8 Habits For An Effective Blogger

byHamish58

2.5K followers

Updated 5 years ago

Kia Ora, from New Zealand, friends and colleagues,

I am a newbie with only 75 days at WA and only 75 days as a wannabe serious commercial Blogger.

I was a freelance content writer for others for a few years before I came to WA so while I had a relatively well developed writing skill, I knew little about how to apply my writing to establishing and maintaining a commercial Blog.

Along with the basic skills training I have received here on the platform, I have done some personal research on what characteristics are associated with effective, successful, professional Bloggers.

I offer you today a distillation of what I found which is expressed as 8 Habits.

DISCLAIMER: having watched some of the chatter going on in the last few days In reference to ranking, expertise and advice given here on the WA Blogging platform, I just want to make it clear that in no way do I consider myself an expert in this realm. I simply share on here what I learn from a combination of experience, research as well as learnings from the WA training and discussions with other WA AMs. I do not subscribe to the view that my way is the right way, it is just my way. You should choose your own way and go with what works for you.

In saying that I hope that my musings below are of use to someone out there.........

1. Be Prolific

The first essential in becoming a successful blogger is to write as much as we can, in the the time that we might have available to us for writing.

Quite simply put, the more a Blogger writes, the better the writing becomes. The more posts added to our Blogs, the more attention they will attract from the search engines. Additional content attracts additional readers looking to find out what is new in our dynamic Blogs.

Prolific content is produced by nothing other than hard work! Establishing and maintaining a popular, authoratative, and ultimately successful commercial Blog, requires time and constant effort at the keyboard. Socialising at WA may help our ranking on this platform but it will not ultimately build or maintain a successful Blog, as some may have discovered to their cost. (Not saying don’t be involved in the great payforward philosophy that exists here but if we are truly here to build a business, then remember that our first loyalties are always to that business.)

Truly professional Bloggers will invest the lion’s share of their time in research, writing, editing, and planning the direction content and devlopment path of their Blogs..

2. Concise is Best

We hear in WA training, and elsewhere, in own research or discovery, that a Blogging audience is attracted to any site for a reason. This is usually in order to learn about something.

Readers just are not interested in padding, waffle and, irrelevant content, especially online. The most effective Bloggers will develop the skill of being quick to grab reader attention, hold on to it and provide easily digestible posts.

The posts that these experienced Bloggers write tend to be 1500 – 2500 words maximum. Copy is generally written in short, pithy, paragraphs. The use of bullet and numbered lists keeps readers attention without overwhelming them with needless detail. Headings and subheadings allow for scan reading so that the reader can get quickly to the most important information they are seeking.

Short and snappy is usually preferable to long and laboured, detail where possible can be linked, but not contained in the Blog post itself.

3. Being Analytical Adds Value

Effective Bloggers are widely read, knowledgable and aware, they make connections, they read other Bloggers, both directly, but also even vaguley, connected to their own niche.

If we get into our own information bubble we stand the risk of starving ourselves of the oxygen of knowledge and context. This also means we need to be tuned to our reading audience being sensitive to changes in their appetites, needs and wants.

Reader statistics, are key to understanding readers, including what sites, search engines, search terms and what countries are our readers connected with and to.

We need to have the knowledge about when we get most traffic, what posts are liked most by our audience, and which headlines are being tweeted most often.

Armed with this analysis we can be even more effective by tailoring factors like, timing, content, layout, and images to meet the contemporary or emerging trends in audience requirements.

4. Never Stop Learning

Anyone new to Blogging will be on an inevitable steep learning curve; I most certainly am and I have been a content writer for nearly a decade though not a Blogger in my own right until 75 days ago!

It would be wrong however to assume that things are going to get better when we have been Blogging for a while. Don’t assume that there will not be as much to learn. Or that the systems, and or, processes, that we might manage to put in place, will sort everything so that we might run like a well oiled machine LoL.

The truth is that the speed of change, of the information environment, and the platforms that we find ourselves working on, is so rapid these days, that we must stay both educated and informed, about our working environment. This will take a generous portion of the time available if we are to be truly effective and professional.

Keeping up means being prepared to constantly learn, ask questions, seek advice and do our own research. The good news is that constant learning is a proven beneficial activity for our mental and hoslitic health.

5. Consistent Focus Brings Authority

Choose a niche and have the faith and confidence to stay with it.

Write consistently about that niche subject, maintaining a recognisable and familiar writing voice and style. Really good Bloggers can even write about subjects that at first sight may appear off-topic, but they develop the talent that allows them to relate it back to the niche that they are pursuing for their reading audience.

A regular cadence reassures readers, it gives them a clear expectation. It matters less if we post three times a day or twice a week, what matters is predictability in cadence.

6. Plan Your Strategic Direction

We must know where we are heading; develop a personal vision. We need to have a strategic plan and follow it, measuring progress as we go. We will be called upon to adapt and we may deviate along the way but we should always aim to steer back towards that personal vision.

Paraphrasing Seth Godin’s book ‘Linchpin’, “Effective bloggers ship.” Essentially avoid getting derailed or distracted by the things that don’t really matter. We need to be centred and get our copy to production promptly and regularly.

7. Persistence and Patience Will Win!

Success will not, and does not, come overnight in the world of Blogging.

Time is plentiful regardless of whether we have a little or a lot! Speed does not matter, what matters is moving forward a little everyday. To be really successful takes absolute consistency, some hard work and serious learning, along with almost limitless persistence. Like Edison, in his search for the effective light bulb, those who wish to be successful bloggers just never surrender.

8. Self-starter Habits Are Essential!

I think that most of us, certainly those of us here at WA, all really enjoy the thought of working from home, working for ourselves, being in control of our own time, being our own boss. But for these things to really happen self management is absolutely essential, I would even go as far as to say crucial!

When you are self employed there is no one to set your goals, or your targets, or to measure your progress, or to gee you on when the going gets tough. You need strength of character if you are genuine about success as a Blogger. It is always useful to find a mentor to work with you.

Good ideas alone will not cut it. Ideas + Actions = Productivity = Potential SUCCESS

Good Evening

That's all I have for you this evening folks I hope that you are all safe and well in your place of abode as we continue to combat the scourge.

I wish you all a good evening from New Zealand

KIA KOA

KIA KHA

Hamish