Blogging. Things I've learned about it

[AfteraDream]

Ok, I've been blogging about 4 months now. I learned some things about Internet, internet marketing, blogging and people. I'm not 100 percent satisfied with the results so this is partly rant about how to improve my blogging and some tips for others who are just starting out to blog.

1. You don't need to be a professional writer

Good thing about blogs is that you don't need to be a writer and know how to write a novel to be able to blog. It's unofficial and you can be yourself when blogging. You still must pay attention to not making spelling mistakes (sometimes I do them..).

And if you have the talent for writing and know how to write content that makes people stay, you are few steps ahead of everyone else.

2. Building trust takes time

It takes time to build trust with your visitors. And it's easy to lose it fast. One post and you can have some people never ever coming back to your blog. Pay attention to it but don't get discouraged...

3. If you want to sell something, have the product from the start

I think people are better off having product ready when they start blogging (If they want to make money off blogging). I started blogging to help people, create trust, create Brand name and a good place for my visitors and eventually write an ebook.. I think I was wrong here. If I already had a product to sell it would be easy for me to see how I am progressing towards my goal - helping 1000 guys go from skinny to buff, ebook sales would give me exact number, but now I can't tell exactly how many guys I've helped. I'm way past having 1000 guys visiting my blog but this doesn't mean I've helped every guy who came in...

4. Blogging is rewarding

Blogging is great in a sense that you are very happy and fulfilled when you get a Thank-You email from your reader saying that you have inspired him or helped him change his life, etc! That feeling is wonderfull and is alone almost enough to keep you going. Contributing to making world a better place is great!

5. Guest Posting is better than Forum Marketing

In my experience I get better traffic from guest posts on sites that are compatible with my niche (my niche is skinny guys so I try to guest post at sites that are for guys). Forum marketing brings more traffic but it's harder to get them to stay. Once they are in a tribe of some forum, they don't really want to join other tribe if they are happy. Some will join your tribe, but guest posts are more effective for this...

6. Be transparent

It's tough to be transparent and give details about your life, mistakes to other people. I av had few posts that I thought would get a lot of criticism because I wasn't ideal. But no, it was pretty encouraging, people were nice! Sometimes you will get criticism, that's part of life, but be as transparent as you can.. it's actually gonna be something that improves you as a person!

Ok, that's all for now. If you think I'm mistaken here, then let's discuss

[abhi1]

Originally Posted by AfteraDream

4. Blogging is rewarding

Blogging is great in a sense that you are very happy and fulfilled when you get a Thank-You email from your reader saying that you have inspired him or helped him change his life, etc! That feeling is wonderfull and is alone almost enough to keep you going. Contributing to making world a better place is great!

this is so true. You slightly smile and feel proud of yourself when you find such a mail in your messy inbox

[xwishmasterx]

I really do need to comment on no. 6

I think it depends on what type of blog you have. Personally I hate when people are talking alot about , SEO, linkbuilding and so on, and then sudenly a post how cute their new puppy is, or how bad a hairday she's having... I would say keep the personal stuff to a minumum, not too many people cares you know

[AfteraDream]

Originally Posted by xwishmasterx

I really do need to comment on no. 6

I think it depends on what type of blog you have. Personally I hate when people are talking alot about , SEO, linkbuilding and so on, and then sudenly a post how cute their new puppy is, or how bad a hairday she's having... I would say keep the personal stuff to a minumum, not too many people cares you know

I see your point. And do agree that visitors don't really care about your personal life. But being transparent doesn't mean talking about how your day went or about your puppy. Nope. Transparency means sharing your experience freely, even though at first it might look as if it could hurt you. It is sharing an embarrassing story or some experience that your visitors unconsciously can relate to. This creates trust, authenticity and relationships (but it's hard to do...).

[chrisgarrett]

I think if you stick within the 80-20% rule, with the personal stuff in the 20%, you are usually ok with off topic personal stuff

BUT ...

What I try to do is relate the personal to the topic, so I use a personal anecdote and bring it back to be relevant to the theme at hand. Or use personal photographs to illustrate your articles.

Doesn't always work for every niche, but your audience connects with you more when you show your human side.

[AfteraDream]

Originally Posted by chrisgarrett

I think if you stick within the 80-20% rule, with the personal stuff in the 20%, you are usually ok with off topic personal stuff

BUT ...

What I try to do is relate the personal to the topic, so I use a personal anecdote and bring it back to be relevant to the theme at hand. Or use personal photographs to illustrate your articles.

Doesn't always work for every niche, but your audience connects with you more when you show your human side.

Yeah, probably the right percentage! I personally do less than that probably...

And yes, you need to make people have some fun and entertainment in your blog. This is my weak point I think.. I gotta work on that...

Thanx for comments

[AfteraDream]

Originally Posted by vgs7751

Lot's of great information. A lot I will use in my activities.

Glad it's useful for ya

[anitabrown]

Really good post. I totally agreed. It takes time time to build traffic and trust! once you have it! You have the whole world

[AfteraDream]

Originally Posted by anitabrown

Really good post. I totally agreed. It takes time time to build traffic and trust! once you have it! You have the whole world

Thanx!

If you build trust it's great BUT they trust you to provide free content that is good, convincing them to buy is even harder..