This is a guest post entry by Jessica Wagner
Blogging is supposed to be fun. But in order to get good at it, you have to take it seriously. It’s not just a matter of establishing a destination on the Internet where you can spill your guts for whoever comes across it. If you truly want people to read what you have to say, then you should probably try to accomplish the following:
1. Keep up with current events
Nothing is sure to keep you more depressed these days, but then again, nothing is going to keep your writing relevant than maintaining at minimum a general understanding of world events. You might not find phone hacking and government debt debate interesting and certainly not something you want to spend your limited free time writing about, but being able to tie in the pulse of current activity with whatever you write about adds an extraordinary amount of professionalism to the look of your blog.
2. Utilize social networks
Sure, every aspiring blogger has a Facebook page and somewhere on it a mention or link to their blog. But that’s hardly utilizing social networks effectively. Convince several of your friends to be relays for these links, and find a way to bring Facebook to your blog via a “like” box or other application installation. Use social networks to spread your word. That’s what they’re there for.
3. Get a business valuation
Even if you don’t make squat from your blog, you aren’t aware of how much you could be making. An increasing number of business appraisals experts are extending their valuation expertise into the digital world. This means many appraisers can examine a blog or other website and determine whether or not there’s a potential for monetiaation. For anyone serious about earning extra income through their blog, this should be a serious consideration.
4. Yoga
Yoga enthusiasts claim the practice can help relieve the stresses of just about any situation with the exception of perhaps straining muscles through yoga. At any rate, any activity that centers on focus and physical as well as mental relaxation has to be healthy for those who love to write. Good writing needs a clear head and a clean bill of health, and taking the time to achieve both will do a lot of good for the quality of your blog.
5. Write everyday
The Internet is jam packed with blogs. Most of them consist of several entries over the course of a week or two, then reduced numbers of entries for about a month afterward. Several weeks go by, another post appears apologizing for a lack of activity, and that’s about where they end. Your first mission is to prevent this from happening to your blog. How? You make it your objective to post content on your site every single day. You should post multiple times a day if it’s possible. You need to build up content, but more importantly you need to make blog-writing as necessary a daily habit as exercise or brushing your teeth. Only then, will you have the blog existence it takes to capture peoples’ attention.
Melvin’s sidenote: Of course I don’t agree with the guest blogger’s take mainly because I don’t and can’t post everyday. But I hope you see the point that writing content for the long term is nothing but hardwork and dedication.
Don’t ever forget that writing a blog needs to be an enjoyable experience. But at the same time, don’t underestimate the seriousness of your task. If your writing is truly meant for the eyes of an audience, then you have to take steps to ensure you’re getting readership, that readership is increasing, and that you’re constantly supplying readers with more. You want people to keep coming back. The only way you do that is by giving them reason to keep returning for more.