This is a guest post by Suzzane Edwards from CashForGoldUSA.com.
Everybody seems to have a say on how to become a successful blogger. A quick search over the internet will display a myriad of blog tips that is guaranteed to get you to the top of search engines, or so they say.
While there has been much discussion about new ways on how blogs could improve their traffic and popularity, a few old tips remain and continue to drive some of the most successful blogs to the top.
Create Connections
Long before social networks became the huge buzz that they have become today, connecting with people has been the first order of the day. This has been done thru exchanging emails with readers of by allowing comments. Communication is a two-way street and making sure that you are always constantly in contact with your followers.
It is not enough that you create connections with your followers but also forge ties with your fellow bloggers. Exchanging information could help you get some useful insights into what makes them successful. It could also be a good way of building links through link exchanges. Having your blog displayed at the sidebar could also get you much-needed traffic.
Be Consistent
Consistency and hard work will always come on top of talent. It is not enough that you study all the best SEO or SMM techniques but you must also be able to practice them consistently. It is not enough that you are able to start your blog with a bang but you should also be persistent even when things are not going your way.
Some blogs become failures simply because the fires of success do not burn as bright as when they started the blog. Thousands of blogs are created everyday and the same numbers disappear the following day.
Share
Whether it is sharing an idea or an Ebook with your readers, giving something back is a good way of strengthening our relationship with our followers. Turn your readers into loyal followers. If you’re trying to use your blog as a medium for selling goods and services then giving something first is a great way to start. An Ebook for example showcases your expertise.
You could also open up opportunities for fellow bloggers to write for your site. This helps fellow bloggers get the chance to have their posts read and get some traffic to their site. Helping and sharing fellow bloggers makes it easier for us to submit a guest post on their site.
Writing Consistently
Generating new and quality content keeps our blogs fresh and keeps readers coming back. You won’t expect people to come back consistently if they can’t find anything new on your blog. Post about the current news and topics within your niche. This can give you a good way of driving new traffic to your blog. If content is constantly updated, followers no longer have to jump the fence just to search for similar information.
Quality should never be sacrificed for quantity. We should always make an effort to post articles regularly while providing our readers with information. Some may balk at the idea of writing a post everyday but success comes with sacrifice.
Be an Expert
You can’t expect people to listen to you if you don’t show them first that you know what you’re talking about. Constantly improving yourself and studying your niche helps brand yourself as an expert in your niche. In order for you to provide accurate information to your readers, you should first equip yourself with the necessary skills and knowledge in your skills. Build your reputation as an expert. This builds trust among your readers. This makes it easier for your followers to recommend your blog to friends.
Connections are quite important. It reminds me of the book “Never Eat Alone.” So many great tips on connecting with others and the importance of connections. I try to do this via social media and an interview website I’ve begun. By doing interviews, I connect with people I never could have in other ways. Even with what I do to connect, I need to do even more and consistency is far and away my area of blogging where I receive a failing grade.
For me probably the best way to become a successful blogger is thru networking because it’s much easier to leverage the power of many other bloggers in your niche than trying to succeed alone without any help.
There are many ways to build relations with other bloggers like following them on their social media networks, commenting on their blogs regularly, guest blogging which is by far the best way and much more…
Investing in gaining skill-sets in one’s own expertise is somewhat missing with bloggers. In addition to their own niche, they should also gain expertise in general blogging related areas like coding, translation, SEO, copy-writing, editing, etc.
I totally agree with you guys. Building personal relationships with our fellow bloggers is more important than building hundreds of backlinks. Google may downgrade the quality of the backlinks we create or change their algorithm but the connections we make with our friends and followers is the secret to any successful blog.
Being an expert is quite hard specially when your new to the blogging world. But if we are going to provide quality work and always consistent about it, them share it with others the result is that we can create good and lasting connection that will pave the way for us to become expert on what we are blogging about. Am I right?
Creating connections now a day is not as difficult as before thanks to social networking sites. In my case as much as possible I update my blog everyday as in writing news and current events about my country and also I write topics that will keep the people informed so that they will benefit from it. I’m not considered expert on the topics I write but I make it sure that before I publish it it is backed with research I made.
It is really important to have connections. With that, you can gain loyal readers. Bloggers should also learn not to abandon their blogs. Followers would really not like it if the blog turned out to be a ghost blog. Learn to value the blog readers. Be consistent.
How do you get someone to follow your blog, in the beginning? I understand that when you get followers, they will tell others, etc., but when you first start, what do you do? Thanks!!
Thanks Suzzane, some great strategies here, being an expert especially is ever so important, especially for credibility .. creating connections and being consistent with your writing and information (conducting indepth research too) will be essential ..
Confidence comes into it too imo, but only if you’re confident for the write reasons can you be successful.
These are great pointers. I still maintain that quality of content is still by far the #1 thing people need to focus on, but frequency of posts and networking are also key to success.