When it comes to creating a successful blog, I always thought that the first step is to pay
attention to your own habits as a blog reader. For instance, I never quite appreciated the
blogs that were full of adds, pop-ups, affiliate links, and all kinds of subconscious (or not so
subconscious) messages to drive traffic to a company website or promote a certain product. So
I decided I’d never build such a blog. I decided that I wanted a blog where I could put my ideas
out and have my readers respond to them, whether they agreed with me or not.
I’ve never been a fan of those blogs that just made some statements without encouraging further
conversation either, so my goal was to create a place where people could come and express their
own opinions. When I first started blogging, I had no idea if this would work, but in just a couple
of weeks, some of my posts had over 100 comments, and people were sharing them everywhere
online – Facebook, Twitter, Google+.
I thought I should share with you 5 of the most important lessons I learned about blogging over
the past year. The best thing about them is that they’re not difficult to apply, and anyone who is
serious about blogging can do it. On the other hand, some of them will require you to step out of
your comfort zone and assume some risks.
1. Be Honest
We are too often afraid other people might be offended by our personal views on certain matters.
I’ve made this mistake in the past, which doesn’t mean that I lied in my posts, but rather that I
avoided talking about the things that I didn’t quite agree with. And even though it was difficult
for me to change this and start being more straightforward and honest, now I’m glad to say that
I’m not afraid to say exactly what I think and call out bullshit. I don’t care that my posts piss
off the leaders in the space that I’m blogging about. All I care is for my readers to learn how I
truly feel about something or someone, because this is the best way to engage them. They know
that they are free to disagree with me and tell me about their own frustrations in the comments,
because their opinions count just as much as mine, if not more so.
Bottom line: honesty means engagement. Your readers will appreciate you for being honest,
and respect you for that even when they have different opinions. Oh, and if you happen to
piss someone off with your posts, then this will just bring in more traffic and more reader
engagement.
2. Learn from Your Mistakes
Yes, that’s right. I’ve made countless mistakes since I started blogging. But that’s ok, because it
was the only way to learn what worked best for me, and see what I needed to change in order to
turn my blog into the place I wanted it to be.
My first mistake? I was posting too often. There were days when I’d post twice, and this did
nothing to help me with reader engagement, because the posts were simply not that qualitative.
Now I prefer to post only once a week or twice a week, but make sure that I really have
something to say and that the content is truly consistent and raises questions that my readers will
feel compelled to think about and answer.
And, since we are talking about quality vs. quantity, my second mistake was that I was writing
posts that drove a lot of traffic to the blog, but did not result in any real reader engagement.
I could see that many people had viewed my posts, but no one considered leaving a single
comment. These were the List posts, the Top 10 Ways To... posts, the posts about Facebook,
Twitter or blogging. Even though I had the best intentions when I wrote them, and I really tried
to offer my readers helpful information, the truth is that you can find this type of posts anywhere
online. So I tried to come up with unique ideas and with questions for my readers. Immediately,
my list of subscribers started growing, and so did the number of comments.
3. Offer Your Readers What They Want
Learn how to use your blog stats to figure out who your readers are and what they want to read
about on your blog. Of course, when you create a blog you already know your target audience,
but you can’t know exactly what that target audience wants. This is something you begin to
notice in time, as your list of subscribers grows and people leave comments on your blog posts.
If you see that a certain post received hundreds of comments, of course you’re going to keep
in mind what made it so popular, and use the successful “recipe” for other posts. But, beware,
you should do this only when you really have something to say, and never just for the sake of
controversy. Your readers will notice, trust me. If you feel compelled to abuse this “trick”, then
just remember the first rule: honesty.
4. Learn How to Use Social Media
I’ve seen many bloggers complain that Facebook, Twitter and, more recently, Google+ “steal”
all the comments that they’d rather have on their blogs. Sometimes conversations seem to shift
there, as opposed to taking part on the blog. Why they think this hurts their blog is beyond me,
because I personally believe that interacting with readers on the social media websites can only
bring more advantages.
Think about it. If you are active on Facebook, Twitter or Google+, your readers will feel like
they can get closer to you and know you as a person, not as someone who is hiding behind their
oh-so-popular blog. Being kind, open and approachable will only gain you more respect and
credibility, and social media sites are the best way of achieving this.
5. Never Stop Learning
In the blogging world things change all the time. Readers tend to get bored pretty fast and look
for something new, something original. If you have found a successful blogging “recipe” that
works for you, then stick to it, but no more than you should. Always try to come up with new
ideas, and be open to experiments. Ask your readers what else they’d like to see on your blog,
and take their opinion into consideration. Make those changes only if you think they are right for
you and do not interfere with your own views.
Even if you have a popular blog, never stop reading your fellow bloggers and never stop learning
from them. One of the best things about blogging is the community. So, make sure you make a
lot of friends, stay true to yourself, and create qualitative, engaging content every time you open
a document and start typing.
