6 basic rules in blogging
We see blogs everywhere. Personal and business blogs are on the rise. Everyone is jumping on the blog bandwagon. I can’t help it and joined the blogging world too 3 months ago.
Companies like Onesuite and Intelletrace started blogging too to promote their business and create online awareness. Onesuite blog is about VoIP and Long Distance blog while Intelletrace is about fast bandwidth connections. Creating a business blog can be so powerful for a company and an important component in its marketing mix. It gives the company a platform which it can establish its credibility.
Aside from support forums, blogs also double as a communication bridge between customers and companies. Personal blogs on the other hand creates a medium to express an individuals thoughts and the return are overwhelming because the blog owner gain new friends where he/she can exchange ideas and knowledge.
So whether you are a business or an individual, there are some basic blogging rules to follow.
1. Post personally. Blogging is a medium for personality and not institution. Let the real you shine through the posting. Personal stories are great articles as well as personal experiences with your business or personal life.
2. Post often. The more often you post, the more chances you will get better ranking in search engines. It also create followers as you post consistently. Posts doesn’t have to be lengthy. A few tips here and a short story there will do.
3. Post consistent content. People come to your blog expecting regular content. If your blog is about investments and you are discussing about internet connection tips then your readers might leave quickly and might not return again.
4. Engage in link building. Blogging is supposed to be a community activity so learn to practice it. You can start by adding blogs the are realted to your content in your blog roll and tell the other about it. Hopefully they will do the same and you will gain a backlink from other blogs as well. You can also promote your blog as your link signature in related forums.
5. Promote your blog. There are number of ways to promote your blog. Social media is one and its effective way of getting the word out that you have a blog. Twitter, Facebook, Digg and StumbleUpon are just a few to get the ball rolling. Mention your blog also in forums and other blogs but don’t spam them. If you represent a company then put your blog in newsletter, in your main website or email updates.
6. Be objective. Blogs are about your own views and personal experiences. This builds credibility as the subject authority. For business blogs, if you are successful in building your credibility then business success will follow.
If you don’t have a blog yet then there are a number of free blogging platform to start your blog. Blogger and WordPress.com are two of the most popular free blogging you can use. I suggest you get your own domain name and hosting to have more control in your blog and to fully customized it.
Do you have your own rules in blogging? Do you have anything to add? Post your comments below.
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The hardest part for me is the “post often”. With lots of blogs and websites to manage and develop, some blogs can get neglected sometimes
Anne from B6S.net´s last blog ..Adding Plugins to Your WordPress Blog
I agree. Maybe if you can not post often just post consistently. Maybe you can post once a week or even once every 10 days if thats the only time you can spend in a particular blog. The key thing is consistent so regular readers knows when to check your blog again.
ZXT´s last blog ..What’s Hot on YouTube
Nice points listed above. I agree that one should be honest with one self and post from within, don’t make it all business like as others will not enjoy it. This is one way that users out there get to know the real you better.
I have started to publish posts from Monday to Friday and I can see the increase in traffic. One must try as others might leave a site if it has not recently been updated.
I also try and build a community around my blog by interacting with my commentators. Promote communication and interaction and your site/blog will thrive.
I would also like to say that one must look at the loading time of the site, try and keep it as low as possible and easy to navigate.
George Serradinho´s last blog ..Report User Searches on your site using the Search Meter WordPress Plugin
In my blogging opinion (whatever that is), number 1 is the most important one on the list.
Extreme John´s last blog ..Toys for Tans Free Week of Tanning Details
I know John. You always post personally and thats what blogging is all about.
ZXT´s last blog ..What’s Hot on Youtube!
Yeah — companies surely should have a blog in which they can touch potential buyer personally.
Dana @ Online Knowledge´s last blog ..Create Contact Form for WordPress Blog
Right Dana. I think companies are starting to put their own blogs to communicate with their subscribers/customers. It’s effective if they do it right.
ZXT´s last blog ..What’s Hot on YouTube
Great post, and I have to agree, with all 6, but I would like to add that as a new blogger and link building. With link building through comments, bloggers should add to the blog not just say something to get their link building. They should help the community and not take up space.
I find the hardest thing for me is to post often. On of the sites own, I forget to post to it and when that happens I notice the traffic decline. On my newest blog I started with, “I would post everyday”, but I found that, that would be unrealistic for me. So now I try to post most of my content during the week, but never miss a week. My goal is to post a new article at least 3 times a week. As for the old blog, I will be setting up a schedule of once a week until I have the time to post more. Because of my busy schedule, I will start using schedule posting through WordPress and create post for future posts.
Same here. Sometimes I get so busy with other things and I wasn’t able to find time to post anything in my blog. Thats when my traffic gets low. Not commenting to other blogs affecting my traffic too.
ZXT´s last blog ..Go get them Tiger!
Good, basic list. I love practical, straight-forward advice that is easy to apply.
Alison Moore Smith@Blog Fast´s last blog ..6 Steps to Startup with WordPress: The Guide for the Wannabe Blogger
I’m glad you like like it Alison. I appreciate you leaving a comment here. Thanks.
ZXT´s last blog ..Sunday’s Babe of the Week
ZXT, I’m back! For a while, I couldn’t access your blog through my Internet service provider. I’m glad to see that that has changed. I’ll try to get caught up on your previous posts as best I can. This particular post was excellent and very accurate. I’m impressed at how quickly you have lowered your Alexa rating/ranking over the last few months. Take care, buddy.
Glad to see you again. Yeah my Alexa seems to improve a lot but now I’m getting stucked at 160k. It’s getting harder and harder unless my traffic improves then I can be here at 160k for the moment.
ZXT´s last blog ..Share your Paypal WishList and Earn $100
Thanks for this great piece, bookmarked and rss subscribed…
To me all listed rules are important but the most important one to me is Post consistent content. Without consistency you can’t get a good reputation.
Arafat Hossain Piyada´s last blog ..Checkout ASUS P7H55-M Pro Motherboard Leaked Information
Exactly. Posting consistent will get you regular visitors.
ZXT´s last blog ..Brittany Murphy Dead at 32
I simply wanted to add a comment here to mention thanks for you very nice ideas. Blogs are difficult to run and time consuming so I appreciate when I see well written material. Your time is not going to waste with your posts. Thanks so much and carry on No doubt you will defintely reach your goals! good job!
Thank you too for leaving your comment here.
ZXT´s last blog ..7 ways to attract comments in your blog
I have always “said” you should try to post 2-3 times a week, but as I tell my daughter: Do as I say, not as I do! Consistency is key for posting.
Also, linkbuilding seems to be something that has so many parameters that it can be confusing to some. I like to think of linkbuilding as actual promotion of my sites and hope that I can get some traffic from links rather than actual PR from them, just my thoughts.
Keith@Business3.0´s last blog ..Do-Follow Comments and Comment Luv
Yes I think 2 to 3 times a week is just fine. Linkbuilding gets you traffic and PageRank but I agree that the traffic you’ll get has more value than the PR.
ZXT´s last blog ..Brittany Murphy Dead at 32
Great advice and very true. One of the most important things bloggers, or any business, can do is try not to give up. Even when times are tough it
I’ve been interested in this for quite some time. I’ll be passing this post along to a few friends… FYI, you should install a sharethis button on your blog, makes it easier to send this to friends.
Your blog is cool