What is your purpose for blogging? Why do you blog? What are you trying to achieve? These are all questions every blogger should be asking themselves. Another question you should be asking yourself is, how can I improve?
We all should be improving in all aspects of life? Whether it's our relationships, our health, our sport, or whatever. Remaining stagnant and static will actually bring more harm than not.
To succeed at blogging you have to find ways to improve and become a better blogger.
I have seen this asked time and time again around the blogosphere. How do I become a better blogger. So this post is not only meant for you, but it serves as a reminder to myself. How can I become a better blogger?
Communicate.
Bloggers are communicators, if nothing else, and blogging provides ways to make a difference in this world. You and I have a message to share, experiences to share, stories to tell, or tutorials to give away. Blogging is about social connections. Communicating with your readers.
Not only in your blog posts but also in your comments. Leave a kind and encouraging word. Answer a question. Go the extra mile to sort out a readers problem
What about email? Have you emailed a reader of your blog lately? Perhaps you just need to do that to say hi and thank them for reading your blog. Remember this, your readers are your most valued asset.
Be Enterntaining.
Nobody likes a boring blog. You've hear that 'Content Is King'. But great content is useless if it aint interesting. Entertainment can come in many colours. It does not have to be all jokes and laughter. But the point here is that readers want to be entertained, they want to leave your blog feeling fulfilled.
Be Consistent.
If you are serious about your blog, then you will be consistent in your posting schedule. One of the killer diseases of blogs today is not swine flu, but old mouldy posts.
When a blog does not have fresh new content, then readers and search engines alike will give it a wide berth. Your blog will die from post starvation. Keep regular in your posts. Make sure you always have fresh content on a regular basis.
Be a learner
No blogger is arrogant enough to think they know it all. You and I need to contantly learn new things. We need to follow and read other bloggers in our niche as well as those excellent bloggers outside our niche.
Keep abreast with the latest news. Read and follow along in the forums related to your blog. Try and answer a question that you do not know the answer to, thereby forcing you to do some research and learn something new.
Give something away for free.
One of the most frustrating things about the internet and many blogs, is that there are so many people who just want to sell sell sell. It then is so refreshing to find something for free. Why not give away something for free on your blog. An e-book, a small prize. If you don't have any of these, then give away knowledge. People are hungry for knowledge, why make someone pay for that?
Build up credibility.
Admittedly this is a lot tougher than it looks. But the way to do it is to build up an arsenal of quality posts. Help people solve their problems. Teach those who do not know how. Encourage those who have forgotten.
You want to be a better blogger, then you will need to build up some sort of credibility in your niche, You have to build a name for yourself. No one wants to read the blog of 'Joe Blogs'
Share
Share and share alike. It is better to give than to receive. I'm sure that you have heard this saying many, many times before. To become a better blogger you are going to have to learn how to share. Share your time with other bloggers, share your knowledge, share your comments. Share your posts.
So what do you have to share? Would you share your thoughts on how to become a better blogger? Share your ideas. What helped you to achieve in the blogosphere? Share those with us in the comments below.