The proliferation of new blogs in the last 5 years on the internet has been a remakable story.
But only 10% of blogs remain in existence at the end of this time. People get frustrated pouring their heart out in their blogs and seeing virtually no traffic to their blog. It is the equivalent of electronic tumbleweed blowing across their piece of the internet.
So what are the 3 golden rules for blogging successfully. . . and for profit?
Golden Rule 1
Content
Your content must be unique,fresh and your own. This means that copying and pasting articles from other blogs and sites is a major no no. Write in your own voice-this gives authenticity to what you have to say and allows you build a loyal and trusting following.
Golden Rule 2
Value
This flows from Rule 1 but basically means that you must give your reader value. This will involve providing him/her with new, relevant information which is of value to him. Sometimes it may be a different way of saying something or explaining something that is already in the public domain and freely available. But you need to package it in a way that is in your own voice and speaks directly to your target market and audience.
Golden Rule 3
Blog regularly
Your blog must be current and refreshed regularly. This way you will build an audience of engaged readers who through their comments and feedback will add more fresh content to your blog and allow you to build a relationship with them. It is this relationship of trust that will allow you recommend products with credibility and integrity when you wish to reap the benefit of your blogging.
Golden Rule 4
Monetization
How you monetize your blog or website will play a critical role in your success or failure. You must choose the business model that best suits your needs, personality and skill set. This may be the adsense publishing model, it may be affiliate marketing, it may be cost per action models.
But you must decide on your model pretty quickly (after a suitable period of trial and error) and stick to your favorite and most effective method of monetization.Only when you have mastered one method should you go on to dabble in others but I would recommend strongly that you stick to the knitting-stick with what works and scale it up.
If you concentrate on one model initially you will learn all of the subtleties and nuances in that business model area and which will allow you to fine tune your sites and success.
Don't let yourself fall into the 10% who fail with their blogs and see the equivalent of electronic tumbleweed blowing across your blog within 6 months.