The 7 Habits of Highly Successful Bloggers
This is something that most people cannot do, we aren’t realistic about our weaknesses and therefore we do very little to develop them. Once you have identified your strengths and weaknesses then you develop a plan to fix them. Simple right? Not really.
Self Development
I am a big fan of personal development books. I read a lot of them and I give out a lot of them to my team members who work for me at my day job. I think if you are open minded and willing to be honest with yourself then you can develop yourself much further than you ever thought possible.
These books allow me to stretch the way I think. They give me an hour or two of deep thinking about my strengths and weaknesses and how I can develop myself into something better than I was before. Boy do I have a long way to go…just ask my wife.
Role Models
One of my favorite books is The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People by Steven Covey. I am sure a lot of you have read it but this is not a rehash of that book. What that book taught me is that the best way to improve your results is find someone who is very successful and emulate the best of what they do.
If you want to learn how to play basketball would you emulate Michael Jordan or your neighbor Bob? If you want to become a great writer would you emulate Stephen King or would you take advice from your sister Nancy? You get the idea I am sure.
I observe what makes other bloggers successful and try to emulate it for myself. If you are going to have role models then you at least want to model yourself after successful people.
These are the 7 habits that I have noticed to be common amongst many of the more successful bloggers out there.
Seven Habits
Blog Consistently – A regular update schedule keeps me coming back. Nothing will turn me off personally more than a blog that goes dark for a week at a time, then posts a flurry of posts, then goes dark. People look to their feed readers for engaging content that is produced regularly. Pick a posting schedule that you can consistently follow and stick to it. Your readers will love it.
Passionate – To be successful at anything, you need to have a passion for your topic. You are making a big mistake if you think you can “fake it til you make it.” Your readers will see that this isn’t your thing, that you have no passion for the subject. You are far better off to blog about something that you know and love rather than something you think you can make money from. It will show in your writing.
Interact - The more successful bloggers interact regularly with their readers. I have seen a number of times where the comments section is far more engaging than the actual post. Use the comment section, respond to emails and reward your regular visitors and/or commenters. The Link Love plug in and a Top Commentator plug in are two recommended ways of doing that.
Link Love - Link out to your fellow bloggers often. The blogosphere is awash with bloggers who are so worried about too many links, SEO this and SEO that. Write for your readers and if you know of good content that they might like then link them to it. You not only help provide even more great content for your own readers but the blogger that you link to will be most appreciative and is likely to return in kind.
I have seen far too many sites who won’t link to other blogs in their niche because their fragile little egos are afraid they might lose readers. I’ve got news for you, if you do lose them then your content wasn’t that good anyways. Link out….it’s good for you, just like Quaker Oatmeal.
Build Your Brand - A conservative estimate is that their are more than 100 million blogs on the internet right now. How in the world do you think you can build a brand with that kind of competition? Easy…be different. Be memorable. Have a theme that is unique and a site that will make people remember it. If they come across you in a stumble bar then they will know they’ve been here before.
100 million is a BIG number, but I am willing to bet that 98% of them are free templates that look just like everyone else using that free template. Spend a few dollars and get a unique and customized theme that will make you different than everyone else.
Appearance of your site means a LOT. You’ve heard forever that content is King…well I am here to tell you that your content won’t mean a thing if you nobody ever bothers to read your site. I don’t even give an ugly blog a 2nd glance….I don’t do it intentionally and I don’t think I am a blog snob but I do make a judgement as to what value I can expect based on the initial appearance of the site. Shallow? Maybe but it’s reality.
Produce Great Content - Successful bloggers MUST be able to produce content that is compelling and that has value. If you satisfy a need for your readers then they will continue coming back to you. Your job is to determine that need and then tailor your content around it.
Don’t underestimate the value of marketing your content. A number of bloggers produce content that is very similar however a select few seem to reap all the rewards. They aren’t better writers, but they are far better marketers than most.
Picture your favorite blog…chances are it has a hook.
- John Chow – Income reports and what he eats.
- ShoeMoney is the big adsense check guy.
- Dosh Dosh has the little anime pictures.
- John Cow is the Moo guy. He has surpassed Chow in my opinion with the brand recognition piece anyways.
Learn to be a great MARKETER and your content will seem that much better.
Read Prolifically - Successful bloggers read and take part in other blogs. The best way to stay current with what is going on in the blog world is to actively take part in the blog world. Fill your reader up with the best content you can find. This will not only stimulate your own thought process but you may find a fellow blogger that you can partner with or develop a collaboration of sorts. The bigger your network then the more leverage you have over your results.
Conclusion
The road to personal development starts with being honest with yourself. What are your shortcomings…what are you working on to become a better blogger?
I need to become a better marketer and work on producing better content. I will be the first to admit that I am still new to blogging but I have grown to love it and hate that I didn’t make the commitment earlier but that’s life.
That’s my challenge….what are you working on to make yourself better?
For me, I want to continue to remain totally truthful to my readers. Only blogging about things that I have either used, signed up for and all that. It can be hard to do sometimes because that means I have to be super picky.
And I also want to bring them better quality content.
Simple Mindz’s last blog post..SEO, yeah, I got that…
SM – I agree completely. I have not used services like Pay Per Post and I have turned down paid reviews for products that I didn’t feel good about. I have nothing against those who choose to use Pay Per Post, but it just isn’t for me.
John Chow and that Agloco (sp?) deal is a perfect example. It was nothing more than a giant pyramid scheme. I would hate it if I recommended that service and wasted everyones time and effort.
John couldn’t have known it would fail but I sincerely doubt he actually used the service.
Great post, thought provoking and a good read. It made me think of what I do on my blog.
Matt
I do use PPP, but I am very selective on what I review. I have been a member since last November I believe and I have only done 6 reviews! lol.
I could chose to climb up the PPP ladder by doing heaps of reviews, but I just don’t feel comfortable doing so.
Simple Mindz’s last blog post..SEO, yeah, I got that…
@Matt…thanks for the compliment.
@SM…I have considered it but so far I just don’t know. If I could find postings that are related to the theme of my site then maybe but I can’t see doing say a review for vitamins on my blog.
It just wouldn’t fit.
LOL. I totally understand what you mean. Another reason why I have only done a few.
Simple Mindz’s last blog post..SEO, yeah, I got that…
I like your new blog better.
The best to you.
Terry…thanks but what do you mean by my new blog? You mean the new template and new logo? I hope so cause I like it too.
Great Post. I have read bits of 7 habits, whilst staying at my parents house but my dad wont let me steal his copy! I shall have to get my own.
I am working hard on developing the 7 habits you mention. Thinking about this type of personal development is a powerful tool. We all want to be better at what we do.
Tom Beaton’s last blog post..Curation – The latest in internet buzz
I have a Steven Covey calendar by my coffee-maker. Read his words every morning, and posted one of his quotes on my blog just this morning. I could not agree more with every single thing you have written here. You really produce quality content in all of your posts. I appreciate it.
Tamera’s last blog post..A Life of Integrity
@Tom – You definitely have the commenting and interaction part down. You must be the hardest working blogger around….I see you everywhere in comments sections. You must be a backlink superstar.
@Tam – I use a Franklin Covey for work which also has a daily dose of inspiration. Between that and Dilbert it gets me through the day.
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Great advice for both new bloggers, as well as veterans who may have gotten lost along the path. Here’s my follow-up challenge though: “My First Month Blogging: How to get readers.”
[...] a few weeks behind, it’s still worth sharing as a good read. The Blog Entrepreneur discusses habits of the successful bloggers and definitely gives you some decent tips if you’re still in the beginning stages of your [...]
[...] The 7 Habits of Highly Successful Bloggers by The Blog Entrepreneur – If you are going to be successful in the blogging world or really at anything then you need to learn to play to your strengths and minimize your weaknesses. This sounds easy but in reality it can be incredibly difficult. Read more.. [...]
[...] The 7 Habits of Highly Successful Bloggers by The Blog Entrepreneur – If you are going to be successful in the blogging world or really at anything then you need to learn to play to your strengths and minimize your weaknesses. This sounds easy but in reality it can be incredibly difficult. Read more.. [...]
Before I started blogging I had a voracious appetite for books on all kinds of subjects. I was often asked why I bothered reading up on such varied topics and how it was useful. At that time I wasn’t sure how to answer my critics, but now believe me all that information comes in handy.
Have you read Sean Covey’s book on 7 habits for teenagers? It quite nicely done.
Eva Whites last blog post..Another Horrifying Headline
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Great post man, I definitely agree with number 2. Have role models that are running successful blogs, google for interviews from them to see what tips they have in driving traffic to their blog and building a community.
Stumbled!
Cheers,
Glen
Glen Allsopps last blog post..3 Stories That’ll Make You Think Twice
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