7 Things Nobody Tells You About Successful Blogging

By: David Aston     Topics: Blogging

Blogging can make you rich, make you nothing, or simply keep you afloat – it’s really up to you!

It’s all about what you know, how you apply what you know, how consistent you are with the application of knowledge, and how much overall effort you put in.

I’ve been at it for a few years now and I’ve learned a lot about myself, business and other people in the process.

Today, I’m going to show you seven things essential to successful blogging; This is the good stuff, so pay attention!

You do want to be a professional blogger, don’t you?

And, by professional, I mean you make a very nice living from it.

7 Things Nobody Tells You About Successful Blogging

#1. There’s A Lot More To Blogging Than Writing

Writing is only half the battle. A lot of people who start blogs love to write, and they think blogging is a natural fit. They figure they can make money hand over fist – because all they have to do is write. There is a lot more to that component. 

Instead of thinking about it in terms of writing, think about it in terms of content creation:

• Adding pictures
• Adding captions
• Embedding videos
• Reviewing products
• Provide case studies / tutorials
• And then offer your unique perspective.

Search engines look favorably on blogs that have rich media content and a broad overview of a subject. Your unique perspective, however, is the finishing touch, and true essence, of your blog. That’s what will cause readers to follow you and search engines to take note of your popularity.

Be as authentic and transparent as possible, people will trust and respect you for it. Forget the fluff.

Tracy Raftl from The Love Vitamin is a great example of somebody giving her brand a very unique essence online.

#2. SEO Is Still Important

Even though you’re just maintaining a blog, and not an “official” website, you still need to keep SEO in mind. Why? Your blog posts can show up in Google search results just like specific web pages. Ideally, you want people linking to your blog posts.

You should never use black hat SEO techniques, which can compromise the long-term success of your blog. Instead, focus on creating awesome content and the keywords will naturally find their ways into your posts.

If people are linking to your blog posts, that’s a great combination. If you want to ensure your posts see some search engine traffic, create blog posts based around keywords – from doing keyword research. But never keyword stuff. Just write a natural blog post that happens to include the keyword a couple of times.

Here are 16 keyword research resources for total niche domination.

#3. Inconsistency Will Cost You Followers

One of the main goals of blogs is to generate followers. However, if you don’t update your blog on a consistent basis, readers will never know when to expect new posts. They’ll have no reason to check back if they don’t expect to see something new. Having an army of loyal blog followers is like money in the bank. Make sure you update on a daily, every other day, or weekly basis. However, you decide to update, be consistent about it.

If you’re consistent with your updates and still need/want more followers, check out the top 10 traffic tips straight from Michael Dunlop.

#4. Build An Email List

Most blog owners don’t actively solicit the opt-in emails of their followers. If you do, however, you’ll be ahead of the curve.

Every month or so, send out an email to your list with a really great blog post. This will remind your subscribers that you’re still around and updating the site.

If every search engine visitor that comes to your website is just lost (and nobody puts in their email), then you have no way to follow up unless they choose to come back and keep reading again. They might forget, though – so emailing them periodically remind them you’re still alive.

If you struggle to build an email list, PopUp Domination is my favorite list building resource as it’s proven time and time again to increase subscriber optins by over 500%

#5. Social Media Isn’t A Choice

If you want your blog to be successful, make money, and retain followers, then social media is essential. The goal is that your social media accounts point at your blog and your blog points at your social media accounts.

This way, visitors coming from either source will find the other one. Make sure every social media account uses the name of your blog, or your website.

If you’re struggling with your online presence, I’d definitely check out the 10 reasons why you suck at social media.

#6. Create Shareable Content

Go above and beyond the call of duty.

If you’re not creating shareable content, then people aren’t going to share it. You can ask them to share it, but they won’t if it’s not worthwhile. If people aren’t sharing your posts, then search engines like Google aren’t going to rate them favorably.

You can’t just write posts – you have to make them great. That said, these are my top 10 writing tips for more engaging content.

#7. Creating Valuable Content Isn’t Enough

We all remember when we were little kids and our parents tried to tell us to do something. We didn’t listen, and now that we look back we realize that often times they knew best. The same is true when creating valuable content on the web.

You can provide great information that’s intended to help people, but unless you make it palatable to your audience, no one will like or share your blog posts. You have to imbue your posts with excitement, images, and catchy headlines – and you have to get them shared on social media!

If you liked this, you’ll love my post on the 20 mistakes bloggers are still making.

-David Aston