Creating a successful blog is much more than being a great writer and sharing a worthwhile message. New blogs are created each day. What makes your blog stand out from the crowd? Why should readers choose your blog over another in the industry?
There are all sorts of factors that go into making a successful and profitable blog. If you’re ready to jump into the world of blogging, here are seven factors that you’ll want to ensure your blog has so that you can maximize success.
1. Be Different
Each day millions of new pieces of content are posted to the web. In order for your blog posts to be seen, you need to figure out a unique niche that makes you stand out from the sea of endless blog posts. When coming up with a unique niche in your industry, make sure that there’s an interest in it. Just because you think a certain topic is interesting doesn’t mean that others do.
Conduct some research to see if there’s an audience out there that is asking questions that you can uniquely answer. Come up with inspiring blog ideas that provide fresh content. This way, you can write blog posts to market to those people versus just writing for yourself and what you think others are looking to learn.
2. Know the Value of Building Relationships
While all bloggers set out to get as many clicks as possible, creating a connection with a single reader is much more valuable than any number of clicks. When running a successful blog, you’ll realize that retention is much more important than an overabundance of new leads.
You can build lasting relationships with blog visitors by responding to comments and getting to know them. Now, you can even look for the best chat room software on the market so you can have long conversations with your visitors right there and then! Alongside allowing them to comment, this is a great way to build relationships with the people who are reading your blog on a daily basis. Show that you’re genuinely interested in interacting with your audience to achieve optimal success.
3. Post Content Regularly
The more often you post, the better. As a rule of thumb, try to post a blog at least once a week. It’s also important to stick to a content schedule. If you start off the first few weeks posting blogs on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings, stick with that schedule over the long term.
By posting consistently, your readers know when they can expect new content. A schedule also makes it easier for you to build a queue of articles so that you can automatically set when a new blog post should be published.
Knowing what to post and when to post it is also important. Your blog needs to follow the latest SEO practices so that it can be seen by the right people. If you’re unsure about how you can optimize your website for SEO, consider seeking help from professionals or consulting a guide. You could find one by searching like “websites seo for wordpress” or something similar.
4. Stay Active on Social Media
Don’t let running a blog cause your social media presence to fall to the wayside. If you want to get more traffic and interest around your blog, put your social media profiles to good use. For example, when you buy Instagram followers, you can use that purchase to get more views on your blog.
Each time you post a new blog post, create a post on each of your social media pages. This way, you can encourage your existing audience to check out your blog while also hoping that those people share the blog post with their own social media circle.
When sharing blog posts on social media, don’t just copy and paste your blog’s hyperlink. Come up with a sentence or two that entices people to want to click the link. You’ll also want to include a graphic that will pique even more interest.
5. Let Your Readers Contribute
Allowing active audience members to write posts for your blog is a great way to build relationships while also increasing readership. By allowing guests to submit their own blogs to publish, you give your readers a voice while also introducing new content to your blog.
You can let readers contribute by offering:
- Guest posts
- Q&A sessions
- Fan art
This all goes back to building relationships and putting a human face to your name. When your audience feels appreciated, they’re more likely to stick around.
6. Don’t Forget About Mobile Users
Each day millions of people access the web using their mobile phones. To ensure that everyone can read your blog, you need to create a site that is responsive. You can also choose to use a blogging platform that is compatible with mobile and smaller screen use.
Having a blog that doesn’t load on smaller screens can be detrimental. By accounting for all users, you can ensure that you provide a positive experience for each and every one of your users.
7. Be Passionate
Last but not least, be passionate about your blog. Love what you’re writing about. Be genuine when you respond to reader’s comments and questions. Readers know when a blog owner is passionate about their content. Show that your blog is more than just a money maker, and you’ll find that readers are much more likely to stick around.
Conclusion
Running a successful blog isn’t as simple as writing and publishing posts. There are a lot of different factors that determine how successful your blog will be. Keep these seven factors in mind to start out on the path to success.