#bloggingsuccessfully

According to a 2008 survey by Universal McCann, there are 26 million blogs and approximately 60 million blog readers in the U.S. alone. Out of those 60 million blog readers, each read about 3 blogs per day. These statistics help us gain a better understanding as to why building and maintaining a blog can help you gain an upper-hand in the social media industry. Building and maintaining a successful blog takes time, dedication, research, content, and passion.

First off, let’s go into further detail and gain a better understanding of what a blog is. A blog is a website that is regularly updated through its offered content. What distinguishes a blog from other types of social media? There are 6 key characteristics of a blog according to the book, Social Media Marketing.

Publishable: It must be inexpensive and easy to set up a blog for users. Posting should be free and should be able to be seen worldwide Findable: Users should be able to find blogs with search engines. The more posts, the quicker it is to find a blog Social: A blog should be a conversation starter. Conversation starters can occur through mutual interests either through direct comments or by linking to others with related content Viral: Information can be spread at the speed of light. Interesting content will start a conversation much quicker, which will allow your blog to be seen more rapidly by other users Syndicatable: Time can be saved in searching and finding relevant content when users can subscribe to a blog using RSS (Really Simple Syndication) plus be notified about updates Linkable: Blogs can be linked to each other, which will help users gain access to a bigger audience Creating a blog is just as easy as learning your ABCs. It actually happens to be the easiest part of blogging. Starting a blog is not difficult thanks to sites such as WordPress, Blogger, or other free offered sites that allow you to create a blog in just a few easy steps. WordPress and Blogger are examples of hosted blogs, meaning that another company’s website and server runs the blog. Self-hosted blogs are great for a few reasons. They are taken more seriously because they required a larger time investment to create and maintain. Also, they are relatively low in cost.

In order to become a successful blogger, here are a few recommended tips.

Use catchy titles: Great titles attract the attention of other blog users. They give the users a reason to read the post and have the power to have other users re-blog your post. Power to the title! Update Frequently: Update at least twice a week minimally or daily if possible. Updated content is best in order to reach a wider audience and target your posts to more users Keep posts focused: Users of blogging sites enjoy finding posts while browsing and researching other topics along the way. Concise, focused posts are easy to read and keep your readers wanting more Invite comments: Encouraging interaction on a blog is based off of ending each post with a question that asks for help or is provocative. Interacting with your audience allows you to create an avid and involved relationship Promote the blog: Being recognized as a blogger does not happen overnight. It is important that a blogger takes the time to self-promote their work. Competition for bloggers is tight. Differentiate yourself from the competition. Give your audience content that keeps them wanting more on a daily basis. Suggestions for promoting your blog would include the following: Sign up with popular blog listing services such as Technorati Look around at other blogs, check to see what blog communities people are involved in in order to provide you with a competitive advantage, plus join blogs that look trustworthy and worthwhile. Engage with others: Make thoughtful comments on other blogs; Respond to comments made by others in a punctual manner; Punctuality is key! The most valuable engagement will come from unplanned interactions. Be open to endless possibilities. Avoid negativity: Negative and aggressive statements towards other people, brands, or companies will only decrease the number of users following your posts. Negative comments invite different audiences, which in turn can harm the reputations of both sides (a company’s and a user’s) Stand by the content: Avoid going back on what content was posted or said because it will make any mistake more apparent and memorable plus can lead to more negativity from other audience members Cross promote: Using other social media channels to promote your blog can be a tactful technique to implement. Blogs offer great opportunities for sharing opinions and information, therefore, using other blogs can be great for getting your content out there to more audience members. A few last words: