You get to hear reports about thousands of new blogs getting created almost on a daily basis. Unfortunately we don’t hear much about the number of blogs that get abandoned before their anniversary is up.
So, the burning questions are:
* Why do so many blogs get abandoned?
* What could we do to ensure that we are able to maintain a successful blog?
* What could we do to ensure that we are able to maintain a successful blog?
I thought about this topic for a while and also talked to many successful bloggers who have maintained blogs for more than a year now. I have come up with a few ideas for you to consider:
1. Make a long-term commitment:
Don’t start a blog because one of your friends started one. Like many things in life, starting a blog is way easier than maintaining it. You need long-term commitment to make it successful.
2. Write what you are passionate about:
One easy option to start a successful blog is to imitate someone else. That will yield short-term results. You can’t imitate someone for a long time. Best is to find your own voice. If you are writing about something that you are passionate about, you may not run out of ideas to blog. Find your own voice and stick to it.
3. Pick your audience:
Unless you are extremely accomplished or a celebrity, attempting to write something that is applicable to everyone may be futile. How about picking an audience to whom you can add the highest value?
4. Respect your audience:
Anyone who reads your blog is investing their most precious asset – their time. If you focus on ROII (return on investment for an interaction) for every visitor to your blog, chances are that they will come back for more. If you don’t, there are so many choices that are out there as an alternative to reading your blog.
5. Observe and Listen
The more you observer and listen, the better your writing will be. There is always a lot of focus on “doing” things that sometimes we forget to “think”, observe and listen.
6. Participate in a conversation
Blogosphere is the biggest conversation marketplace. It’s like a big party going on all the time. You need to be willing to participate in an ongoing conversation or start your own.
7. Check your ego
Blogging many times is spontaneous expression of your ideas, thoughts or insights. It is possible that you will make a mistake and it is also possible that somebody will roast you for those mistakes. Rather than trying to defend it endlessly, try to admit your mistakes and go on. Ego won’t help you get far, at least in the blogosphere.
8. Ask
Sports people have been working with coaches for years and that we know works very well for them. Coaching works in other areas too. If you are getting stuck somewhere, go ahead and ask someone that might offer you some help. I have always believed that there is more help then we ever will need in this universe. It is the asking that is lacking. The important point is to remember that while you might get something for free, not everything is available for free. You should be willing to the pay the price to win the prize.
9. Build on a theme
When I started blogging about 11 months ago, I created a series based on a theme called “Ways to Distinguish Yourself.” Of course, I blog on topics other than this but having a theme helped me structure my thoughts over the long run. In 11 months, I have only got 87 entries in this series but in the back of my mind I am always thinking, observing and discussing ideas that can contribute to this series. You can pick your own theme or series and the beauty of this approach is that you can later enhance and re-use the content for something else.
10. It’s not the quantity but the quality
Many people tell me that they don’t want to start blogging because there is no way they will have time everyday to dedicate to blogging. There seems to be some misconception. There is no rule anybody has set that requires you to blog everyday. However, it will be unlikely that you will get a lot of visitors if you blog once a quarter. Pick a frequency that will let you blog without diluting the quality of the blog. Ultimately, it’s not the quantity but the quality that matters.
11. Keep growing
This is something that is outside of your blog. One of the ways you can get more attention to your blog is from what you do outside of your blog, really! You can get famous through your blog, yes but it’s easier the other way around – meaning you can get famous outside and then it’s easier to get your blog to become famous 🙂
Have a fantastic year ahead!