case studies, write in the first person (eg, use “I”), tell your readers how you solved a particular problem, etc. I sell a lot of ebooks by doing just this. It lets readers know that you know what you’re talking about; hence, you become an authority voice in your niche.

Blogging Tip #4: Niche It. Speaking of niche – clearly define who your audience is and speak to them – and only them – directly. You will get ancillary customers/clients/readers as a matter of course. BUT, you should always blog with your core audience in mind.

Blogging Tip #5: Comment on Other Popular Blogs in Your Niche. Make relevant posts on other authority blogs in your niche. The key word here is r-e-l-e-v-a-n-t.

Blogging Tip #6: Write Well. Make your post long, make it short, make it mid-length, but by all means, write well. This cannot be taken for granted. I don’t care how salient your post is, if it’s poorly written, you will not be taken seriously. In fact, you can even damage your online reputation.

It’s probably no coincidence that the alphabet and sentence construction are among the first things we learn in school. It’s the foundation of communication — so don’t waste it; use it.

Blogging Tip #7: Market Your Blog. Don’t post it and forget it. This is your chance to use sexy marketing like social networking. Market your posts on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, etc.

Remember, once you start with social networking though, you have to engage with those communities. So when you start to incorporate social networking into your blog marketing, do it with this in mind.

Blogging Tip #8: Use a Clean Design. A blog doesn’t have to have all the latest gadgets to be effective. A simple, clean design – with good content – will compete with the flashiest design every time. Simplicity rocks!

Blogging Tip #9: Personalize Your Blog. Inject some personality. Let YOU come through!

Blogging Tip #10: Don’t Give Up. Blogging is tedious, boring, monotonous and downright draining at times. Once you’ve blogged for a while, there will be days when you just want to chuck it in favor of something more exciting.

But keep this in mind: in many cases success is not gained by the most talented, the most brilliant, or the most beautiful. All of these things help. But, success comes to those who simply “stick with it!”

Keep these blogging tips in mind as you head into the New Year and happy blogging in 2009