Before I started developing my blog, I sat down and pondered what would be a few critical issues to consider when developing my blog. I continue to find myself drawing on my work experience in a Fortune 400 corporation and I was surprised to find that many of the same things that make us successful in the real world are absolutely critical in the Blog World as well. I hope you can take something out of the list and make it your own.

· Bring Value – Every post you write should add value to your reader’s online experience. In the world today nobody has an excess of time and if you expect readers to continue tuning into your Blog week in and week out then you need to bring value to their lives. This could take the form of solid business advice, a review of the latest widget they’ve been wondering about or even just a few moments of respite from the world. Add Value…you can’t go wrong.

· Customer Service – Your readers are your customers. It is critical that you treat each and every one of them as though they are the only one you have, otherwise they just might be. Readers have a LOT of choices in the Blog world, if your blog doesn’t fill a need then someone else’s’ just might. Respond to comments, don’t take criticism personally and involve yourself in the Blog world.

· Honesty – Honesty is a virtue…right along with patience. It is also absolutely critical to the success of your blog. Has anyone not seen a late night infomercial about making millions and working 2 hours a day? When you read that, what is the first thing that crosses your mind? Baloney should be pretty high on your list…because most of them are FULL of it. Be honest with your readers, don’t post fake Ad Sense checks, don’t claim to be something that you’re not, don’t post other people’s material on your site and claim it to be your own. This goes back to the credibility piece…honestly is a cornerstone of a successful person or Blog.

· Be Professional – I don’t know about you but for me, if someone can’t represent their views without cursing or using expletives or even racial overtones then they aren’t someone I would look to as a respected or viable source of information. You definitely want to put your personality in your blog, just make sure it’s the personality that would make your mother proud.

· Be Yourself – On the flip side, you definitely want to inject your personality into the Blog in order to separate it from the thousands of others that are posting the same ideas, articles and information. The writer is what separates one blog from another.

· Writing Style – It is well known that readers “read” online media differently than they do print media. It is good practice to stick to shorter and more poignant sentence structure than would be necessary in print media. In layman’s terms…readers want the meat and potatoes, use bullet points, lists and bold font to make your points so they can quickly surmise your point. The internet is full of bloggers who pontificate as though they were trying to be the next Charles Dickens. Get to the point man!

· Religion and Politics – Wars have been fought, families have been broken, relationships severed, all in the name of either religion and politics. These two topics are guaranteed to alienate half of your readership. It’s been a hard and fast rule for me in the business world to never discuss either topic. You’re better safe than sorry. Difficult advice if you’re running a political or religious blog but a Make Money Online blog…..I’d avoid at all costs.

That’s it. Seven tips to successful blogging from a blog newbie….if I had to pick one of the points to embrace every time I sat down to write a blog post….it would be to Bring Value. If you don’t Add value to your customers life then they won’t be your customer for long. Happy Blogging.