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Dec
07
The Blogging Ladder
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Different bloggers look at blogging differently. Money, passion, desire to share knowledge, all are valid reason to start blogging. But how exactly can you make blogging effective? This is one of those question that can be answered in many different ways - writing killer content, aggresive marketing, hosting contests, guest posting, commenting, social networking. All of these can be true but sometimes the most effective way to make your blogging fun and rewarding is to climb the steps necessary to reach the top.
All of us as bloggers have different techniques that we would like to apply to become successful. This post refers to my technique.
Here is what I call the The Blogging Ladder where the steps are the letters in the word “Blogging” itself. I hope these steps are something we can climb on our quest to reach the top.
Be creative
Creating content is half the battle won when it comes to your posts. The other half can be won by being creative. Every blog has its own personality just like every person has their own. Build a personality by being creative. The niche your blog covers is probably already covered by someone else, so be creative and unique to set yourself apart from others. You don’t want yourself to be compared to others, you want others to be compared to you.
Being creative isn’t something that you need to think about. Creativity is something that comes from within you and from who you are.
Listen to your audience
Are you a good listener? One of the main reason many blogs fail is because they don’t listen to their audience. Your readers took the time to stop, read and comment on your post. May be they have a question they would like you to answer or may be it’s just a thankful note. Whatever it is interact with your readers. Listen to them and interact. This is what blogging is all about, interacting with each other and sharing knowledge.
The essence of blogging is the communication and relationship between the blogger and the readers.
Open opportunities for yourself and your readers
Use blogging as a launchpad for your future projects. If you started blogging, I am pretty sure there are other things that you would like to achieve online. Use your blog to leverage your future projects. Just because your blog can make money doesn’t mean you have to use it only for that purpose. If you are a freelancer trying to get into web designing go ahead and offer something to your readers and you will gain something from them as well.
Example:If you know how to create a Wordpress Theme,create one and let your readers download it for free. By doing this you are opening opportunity for yourself and your readers. First, you just marketed yourself of being capable to design a theme and might get some interested clients. Second, you gave an opportunity to your readers by offering something that might be helpful for them.
Open opportunities and it will be a two way deal.
Give exposure to others
Don’t be selfish. Although you would like to rise to the top, there are others as well. Don’t focus only on popular blogs. There are thousands of new bloggers who have really good content and posts. Read them and link to them. Give them exposure, this will bring you recognition and respect as a blogger. Blogging is about growing together not all by yourself.
Helping out others will in turn help you grow.
Get the facts before you write
Before you set out to write about anything, make sure you know the facts associated with whatever you are trying to write. There is nothing more humiliating than to find yourself not being able to back your own opinion or thoughts for that matter.
If you are going to write why Mac is better than PC, get the facts straight. Just because you find Mac pretty and expensive than PC isn’t a fact enough to support. You need to be both Mac and Windows user before you can compare and write a post on this topic.
Have enough knowledge on what you are writing so that you can provide the facts if somebody wants an answer.
Initiate discussion
Blogs have comment section for a reason, to discuss. Use this tool to interact with your readers. At the end of the post write something that will make the readers want to give their opinion or advice. Initiating discussion will help you learn more about others and will create a personal relationship between you and your readers.
It’s your blog so you need to take the steps to initiate a discussion on each post. This will allow you to connect with readers that might otherwise just read and leave.
Network
You would like to have your own social networking site, it’s all the rage lately. But if you have a blog you already have a networking site. Use your blog to network and market yourself. Follow all of the above and you will have enough members to network with a large group of people through your blog. Social networking sites are of utmost importance and you need new contacts but do not over look the ones you already have.
Network with your readers. You might have hundreds of readers but among them if somebody has thousand readers on their blog, your cirlce just grew by a thousand.
Go easy on Blogging
This step of blogging is often overlooked. Do realize the fact that your blog will be there tomorrow when you get up. Don’t try to do everything at once. Post regularly but there is no need to leave everything else just so that you can write a post each and every day. Enjoy blogging, don’t let it take a toll on your personal or social life. Go easy with your blog and you will succeed.
Patience is the key to success.
Share your views on ” The Blogging Ladder. ” Also, do you have any steps that we can add to this ladder which might take us even higher?
Let’s share and help each other out, that’s what blogging is all about - creating, sharing, interacting and helping!
Insightful information that can make us all better bloggers. It is information that we might already know, but its always good to have this information reinforced. Great tips. My favorite one is “Get the Facts Straight”
I know sometimes it can be easy to disregard this. But it always pays to take the extra time to wiki something or search it in order to ensure accuracy. You don’t want to be labeled as someone who reports false information!
I think it’s interesting that Give Exposure To Others is right in the middle because it’s usually those bloggers who are right in the middle (not really new but not really big yet) who are afraid to give too much to others for fear the other bloggers will somehow get bigger than they are. Good stuff.
turtie,
When it comes to writing something that needs reasoning we all need to be able to back our reasoning up. For this reason getting the facts is one of the most important thing when we write something. Spending a bit of our time researching is better than ruining our reputation as a blogger.
Jason,
I find giving exposure of utmost importance when it comes to being successful and being known by others. Most of the time, we ignore new bloggers who have good content as we never bother to read them or visit them just because they are new.
I usuaully browse the comment section on any blog and see if there is something different and new for me to read and engage into. I have found this to be very effective in knowing others and letting myself out to new bloggers as well. It’s a give and take like I said in the post.
Thanks for pointing out audience near the top, it’s important.
I think a lot of people (me included) tend to worry too much about what they should write about - the subjects, the categories etc. first.
If they flip that, and start thinking ‘who’ instead of ‘what’ - focus on who their audience is first, the what seems to take care of itself.
Great article Ritu. Thanks!
Ritu: I want to compliment you on this post. It’s a very good way to encapsulate a number of key tips and ideas about being a blogger.
I do have a comment with the combination of the letters in the word “blogger” and the staircase (not the same thing as a ladder) that’s used. Blogging isn’t really a stair-step progression as you’ve identified it here. Your career as a blogger doesn’t proceed in the sequence B-L-O-G-G-I-N-G, so it’s a slightly confusing message, although I understand the concept that you are trying to portray.
Still, it’s a very creative post and I applaud you for that!
Lid,
I guess it depends on the blogger. if you are an expert on a niche, it might be better to expose yourself within that particular area of interest.
As for me I try to write as things come up. Someday it’s blogging, someday it’s fun and game and somedays it’s about cool websites. As long as I can provide value to the readers and something they can utilize, I am happy and hopefully the readers are too
Mark,
I agree about the post being a little misleading. I didn’t try to make it that way but the key point I am trying to convey is - if you are looking for an answer on succeeding as a blogger the answer might be B-L-O-G-G-I-N-G itself.
Also the use of staircase ( I agree about using the word ladder, should have thought about it
) is more to prove a fact that each step is as crucial as the next one because we need all of them in order to reach the top. I hope you see what I am trying to say. Thanx for the comment and appreciating this post.
Your work is inspiring.
Ritu, this is by far, one of your best posts! Insightful and thought provoking. I absolutely agree on the last point about enjoying the blogging process. How many bloggers have given up their precious time with their family & friends just to work on a blog article/post.
Well, I admit when I first started out, I was kinda trapped in that vicious cycle a bit but I’m glad I’ve grown out of it. As long as one’s genuinely creating value with each and every article/post, their readers will stay and blossom.
I truly agree. And I absolutely attest.
Cheers,
Ellesse
This should be named the ABC of blogging, or maybe the 8 commandments of blogging - anyway, you get the point. What you just listed in this post should be the basic guidelines, followed by every blogger. Great article, thanks.
Wangbu,
Thanks!
Goal Setting College,
. And yes, as long as we can create value and enjoy blogging we can all blossom together, both as readers and bloggers.
I am glad you find it one of the best posts, that makes it worth the time
hts,
Thanks! It’s very kind of you to think of this article worthy of being followed by every blogger.
[...] you think about Blogging? Read about the “Blogging Ladder” to know more about [...]
Great post. One of the things I started doing is looking through the searches on my blog and (if I can) I blog on topics that people looked for - part of that”Listen to your audience” that you wrote about.
Hey Ritu, very original my friend.
http://forum.qmailrocks.org/member.php?u=13394
I’ve been googling a the blogging ladder and stumble here, your wrote a very nice and direct facts about blogging itself. Thanks for the words of wisdom you accompanied with this post. God bless and more power.
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