Many People start their Blog with a Bang. Everything goes Great and Traffic starts coming in. Suddenly, they start sucking at Blogging! Their Content Sucks! Design Sucks! And, Ultimately the Traffic!

Hmm… Sounds dramatic but this can happen to your well-nurtured Blog too! So, How to NOT Suck at Blogging?

Don’t Post a Set of Links, because you don’t know what else to!

You have a Series of Drafts and Start Posting them one after another.  One fine day – you realise, there is nothing to Post.  You can’t think of anything, that’s worthy of posting.

Resist your temptation to post a Set of Links to News Items or Others’ Blog Posts.  Though an occasional shot at this might be useful, don’t make this a Habit.

Web is full of links, and nobody wants another bunch at their RSS Feed.

Don’t Blog (only) for Money!

A Blog full of Affiliate Links and Banners – makes you look desperate for Money.

Worse even, your Content might be lost among those links.

Avoid Excessive Affiliate Banners at any Cost!

Don’t Switch your Blog Niche, every Week!

Identify a Niche for your Blog and try (your best) to stick to it.  Though occasional Niche Switches are acceptable, depending on the Traffic and Popularity – frequent niche changes confuse the readers and sometimes you!

If you desperately want to switch the Niche – think through it and perform it in a systematic way.  Again, don’t do it every week!

Don’t Live with a Shabby Design

Though you may start with a Moderate Design, when your Blog is still naive and looking for Traffic – make sure to give it an uplift once the Blog grows.

A Shabby Design always sucks!  Grab a nice theme, Hire a Designer (if required) and make your Blog look good.

Though Shabby Design don’t affect the Traffic – it leaves an impression (many times, a bad one!) in the minds of your Readers.

Don’t Be Monotonous

Not all your Readers want to know, what you did the last weekend.  Neither all your Readers want to know, what you think about the Recent Elections.

Maintain a Healthy Type of Posts and keep writing across them.  Write a Tutorial, Give a Tip, Post a Review and if possible, Interview someone in your Niche.

Being Monotonous, is no less than Sucking!

That’s all I wanted to say.  So what do you think about Sucking at Blogging?  Let’s talk.

The recent celebrities in the Social Web, are the Professional Bloggers.  They blog for others and grow themselves in the process.  Are you longing to be one?  But do you know that professional blogging can be really dangerous?  Read on to identify, if you are ready to get into this dangerous world of Professional Blogging.

It can make you a Celebrity

Are you ready to take this?  If you get insanely successful in blogging, you could become an overnight Social Web Star.  People talk about you on Twitter, Facebook and the other social media tools.  Your readers will turn into ambassadors – actively marketing your ideas and products.  Your life might seem like magic – with too many responsibilities on your shoulders – as with any celebrity.  Are you game?

It can create an additional source of Income

This is an interesting by-product of Blogging.  Gradually but definitely some day, you will start making money out of blog.  It may be the Affiliate products, Advertisements or other kind of business that your blog can help you with.  You might even be tempted to give up your full-time job and get into full-time blogging.  Dangerous isn’t it?  Are you ready?

It can improve your Writing skills, to go on to become an Author!

A Serious Blogger to a best-selling Author is a natural progression.  You keep writing online chronicles and people start appreciating your writing skills.  You get overwhelmed and continue writing more great stuff.  Eventually you decide to author a book and it becomes a best-seller!  Awesome!  Have you ever thought about being nominated for the Pulitzer?

It can connect you with People across the Globe.  You might have a friend in Antarctica!

A Blog is the best of all the networking tools available, if used wisely.  If your blog isn’t so seriously Region focused, you will start attracting readers from across the globe.  Readers can vary from casual ones to prospective business clients.  You will start making friends with someone in Antarctica, which would never have been possible otherwise.  Can you take this?

It can make you feel happy because you are helping others

Write one authoritative blog post (more on authority in my next post) on a topic of your interest and you will immediately notice people start thanking you for the amazing content.  One example of an authoritative blog post is a seriously-researched-and-written-howto-tutorial.  When you see about 100+ people thanking you, as they got something useful from the post – you cannot help feeling happy.  Are you ready?

Disclaimer: Though all of these are possible outcomes of Professional Blogging, it can take an insanely longer time to reach there (depending on the niche).  But be ready to experience all these dangerous (!!) stuff that might follow your passion.  Persevere and you will succeed!

Photo Credit: antigone78

Every Professional Blogger out there – you and me – wants to make it big.  We are fascinated by the success of a few Bloggers like – Darren Rowse and Dave Risley. 

But do everyone of us understand that Blogging is a different ball game?  It is a totally different business, that requires varied capabilities and strategies.

Even with the right strategies in place, extreme success in Blogging can take ages.  But can we spot some common characteristics and habits among the successful Bloggers? Yes, and this post gives you just that.

1.  Focus on a Niche

Without the focus, a Blog can never scale up.  Let’s take the ProBlogger Blog by Darren Rowse for example.  Had he been mincing topics like Blogging, Design, Photography and Travel – the current success might not have been a reality.

So early in the lifecycle of your Blog – focus on a Niche of your choice.  Once chosen – never change the niche unless absolutely necessary.  You can focus on a set of related topics in a particular niche – but never mince, digress or switch the niche.

2.  Invest in your Blog Design

A Clean Blog Design is an essential criteria for every successful blog.  You will rarely find a shabbily designed Blog making it big – unless the content is extremely appealing. 

But nevertheless, a Clean Blog Design helps to – port a professional look and urge the user to come back again – which are the keys for success.

Invest some money and time in the following – Blog Design, Logo Design and Twitter Background – and that will certainly reap you benefits. 

3.  Interact with and Help your Readers

Caring for readers is an essential quality of a successful Blogger.  Some of the things you can do to help your readers are:

• Respond to readers’ comments on your Blog Posts
• Help readers with their queries
• If possible, go a step beyond to help them over emails
• Thank your readers for sharing or spreading good stuff from your Blog

Remember – readers help you make it big at the end of the day.

4.  Be Regular and deliver Quality Stuff

Another success habit behind professional bloggers is to be regular.  Create a mental schedule for your Blog Posts and follow it.  Even if it is just 2-3 posts per week – a schedule makes you treat Blogging as a Business and ultimately make it a success.

Some Bloggers, in an urge to be regular – tend to deliver stuff with low quality – like a post full of links or just an embedded video.  Though such an occasional post is acceptable – regularly posting such content can frustrate the readers.    You always have Twitter and other social media tools to share links/videos. 

Remember – In Blogging a Reader lost, is almost never regained.

5.  Network with other Bloggers in your Niche

A Blog is not an island.  It can never exist alone!  Identify and network with other Bloggers in your Niche.  Some ideas for networking are:

• Commenting on each others’ Blogs
• Promoting others’ content
• Guest Blogging
• …

Darren has a wonderful post on his Blog about Blogging Alliance.  This should give an heads up on networking with Bloggers.

Bonus Tip

There are 2 essential tips to start making money from your Blog – among other things:

• Use your Blog as a Platform – and start selling products and/or services.  This is an extremely profitable technique and can help boosting up your income stream 
• Never underestimate advertising on your Blog.  Advertise wisely and keep an eye on your Blog Traffic 

Persevere.  Success in Blogging never comes overnight.  Stick to your niche and retain your Ambitions.  You will make it big some day!  Happy Blogging!  Share your thoughts and experience – I would love to hear them.

Photo Credit: Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

There has been a flurry of eBooks around – but this promises to be a good one.  Beyond Blogging is an eBook featuring case studies on the Top 15 Bloggers in the world and their interviews, which promise to be extremely motivating. Some of the Prominent names in the list include – Darren Rowse, Brian Clark, Chris Guillebeau, Chris Brogan….

The eBook authored by two exciting guys – Nathan Hangen and Mike CJ – is already out for purchase.  An affiliate program is soon to launch – so sign up here and watch out for the updates in your Inbox.

Also an interesting Twitter Contest from Beyond Blogging is on and it just takes a bunch of tweets from you to participate.  So what are you waiting for?  Join the party and enjoy the happiness of reading and sharing, this holiday season.

Every wannabe Professional Blogger has this question.  How do I write more Blog Posts?  (Psss… a secret – with a Professional Blog the quality is more important than the quantity of posts!)

Simple!

• Read a lot
• Think about what you Read
• Plan the Blog Post – away from the computer
• Write about what others like, in what you Think about what you Read! (oops…)

Personal Blog is where you write, what you like.  But Professional Blogs are meant to write – what others like!

Dipper, the Blogger!

Here is a Blogger who writes a Blog Post every day – in and out!  Let’s see what he writes, by the way:

• How to increase your Twitter Followers?
• How to make more money with you Blog?
• Maximizing your Google Adsense Income in 30 days

Nobody wants magic here! Dipper definitely writes a lot – one post per day.  But is it worth the effort?  What do you think?

Dapper, the “Pro” Blogger!

Dapper writes thrice in a week.  He is not “desperate” to look like a regular blogger – but he is!  A peek at his blog:

• 10 ways to Integrate your Twitter Account with the Wordpress Blog
• Customizing the Navigation Bar in Thesis Theme for Wordpress

These are really helpful – even if it is for just one reader! They don’t make you shy away – definitely.

Lessons for us

• Never appear desperate to write more or to be regular!
• Write quality content that will help your readers
• Don’t write for Traffic!

So are you the Dipper or Dapper?

Awesome photo by: Chapendra

Every Blogger would agree with me, that it takes a longer time to write a Blog Post – than to get an idea on what to write.  Do you know there are some simple techniques that can help you write a Blog Post, almost at the speed of light?  Read on!

Don’t Meddle a lot with the Post Title

I agree that the Post Title is a very important aspect of a Blog Post.  But don’t meddle with it a lot, at the time of writing.  Choose a Draft Title, which can be modified once the post is complete.  This will help you concentrate on the content, than just the title.

Write a 5-line Summary, upfront

Just before starting the post, write a brief 5-line summary or abstract on what are the core ideas.  Focus on, what the post is all about and how will it help the readers.  This summary can not only go in as the Conclusion – but will also help you plan the post, in the right direction.

Choose the Sub Topics

I have reiterated this on some of my previous posts too.  Don’t start writing a post just with the main idea.  Come up with a list of sub-topics – possibly about 5-6 of them. These can eventually change or be removed when you write the post – but they always give the necessary lead that your writing needs!

Focus on the Content – not the Markup or Images

Using Blog Editors like Windows Live Writer, it is very easy to get digressed on the Markup & Styling of your posts – while leaving the content alone!  So don’t ever spend time on styling posts, when you write them. It can happen once you are done with your writing!

Also make sure not to focus too much on the grammar, the choice of sentences/words & Images, while you are writing.  These can wait till the end!

Use a Non-Obtrusive Editor

Try to use a non-obtrusive editor, while writing the content.  Consider using Plain Textpad or even the Darkroom Editor.  You can then port it to a Rich Editor like Windows Live Writer, for further editing.

So what do you think about these tips?  Do you have more such tips?  I would love to hear them.  Share as comments!

Photo Credit: dbdbrobot

Professional Blogging involves a lot more commitment and planning, when compared to casual blogging. So how to start your Professional Blogging journey with a Bang? This post will give you all the essentials.

What is Professional Blogging?

By Professional (or Pro) Blogging, I mean running a Blog that has a dedicated niche and targeted group of audience. Also such a Blog would eventually become a platform for selling related services, products and ultimately start making money.

Tip #1 : Choose your Brand Name wisely

Brand name will ultimately distinguish your Blog from the rest, in the same niche. So choose it wisely! Make the following checks before you decide on a Brand name for your Blog

• Does it communicate to a stranger what the Blog is all about?
• Is a Domain Name with the Brand name available? (.com, .net etc.) You can check this easily with http://whois.net/
• Do a simple Google Search for the Brand Name and take a while to analyze the results. Check if your Brand name is already taken and popular
• Check if your Brand name is available as username on Social media tools like Twitter, Facebook etc.

Choose a Brand name and be prepared to stick with it, till the lifetime of your Blog.

Tip #2 : Choose your Blogging Platform

There are numerous Blogging Platforms available, all outstanding in their own respects. Choose a platform that you are comfortable working with. If everything is new to you, I would strongly recommend to go for Wordpress. Sometime back Seth at Blogussion has written a wonderful post on How To Start A Blog: Blog Platform. Make sure you read this!

Tip #3 : Choose your Blog Host

Once you decide on the Blogging Platform, the next logical thing to do is to choose a reliable host for your Blog. This makes sure that the Blog is available at all times to all people, who might need it.  I read a nice post at Daily Blog Tips, on How to choose a Web host. This is a handy post to start with. If you are extremely serious at Blogging, be ready to spend some money on Web Hosting, to get quality solutions.

Tip #4 : Learn Basics of SEO

Though you may not be a techie and have enough money to hire the best-in-class SEO consultants, I would strongly recommend understanding the basics of SEO (Search Engine Optimization).  Experience shows much of Blog traffic and its revenues come from Search Engines. So it is imperative that your Blog behaves well with all popular Search Engines out there. Again, Web is never short of resources. These are some Blogs I strongly recommend to get started with SEO:

• Daily SEO Blog
• SEOmoz
• Matt Cutts

Tip #5 : Nail down the Design and Appearance of your Blog

I am sure you got hold of a Blogging Platform, that would eventually host your wonderful Blog. Now think about the Design and Appearance of your Blog. Also consider hiring a Web Designer who can do the job for you, provided the exact specifications.

If you know the basics of HTML, CSS and some PHP, I would recommend designing the Blog by yourself. Wordpress users are lucky to have a wonderful theme called Thesis, that has an unmatched level of customization. Contact me if you want to know more about Thesis.

Tip #6 : Resist your Temptation for Advertising and Affiliate Marketing

Many Bloggers start their Blog, with numerous advertising banners and empty slots for prospective merchants. Though some Blogs make the best of it, more often this strategy fails. A Blog stands for its Content and only Quality Content brings in money.

So at the inception, concentrate on the content. Have minimal advertising set up on the Blog but never spend too much time on it. Once your Blog becomes popular and starts attracting traffic, you will have enough time and the need to ramp up on advertising and affiliate marketing.

Tip #7 : Write some Pillar Content before making the Blog Public

I get pissed off when I see some Professional Blog with the default Wordpress "Hello World" post as the only content in it! Make sure you have at least 5 high-quality-and-ready-to-shoot posts that go Public along with your Blog. This will help your first time visitors guess what they can get from your Blog and start visiting often.

Tip #8 : Think about the Content Pushing Strategies

Popular Blogs never need to try hard, to push content to its readers. Because readers visit these Blogs often, to pull content. But the new Blogs must have strategies to push content to its (prospective) readers. Some of the common ways of doing it are:

• Setting up a Newsletter
• Sharing your Blog Posts on Social Media (Twitter etc.)
• Taking help from your Popular Friends to do some marketing for you
• Joining some Blog Communities and Networks like MyBlogLog, Blog Catalog etc.

Tip #9 : Write Often and Write Quality Content

This is the most essential step, that is sometimes forgotten among the other activities. Choose a Schedule for the Blog Posts and stick to it. Also make sure to write Quality Content, which will ultimately be the difference between the winner and the next one in the line.

Happy Blogging, keep visiting Thoughts Unlimited often for more such tips and share with us more success ideas from your side!

You have hard earned the readers for your Wonderful Blog.  Now the most important question comes up – How do you retain your readers?  How do you make sure that none of the readership is lost, during the course of your Blogging journey?

Follow these simple but useful techniques to make sure that your readership curve is always on the steeper side.  After all, readers are the sole purpose of your Blog’s existence, aren’t they?

Reach out to your Readers regularly

Make sure your readers don’t forget about your Blog.  It can easily happen that your Blog is lost among the million others writing similar stuff and providing similar services.  Reach out to your Readers at regular intervals.  Some of the common ways:

• Send Informative and useful Newsletters
• Tweet them personally for some new features and content on your Blog
• Visit their Blog and participate in discussions

Bring in Predictability to your Blog

People visit those Blogs often where they can expect certain regular trend of posts, on particular days (or) weeks.  For example, if you are writing Tutorial Posts on a particular topic every Sunday, then some readers might visit your Blog during these times.  Make it crystal clear on your Home Page about such Regular Featured Posts and stick to the schedule.

Write like a Pro

This is a must-have skill, that every blogger should strive to pick up as they write.  People love those writers, who write like a Pro on their chosen topic.  I don’t just refer to the language here – but also the writing style and the tone of the post.

Do a complete research of the topics and write with authority.  Such posts are always a hit!

Prefer Regular Readers for any Offers

If you are getting into the next level of Blogging, by marketing products and selling services using your Blog as a platform – make sure to treat your Regular Readers with a difference.  Provide them special offers and discounts! Don’t forget to let them know that such privilege comes from their readership and loyalty to your Blog.

Showcase their Participation in the Blog

Readers generally love the highlight!  Showcase the regular readers and participants of your Blog in some unique way that they appreciate.  Some ideas may be – having a Top Commentators section in your Blog or including your Readers Blog in your Blogroll.

These are some ideas to retain readership in your Blog.  Have more wonderful ideas – share them as comments to this post.  I would love them!

Photo Credit: moriza

Darren Rowse has indicated in some of his earlier blog posts, about the inception of a Forum for all Bloggers out there.  Result – Problogger Community is born!

Problogger Community is for Bloggers to join, participate, share, teach and learn everything about Blogging.  In my opinion, the primary advantages of participating in the community include:

• Listening to some wonderful ideas
• Taking part in discussions and learning all the way
• Gathering opinions
• Helping fellow Bloggers
• Networking with like minded folks
• Sharing the knowledge and teaching the good stuff

It is not FREE, but the subscription charge is too nominal for what you can expect out of it ($1.95/month and PayPal is accepted!)

I am there and what about you?  See you there soon (don’t be left out)!

P.S.: Feel free to add me to your Contacts list – thoughtsunlimited

Most of us start a Blog to express our views and to feel a sense of achievement on being popular.  But Blogging can lead to Side Effects (positive, of course), some of which you never might have expected.

Your Writing Skills improve like Magic

Blogging frequently will help you notice a substantial improvement in your writing skills.  You will start learning the art of organized writing, paraphrasing content and summarizing ideas.  You never know – might end up writing a “Best Seller” some day!

Develop a Network of like minded People

You know where I find the most of like minded people on the Social Web?  Not on Twitter or Facebook, but on the comments section of my Blog. Your Blog will ultimately be the channel to earn you the acquaintance of like minded folks and the prospective relationships there after.

New Business Opportunities

The content that you write and the information you share, exposes the innate talent and skills in you.  This has the harmful(!) benefit of some new Business opportunities knocking your door.  Especially good for freelancers and another reason why should they start a Blog.

Source of Passive Income

Once your Blog gets popular and has the necessary ingredients for money making, then it slowly turns out to be a source of Passive Income.  You write what you like and get good money in return.  Sounds ideal, isn’t it?

Brand Name Association

Your Blog Name (or Brand Name) becomes an identifier for yourself.  You are innately associated with the Brand Name and become inseparable!  So, if you start a Business with this Brand Name then marketing costs come down to earth!

There are many such hidden benefits that your Blog can bring you.  Anything missing?  No problems and that is why the comments section is for.