Many people are expressing themselves (and possibly earning some money) through blogging these days. The great thing about blogging is that you can write about whatever you want and as long as there is a reasonably sized audience out there that is also interested in that subject you can gain a decent following. And the internet is a big place so there’s a good chance there are a decent amount of people who are also interested in your chosen topic.
To do well with blogging you really need to take it reasonably seriously. I would suggest you follow these tips to be successful in the world of blogging:
#1 – Get Your Own Domain/Web Hosting.
Sure you can go with a blogspot or wordpress.com address but I think if you are really going to be serious about blogging it’s very important to get your own domain and web hosting. That’s the only way to have total control over what happens on your site. Ultimately Blogger or wordpress.com can decide that they don’t like your blog and delete it for any reason they choose. Do you really want to give someone else the power to so easily delete all of your work?
And if you plan on making money with your blog then it’s even more essential that you use your own domain because Blogger and wordpress.com have rules over commercial use that may get in your way.
There are a number of good webhosts out there but I most strongly recommend HostMonster.com for both buying domains ($10/pop) and doing your web hosting. I’ve been using them for years with no problems.
#2 – Improve Your Writing
The best way to have a successful blog is to write well. I recommend treating your blogging as seriously as an author treats writing a novel. Read books about writing.
#3 – Blog Frequently
You don’t necessarily need to blog every single day but certainly in most cases the more often you blog the better. How frequently you have to blog may depend somewhat on the topic that you choose to blog about. Take a look at the popular blogs in your niche and see how often they update.
#4 – Become A Member Of Your “Community”
By this I most specifically mean commenting on other blogs in your niche. Obviously I do not mean to spam them, I’m talking about leaving on topic comments that have enough meat in them to make people interested in you (and your blog which you should include in your URL of course.)
#5 – Link Building
Depending on how serious you are about making money with your blog and how competitive your niche is you may want to get involved with link building for your site. In particular I recommend article marketing through services such as Unique Article Wizard, ArticleRanks, Article Marketing Automation, and Free Traffic System. Article marketing is really too big of a topic for me to cover in detail here so go to this “article marketing” page for more info.
#6 – Affiliate Programs
If you want to make money with your blog one great way to do so is with affiliate programs. Basically with affiliate programs you get paid a commission every time you refer someone who purchases something. To learn more about affiliate marketing go here.