When I first started blogging I read all manner of advice and ‘rules’ for having a successful blog. Some of these rules worked, some of them didn’t….
But few of these ‘lists’ were actually written from the point of view of someone who had a blog. That’s where this list is different. This list is aimed at those of you that either have just started blogging, or are thinking about pulling the trigger on starting one. These are the methods I have used to build a community for my blog, The Viral Garden, which has an Alexa ranking of 108,415 after 78 days of being live. Basically this is what I’ve learned the hard way, and the stuff I wish someone had told me before I fell down the blogging rabbit hole. 
1 – Pick your passion. It all starts here. It can be a hobby, your career, your pet python, but it has to be your passion. Something that you love, so that you can communicate that love to your readers. Passion can’t be faked, and visitors to your blog won’t come back if you try. But if you are passionate, and effective at communicating that passion to your readers, they’ll love you for it.
2 – Leave your blog. If picking your passion is the first step in having a successful blog, leaving your blog is the best way to grow it. I cannot stress this enough, and could expand this one step into its own post.
The big mistake that most new bloggers make(I did this as well) is that they think that they need to invest all their time on building their blog’s content. Wrong. You need to invest all your time in building your COMMUNITY. That happens by interacting with other bloggers in THEIR space. Go to their blogs, and communicate with these bloggers. Give them as much solid feedback as you can. They will reward you by following you back to YOUR blog, and returning the favor. Before you know it, you’ve planted the seeds for your own budding community.
3 – Focus on readers, not traffic. Right now there is someone reading your blog. Your job is to find a way to make sure that s/he comes back. Don’t focus on trying to bring another visitor in, focus on delighting your current visitor, and let her tell her friends what a great blog you have.
4 – Before you hit ‘Publish’, ask yourself ‘Why will anyone care to read this?’ I’ve deleted many a post at this point. Figure out what your ’story’ will be before you start writing. If you are writing about a ‘news’ story, find a way to put your original spin on it. But before you post it, spin it around and look at it from the reader’s point of view, and ask yourself if they would find it as interesting as you do.
5 – Only post when you have something to say. Eric’s recent post was spot-on here. You don’t have to post everyday, in fact it’s often best if you don’t. If you become a ’slave’ to your blog and feel that you have to post every single day, the quality of your postings will likely fall, which will, ironically, lead to LESS traffic. Only post when you have something to say, your readers will forgive the occasional day or 2 off.
6 – Be patient. And get ready to work. Building a community for your blog takes time, and effort. The reward is that you’ll meet some simply amazing people, and in the end get back from the community far more than you could ever give.
7 – Do whatever you can to make it as easy as possible for your community to contact you, and interact with you. And always encourage readers to give you feedback.
So that’s my list, if there’s something you have learned that you’d like to share with the rest of us, please leave a comment! (See how easy it is?)
Interesting post Mack. You’re right in many points. But do you think we can create frames and rules for blogging? Blogging is about being personal, it is about passion as you write. And as many personalities and passions we do have our there, so many different blogs will be there. Seting up such a rules seems to me like copying the mass media world, where process begins in A and ends in B. Blogosphere can defend itself, this is the place where natural selection works fine, and there is no ready prespcription how to get readers. What matters is whether you have something to say or not!
Mack,
That’s a terrific list. I wish I had it when I began blogging as I too had to figure out things for myself.
what I like about your approach is that these are simple, easy to follow guidelines.
I like that you share about deleting posts. I’ve only done this once, but it’s a good thing to think about in the name of providing valuble content that our readers are interested in.
Mack,
You gave away all the secrets that you’ve given me….I don’t feel special any more!!!
I’d like to stress your point #2 which is very valuable. I now spend about 1 hour every day elsewhere. It helps me realize that no matter how special you are, there are other people doing the same thing. The trick, as David pointed out to me, is to be unique and have your own voice. Give people a reason to visit your site versus others.
One thing I’d like to add is having a blog that only relies on links to other blogs for content is a complete waste of time – bring your own original content to the table. Unless of course, you have first access to the information.
PardonMyFrench,
Eric
SEM (Sorry for my English Mistakes). I am blogging from Seville, Spain, Europe.
Good points. I agree whit them. I will write something at my blog, well a sort of translation into Spanish.
Definitely a list to post next to my monitor. Thanks.
Hi Mack,
I’m more of a techie than a marketer, but a friend sent me your link knowing that I’m interested in blogging from the point of view of increasing traffic and ultimately business. I guess that’s marketing afterall, eh? Doh!
Your points are completely valid and well thought out. Although I tend to be a freeform thinker and shy away from prescriptive solutions (as Daria says), it is useful to have some guidelines, and I often overlook some of the points you’ve made in this posting. At one time or another, I’ve considered some kind of variation on each of your seven points, but I never systematically stop to think of each point prior to clicking publish. I think I will from now on, though!
Other associates of mine have latched on to blogging to promote themselves or their product (or both) and I believe that they do so from a place of passion (point 1), but there is some sort of soul missing. Something intangible or fleeting – you can say you’re passionate but how authentic does your blog sound? I think authenticity should be in there somewhere, too. Perhaps point 1a?
Finally, Eric’s comment about your blog relying on links to other blogs is perhaps part of that authenticity thang. I couldn’t agree more with his comment “bring your own original content to the table”!
All the best,
Richard
Daria and Richard, you are exactly right, you have to find your own way with blogging. The purpose of this list was to give examples of ways that *I* have used to grow my blog, so I can stand behind the fact that these methods DO and ARE working for me. I believe they will work for anyone, but you can judge for yourself whether or not you want to try them.
David, as you know my main tenet is that it’s all about the community. You’ve done a great job of reaching out to other bloggers, and that’s a huge reason why Logic + Emotion is taking off like a rocket. Ann is also big on the community, or ‘Ms. Community’ as I call her
Eric, that’s time well spent. I’m sure Pardon My French will continue to grow as a result. And you’re exactly right, bringing as much original content to the table as possible is the key.
Thanks Ariel, and Benito, I’ll overlook your mistakes if you promise to overlook mine
Mack,
You are 100% right on the community and you are right that this is the number one mistake of new bloggers. I would add a #8, which is “finding your niche and your voice” to break through the clutter. A top 25 marketing blogging weekly list is a great example
Eric
One thing many marketers have a hard time with, seems to me, is becoming a member of the community to whom they’re marketing whatever.
They are marketers, you know? Of whatever someone’s paying them to market.
For example, if one were marketing nutritional supplements, if the marketer also used the product, because they thought nutritional supplements were essential for optimal health, they’d always have a more believing audience, because they are part of it.
So if your #1, ‘passion’ could be for actually using the very product or service that’s being marketed because YOU use it or do it, you’re that much closer to being recognized as a bona fide member of the community.
Eric’s right about your list of TOP 25 marketing blogs – all the readers are writing such blogs and having that ranking available, of which YOU are a part (twice) makes the list and you part of the community for which you write.
We all like to see our standings each week…
So YOU are doing it…being a member of a community for which you write helpful stuff.
If more marketers used the products and services they market themselves, and could speak as members of the same community, there might be less of a disonnect between them and their potential customers.
Think?
Hi Mack!
Great post! As we’ve discussed, for me the most relevant of your points is the one of building a community…and you’ve been extremely helpful to me in getting that started, so I just wanted to say thanks! As a newbie blogger, I do find myself constantly monitoring my own mindset with regard to many of these issues. Your ideas, in conjunction with Eric’s recent post about the frequency of posting, have really given me a lot of food for thought as I continue to develop my own personal blogging style and strive to focus on creating content that is relevant and worthwhile reading.
Tricia
“If more marketers used the products and services they market themselves, and could speak as members of the same community, there might be less of a disonnect between them and their potential customers.
Think?”
Exactly! It’s about switching your point of view from that of a marketer, to that of the customer that you are marketing to. When you do that, you share the wants and needs of your customers, and you can THEN market your product WITH them from THEIR point of view.
Which makes all the difference in the world.
“As we’ve discussed, for me the most relevant of your points is the one of building a community…and you’ve been extremely helpful to me in getting that started, so I just wanted to say thanks!”
Tricia thanks so much for commenting here, because you just proved that my methods work!
For those of you that don’t read The Viral Garden, a few days ago I found Tricia’s blog, Studio UES (http://studioues.blogspot.com/), which focuses on music marketing. I loved it, left a comment there, then went back and posted a link to it on The Viral Garden.
Since I did that, several regular readers of The Viral Garden have either linked to Tricia’s blog, or started commenting there. And Tricia has begun commenting at both The Viral Garden, and here as well.
See how easy it is to grow your community? All you have to do is LEAVE your blog, and you’ll find some incredible blogs, like Studio UES, and some amazing people, like Tricia. A win-win deal!
Excellent post, and great article on June 13th about making your community part of your marketing strategy. I’m surprised by business execs who tell me they’re still slightly afraid of blogs or confused by them. Insights like yours will help them make that mental leap and start using new media and community-created content to their advantage. Keep up the good work!
Thank you Monica! I think it’s still a case of businesses ‘fearing what they don’t understand’. We’ll lead them into the light, kicking and screaming if we have to
It would stand to reason that somebody who understands the meaning of “Roll Tide” would be so smart…
Mack, you hit many nails square on the head with this post. All of the points you list are excellent things to consider when blogging- and not just when getting started.
1) Passion. Hell yes! No passion is so gross to me. I live what I do for a living and it has helped me reach my audience and grow the community.
2) Leave. Oh yeah… that’s one of the biggest points I make to other bloggers. I have been a poor blogger on my two sites over the past few months, but I stay active in the community of bloggers I interact with and so my traffic stays pretty constant. Some ups and downs, but people haven’t forgotten about me even after going more than a week without posting.
3) Readers vs Traffic. Amen! Readers who come back are like customers who return to the same stores- they bring their friends and they spread YOUR passion around for you and free of charge. Reach out to them and embrace them. Your “regulars” are your best allies.
4) Think before you publish. Ooohh… I struggle with this one. I’m a writer, so I feel compelled to post something every day, but I know some of it is/ will be crap. Sometimes you have to just say no to yourself. Relevancy is very important too. Is the post relevant to your audience? If not, then maybe it needs to be shared somewhere else or some other way.
5)Have something to say. This kind of goes hand in hand with #4, but it is still important to remember. Just posting the day’s weather, unless you are a weather blog, doesn’t do much but prove that you don’t have much else to say.
6) Patience is a virtue. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither are good blogs. Building community takes time and effort. Like any other marketing strategy or brand strategy, you have to have a long view. Immediate goals are fine, but they won’t carry you far. Build momentum over time and let it pay you back later.
7) Feedback/ contact. A blog site without comments is asking for trouble, in my opinion. You will always have more detractors saying “he doesn’t even allow comments” than you will have people coming to your blog to start a fight. Interactivity is a big key to effective social media. Allowing comments and/ or providing an email for contact gives that element of personal involvement that will develop those loyal readers who will bring more readers along with them.
Ok, I rambled too much, but I couldn’t stop myself.
“2) Leave. Oh yeah… that’s one of the biggest points I make to other bloggers. I have been a poor blogger on my two sites over the past few months, but I stay active in the community of bloggers I interact with and so my traffic stays pretty constant. Some ups and downs, but people haven’t forgotten about me even after going more than a week without posting.”
Bingo. This is the biggest misconception I think bloggers have about leaving their blog, they think that THEIR traffic will drop. It doesn’t happen. Growing your community is never a bad idea.
“Ok, I rambled too much, but I couldn’t stop myself.”
That tends to happen with passionate people! I love it!
Mack,
Your list has inspired my latest visual. “The Four C’s of Blogging”. It’s intentionally simplified so I don’t cover everything–but it’s how I see it. Thanks for the inspiration.
http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/2006/06/the_four_cs_of_.html
Very nice David, and let me say I appreciate that you let me comment on L+E without having to ‘verify’ my comment by trying to decipher some mystery text that’s designed to determine if I am a ‘bot or not….but that I really can’t see
Well said!
Additionally, for those people who may contribute to multiple blogs, don’t post the same thing on them all. It clutters the blogosphere, and makes the aggregators mad.
“Additionally, for those people who may contribute to multiple blogs, don’t post the same thing on them all. It clutters the blogosphere, and makes the aggregators mad.”
I agree in theory. However, different blogs do have different readers, so it’s possible to leave the same post on 2 different blogs and have 2 entirely different audiences be exposed to your message.
Personally, I try to make sure that I don’t cross-post anything here that’s already been posted on The Viral Garden, and vice versa. But occasionally I do so if I am posting about a topic where I would like to get everyone’s feedback on BOTH blogs.
So I technically agree with you ML, but I can see why some people would want to cross-post. How’s that for a good non-commital reply?