What differentiates a successful blogger from a regular, blog-as-you-go blogger? Passion, dedication and a few other effective habits. Does that leave you out? Not necessarily. You can learn these habits from them and put your name on the list of successful bloggers as well.
1. Knowing How And When To Monetize
Successful bloggers check out quality affiliate product sites, explore selling Ad space and do advanced research. They think first and foremost of monetizing, well aware that a blogger must earn in order to sustain their blog.
2. Knowing How To Build Communities
Successful bloggers know their success depends on building positive relationships with their readers, both on their blogs and on social media. They respond to comments, participate in conversations, follow their readers on Twitter, and help them when required.
3. Always Promoting Their Blog
Successful bloggers never skip an opportunity to promote their blogs. They do this through social media, through networking, by guest posting, promoting other blogs and product sites.
4. Thinking Independently
You cannot be a successful entrepreneur by depending on thought or direction from others. You have to totally rely on yourself for everything.
5. Being Self-disciplined
A blog takes time, hard work and discipline. That doesn’t mean you cannot have fun at all; however, you might have to sometimes pass up fun and prioritize your blog instead.
6. Being Self-confident
Successful bloggers know it doesn’t matter who else believes in you. The important thing is for you to believe in your ability to turn your blog into a success.
7. Managing Time Wisely
Divide your time amidst your tasks and learn to prioritize so that time is not wasted. Invest time where you get returns for yourself and your blogging community.
8. Being Organized
Organize everything; your thoughts, topics, blogging priorities, timelines, schedules and so on. Remember everything depends on you. An effective system in place is worth a hundred extra hands.
9. Ability To Work Hard
There’s no shortcut when it comes to blogging, as your blog is to be read and appreciated by people, not machines. Overnight success is impossible unless you have a fairy godmother smiling on you.
10. Ability To Think Analytically
Successful blogging is about strategizing every little move. Study your statistics; know which search engines your readers use to find you, what keywords they use. Analyze how to get the most traffic, which headlines get tweeted the most and what kinds of posts your audience prefers.
11. Managing Money Efficiently
Successful bloggers don’t invest in brand new machines, tools or offices while developing their blog. Focus on building wealth by hiking profits; don’t invest without sight of returns.
12. Maintaining Effective Communication
Successful bloggers are adept at expressing themselves, both verbally and through writing. They know and understand the value of time; theirs and that of their audience.
13. Knowing How To Recognize Opportunity
When opportunity knocks on their doors, successful bloggers know how to recognize and act on them promptly. When you see a need, try to fill it. You never know where that might take you.
14. Writing Prolifically
Great bloggers invest serious time into their blogs; planning posts, researching, writing and editing. This gives them the power to write posts on any topic on demand.
15. Being Concise
Great bloggers know that the secret behind getting repeat visitors is concise, precise content that is to the point, crisp and easy to digest.
16. Ability To Keep Learning
Don’t fool yourself into thinking that any learning you do for your blog will ease up once your blog is mature. Your wellspring of ideas can be kept refreshed only if you continually educate yourself.
17. Being Consistent
Successful bloggers maintain consistency. You can see this aspect in their posting schedule, in the relevance of their topics, their writing voice, and their value-add and so on.
18. Being Innovative And Creative
Successful bloggers can shape your thinking through their writing. They can be controversial, challenge you, motivate you, offer insightful yet resourceful content, persuade and compel. They upload content in many formats to keep you hooked; videos, eBooks, infographics, and podcasts.
19. Being Future-focused
Successful bloggers keep an eye out on the future; they watch out for new developments and changes that might affect their world. They watch out for products and tools that will make their life easier, or provide new scopes for revenue. They create master plans but are aware enough to adapt when needed.
20. Never Giving Up
Successful bloggers are persistent; they don’t give up, knowing very well that if they follow the success formula, success is never too far away.
21. Being Self-Starters
If you’re used to a 9 to 5 schedule and depend on a manager to guide you when you mess up, you probably won’t be a successful blogger. To be successful at blogging, you must be a self-starter and self-motivator; no one else will bother and your failure won’t affect anyone other than you.
Ronald is a conversion rate optimization blogger and specializing in writing about topics related to conversion rate and landing page optimization.
Wow! After reading this, I feel like I want to go and get it! 😀 For me being organized is the hardest thing, I hate clutter (not only the physical clutter) , but it seem to surround me anyways. This is something I really need to focus on. Thank you for the post!
Wow! After reading this, I feel like I just want to go and get it! 😀 For me being organized is the hardest thing, I hate clutter (not only the physical clutter) , but it seem to surround me anyways. This is something I really need to focus on. Thank you for the post!
Getting organized is definitely a challenge for me as well. It is something that I have been focusing on this year strongly, so I can accomplish more.
I would like to clear something, All these habits are what makes bloggers successful am I right? So they are all intertwined with one another? I mean if I want to be a successful blogger, I must learn all these things and possess them.
Ideally yes! Reality is that no one is perfect at everything. Focus on as much as you can and go from there. Sometimes working on one habit will take care of another.
My goodness, we are an awesome group aren’t we?! Wouldn’t want to scare any newbees off … it does take time to cultivate all of these wonderful habits 🙂
Marquita,
We definitely are an awesome group! Believe me, two years into blogging and four years into social networking and I still feel new everyday with all the amazing things I learn.
Andy
Hi Andy,
Wow what an article! One of my goals for 2012 is to improve my blog and this list is a fantastic guide to help me make many changes. I’m reaching the point where I am grasping the full concept of blogging. I think it will take more quite a bit of time and effort to reach the level of blogging I envision. You have certainly accomplished your 21 comments!
Thanks for an excellent, practical guide which I will use. I really would like to reach a higher caliber site, and I know I can do it if I apply these guidelines. Thank goodness I’m doing some of them already. If I had to choose the most important one, I would say #20 Never Give Up.
Raena Lynn
Raena,
That is great that you are fully grasping how blogging works. I completely agree with you that never give up is one of the most detrimental parts of blogging.
The moment you lose sight of it is when you forget how far you came.
Andy
Great stuff, you’ve really thought about these 21 points.
Thank you very much!
You have a good list. and I agree with it. I am really big on interaction and engagement. If you don’t work on building your community you make a huge mistake.
Thanks!
That is why I do my best to respond to 90% of all comments that come across my blog. I want to interact with people.
Andy
Thanks, these are some real helpful tips which I need to follow. I tried adding a blog to my business website, but I find that I don’t I have the time or I write 3 posts in one day, then nothing for 2 months. I definitely need to be more consistent.
Miranda,
Let me know if you need help with the content?
Andy