"Building Your Blog" Does Not Mean "Writing More"

As I chat with more and more bloggers, I'm beginning to realize just how many are under the impression that the phrase "building your blog" is equivalent to "writing more."

It disturbs me not because the number of new bloggers out there is huge, but because a lot of these bloggers have wonderful blogs and there's a good chance that they will never reach their true potential.

Don't get me wrong- "building your blog" does mean "writing more," but there's a lot more to it than simply posting more articles.

It means setting goals and achieving them.

Goals are a roadmap to success. They give bloggers direction and inspiration. There must be something you want to accomplish in your blogging- get more subscribers, traffic, links, rank higher in search engines, earn a full time income.. The possibilities are endless, and if you can dream it, you can achieve it. That is, if you're willing to put in the time and work. And don't just stop there- once you achieve your goal(s), raise your standards and set some bigger, better goals for yourself.

It means building a brand.

Whether or not you're in it for money, building a brand is vital to your blog's success. People remember good brands- a catchy, easy-to-remember title, attractive template, memorable phrases, images, great content, clear communication, etc. are qualities of a well-branded blog. They also tend to have large audiences and are popular on many social media sites. They have intriguing articles that attract both new and loyal readers. Although these blogs may not dominate their respective niches, they are still quite popular.

It means creating a community.

Blogging is about interacting with your readers. If you want them to keep coming back, it's important that you establish a sense of community. Get them involved- ask for their opinions and stories, create polls, give them the opportunity to be guest bloggers, start a contest, link to them, hold discussions in your comment areas. Make your readers feel welcome on your blog, and show them that their contributions matter. If you want people to support you, you need to do the same for them.

It means implementing new ideas.

Are you a leader or a follower? Successful leaders have been known to explore new ideas and implement them into their blogs. Sometimes they succeed, and sometimes they fail. While failure is undesirable, you cannot be afraid of it. If anything, failing is succeeding- succeeding in recognizing mistakes and obtaining new knowledge. If your plan doesn't work out, that's perfectly okay. Observe and recognize your mistakes, and work to fix them. While doing something original can be quite intimidating for some, let it be known that it is the thought leaders who find success in blogging.

So tell me, how are you building your blog?

>> Did you enjoy this article? Subscribe for more from IGTB.

Comments

[Meredith]

I didn't really do any promotion for my indie parade blog. I blog about the designs of the indie art/craft community and it gives my blog a natural following because I am writing about my readers. Readers love to see if I choose them to write about and suggest finds for me to blog about.

[Dirty Laundry Diva]

Great info! You are right people get so focused on writing posts and the do forget about all the other factors that go into building you blog audience!

With blogging the "build it, they will come" philosophy doesn't really do the trick.

[ben okoye]

thanks man,i really learnt a lot and i will definitely visit again

[ashok]

Came in via StumbleUpon. Like the style of this blog and your personal blog.

What am I doing to promote the blog, build a brand?

1. Writing original content that is too heady for the blogosphere right now.

2. Building the audience via a door-to-door approach: meeting people who have profile pages online, and talking to them about their interests.

3. Using blog carnivals to get links back and not neglecting things like delicious, magnolia, digg, reddit, stumbleupon, mahalo, propeller to keep trying for the front page or at least a few new readers.

Has the strategy worked? Absolutely not. This has been going on for about a year now, and the key is that none of us are really aware just how crowded the blog market is until we actually try, and try hard. The easiest niche to get started in is blogs about blogging.

Any other niche almost always involves creating an audience from scratch. If you don't have something MSM related behind you - i.e., if you're not a fan site or a news commentary site - you can really be clutching at straws.

Will the strategy pay off long term? Sure. How long? It depends on the Internet. I'm in a great position right now - there isn't much I can do better.

[C K]

I've never thought about asking my frequent readers to contribute guest articles. Thanks for the tip!

[Bob Brancato]

It's a numbers and people game. The topic can generate interest, but over time it's how closely individuals can relate to what you have to offer. If what you have to offer is easily available elsewhere, they have no reason to be loyal and return to or recommend your blog. "Unique" gains readers and everything else falls into place.

[Bob Brancato]

It's a numbers and people game. The topic can generate interest, but over time it's how closely individuals can relate to what you have to offer. If what you have to offer is easily available elsewhere, they have no reason to be loyal and return to or recommend your blog. "Unique" gains readers and everything else falls into place.