Blogging is a rather simple thing: jot a few thoughts about something, spell check, and publish. That’s it. Well, at least that’s what I thought a few years back. See, my initial thoughts about blogging consisted of writing something nobody found interesting and hoping to get as many comments as I could. I soon realized nobody really cared what color my cat was and why I hate traffic. I had very little readership and couldn’t figure out what the problem was. It took a few months to realize I was missing three important factors in creating a successful blog.
Be Unique & Relevant With Your Content
Write about things that are relevant to your readers. This doesn’t mean complaining about the gum you stepped in earlier in the day. Keep your blog on relatively the same thought pattern or subject. Take care in each post and think about what you are going to write about. They say content is king for good reason – keep your readers interested and they’ll keep coming back for more.
Interact With Readers
When readers begin to comment on your blog, always follow up with comments. This is pretty self-explanatory but many newer bloggers seem to miss out on this idea. It is vital that your readers feel welcomed by you and that you actually care about their opinions.
Be Active in the Blogosphere
This may be a bit more time consuming than the first two ideas, but may be most important. Become more active in blogs similar to your own through actively commenting and interacting with other bloggers. I recommend subscribing to as many relevant blogs as possible and giving genuine, thoughtful comments to posters. In turn, you will become more recognized and a link to your blog will be displayed within the comment increasing your blog awareness.