Have you ever met one of those people that seem to be so driven with their idea, but when it comes time to put in the effort the fizzle off and disappear.
All you have to do is a quick search of the blogosphere to get a glimpse of the amount of abandoned blogs that were once promising opportunities (some of them had 1,000′s of followers).
But it is not only the abandoned blogs that sadden me, it is also the mediocre ones.
Everyday I visit quite a few blogs that while still constantly updated – are really going nowhere.
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No one is visiting
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No one is commenting
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No one is building a quality email list
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No one is making any money
And that is why people give up on their blogs.
Not because they didn’t see the potential. Not because their blog didn’t have what it takes.
The reason bloggers abandon their blog’s is because they stopped putting in the effort.
When it all comes down to it, blogging isn’t hardwork!
Let me clarify that previous statement,
Blogging isn’t HARD WORK, it is just A LOT OF WORK!
When I started my blog, I made the decision that I would do whatever it takes to make my blog a success (and I preferred sooner rather than later).
Here are they three tips on how to make sure your blog succeed!
Focus On Quality Content…Lot’s Of It!
If you want a strong and growing blog community, then you need to be posting quality content.
Spammers and link builders will come to ordinary content – but quality traffic comes from quality content.
If you are looking to grow your blog quickly, then the more quality information that you create, the more likely you will be to havee a quickly growing list of traffic driving longtail key phrase – and more regular traffic.
While some bloggers have become successful only posting once a week, if you are posting every single day, then you are giving your visitors a reason to return to your blog regularly!
Focus On Promotion….Lot’s Of It!
Having a lot of quality is all good and well, but it’s still not really any point if no one knows about it.
Blog promotion comes in a variety of different ways. It could be through:
- Promoting Your Posts On Twitter (Follow @BuildThatListCo)
- Have Social Media Buttons Ready (I Recommend The Sexy Bookmarks Plugin)
- Article Marketing (Re-write you articles and submit the to Article Directories)
- Make Use Of CommentLuv Blogs (Comment on blogs that use the CommentLuv Plugin)
All I want to add to promotion is, the more the better!
If you are getting a certain amount of traffic from your current efforts in promotion, imagine what the increase would be if you made an effort to double your promotion efforts?
Focus On Networking…Lot’s Of It!
Your network is your support group. I recently talked about what a network is, and why you need to have one, in my recent guest post on TheInfopreneur.
Your network are the bloggers that are heading in the same direction as you and where you are all working together to help grow each other.
Let’s take a closer look at a few tips on how to create a strong network:
- Meet A Heap Of New Bloggers
The more bloggers you meet the more likely you are to find those that are heading in the same direction as you. - Start Promoting Other People
If you start promoting other bloggers posts by linking to their posts, Re-Tweeting, stumbling, Digging. This will start to get their attention and allow you to start building relationships. - Collaborate With Other Bloggers
Start working on ways that you can work together to benefit each others blogs. This could be guest posting, a joint competition, a blog series between blogs.
So start networking with your fellow bloggers today and you will quickly start seeing the rewards!
Is Your Blog Dying?
Using the points above, take some time to analyse the health of your blog. Is there areas that you could improve on?
I’d appreciate if you would share your thoughts on quality content, promotion and networking both for your blog and in general. So please comment below!
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{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }
Awesome points Tom. This blog has quickly grown so its great seeing your work paying off. Thanks!
Alex Monroe´s last blog ..How long do you see yourself doing it?
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Tom Reply:
February 23rd, 2010 at 6:38 am
Thanks! I have been putting quite a lot of effort into it, and while happy with where I am at the moment I am definitely aiming a lot higher!
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Great thoughts here Tom! I agree with all of your points.
Here are my thoughts on them:
1. I do my best to make sure that every post is as good as I can make it. I try not to post just for the sake of posting. Also, I find that if I am able to post two quality posts in one day that my traffic significantly increases. This is usually only possible for me to do a few times a week but it definitely pays off.
2. I find that there is a fine line in promotion. At a certain point you just become noise and people start ignoring what you are promoting. Also, you can be deemed a spammer if you are not careful. That being said, I usually tweet my posts around 5 or so times a day. My biggest traffic has come from my contacts on Facebook. These are mostly people that I know or have developed ties with. Twitter is second for me.
3. I love networking (or as I like to call it building community:) This helps build genuine connections rather than just random clicks. The successful blogs that I read and have seen have a very strong sense of community. These are tons of comments between the blogger and readers and between readers and readers.
Kevin M.´s last blog ..3 things bloggers should learn from Shaun White
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Tom Reply:
February 23rd, 2010 at 6:39 am
I agree about promotion. There are quite a few people I follow on Twitter that seriously block my Twitter stream with their blog promotion. I am still trying to find the balance myself!
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Hey Tom,
I have to agree with the points being made here. One thing I personally need to work on is posting more. I only average about 3 posts a week. Something I want to do is start posting one to two times a day. Posting will bring more traffic and more repeat visitors.
On the promotion side of things, guest posting, blog commenting, and social media are a must. I find that promoting will take up most of your time. If you spend half an hour writing a post you will probably spend one hour or more (much more sometimes) promoting it.
Also, I find helping other bloggers by retweeting their posts, and submitting them to social bookmarking sites – as well as being active by commenting really helps. A person who comments on your blog will most likely receive comment love back from the author.
Just my .02 cents.
-Paul
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Tom Reply:
February 23rd, 2010 at 6:40 am
I know what you mean. Trying to post more frequently is just a mindset thing. I used to struggle to get 2 posts out a week, but once I made the decision in my mind, I realised that I pushed out over 6 articles from Saturday to Monday! (that was including guest posts and for my other blogs!)
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Great post Tom. It’s important to build your content first before promoting your blog, so that your redirected traffic will has enough content to stay there.
Jack@Aweber Email Provider´s last undefined ..Response cached until Wed 24 @ 7:34 GMT (Refreshes in 23.94 Hours)
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Tom Reply:
February 23rd, 2010 at 6:41 am
That is true too! I usually just start writing and promoting, but if you have a good set of quality content, you will dramatically decrease your bounce rate.
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Oops and my last post was telling my readers how blogging is a hard work (and not a lot of work lol) but I got what you mean
I think seeing traffic analytics figure helps as well. It helps you in knowing that someone at least read your posts somehow
Michael Aulia´s last blog ..Why becoming a product reviewer is not as easy as you thought – Part 1
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Tom Reply:
February 23rd, 2010 at 6:41 am
Haha! I know cause I commented on it. But to be fair on you, you were making a completely different and valid point!
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Tom – Great post. Blogging is certainly a lot of work and I appreciate having excellent guides like you around to help me along the way. I’m really enjoying finding likeminded bloggers out there to collaborate with and build together. I think that hard work shared feels like fun.
Phil
Phil – Less Ordinary Lliving´s last blog ..Friends – Will they Really be There for you?
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Tom Reply:
February 23rd, 2010 at 6:43 am
Thanks Phil! Networking is what makes blogging fun. The people I have met, even just over the last couple of months has been fantastic!
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Tom, a great post with some very useful tips for improving blogs and increasing your readership. I appreciate you sharing this information. I’ll certainly look into implementing some of the tips.
Regards
Paul
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Great post, Tom. Blogging is hard work, indeed. Or maybe not so hard, but definitely takes quite some dedication and time, which may not be obvious when you start a blog, but that’s a reason why we get those dead blogs over time. Tweeted and stumbled
Marko´s last blog ..What it Takes to Start a Successful Blog
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1. I try my best to post something new at least 5 days out of 7. That’s hard to do sometimes, but I try to stay organized and stay a day or two ahead of schedule if I can. Some days I’m more inspired than others so it’s touch and go.
2. I do my best to allow my personality and share my life experiences – I might not be able to outshine some writers with their big ideas, but I can at least engage people by showing them that I am a real person who is talking “to” them and not “at” them.
3. I promote on Twitter, Facebook, BlogEngage and I try to network – leaving authentic comments on well ranking sites is probably my biggest referral traffic source.
This is probably a rehash of what you’ve already said here, but that just goes to show that it works.
Kiesha @ WeBlogBetter´s last blog ..Original blog content vs. original ideas
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Tom Reply:
February 24th, 2010 at 5:43 am
I think that you do a great job in letting your personality shine through your posts and I am glad because that is what makes your posts so engaging to read!
Comments are actually my biggest traffic stream as well!
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Great simple points! I don’t know how my blog is but if you see the visitors and comments you will definitely say it is dying and is worse!
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great points Tom,collaborations and connecting with other bloggers is a great way to grow…i still need to work a lot of promoting my content..will be sending you an email soon…cheerz
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Tom Reply:
February 24th, 2010 at 5:39 am
Looking forward to your email!
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I dislike blogs that do not allow comments. Just recently Michel Fortin put out an experiment on his blog and disabled all comments – which I think is a big mistake, regardless his arguments, which most are from his “selfish” point of view…
What do you say about that?
Codrut Turcanu´s last blog ..AWeber VS GetResponse [Which One Is Better and Why]
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Tom Reply:
February 24th, 2010 at 5:41 am
I think that is crazy! Just like Seth Godin. I feel that the main reason for a blog is to share an idea and generate discussion. By removing the means you are removing the discussion. I think comments are a vital part of a blog and something I would never take away on a personal blog.
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yes, some say that they want to take the discussion from their blog to other mediums such as on other web 2.0 sites, where more people could comment on the post, but that kind of sounds insane… comments should never be disabled regardless you get spam, or too many comments
I also recall Leo Babuta @ ZenHabits.net also removed comments from his blog awhile ago.
P.S. A blog with no option to comment is almost dead in my opinion… there’s no author/reader interaction. No feedback. No way to find what readers want…
Codrut Turcanu I List Building Tips´s last blog ..AWeber VS GetResponse [Which One Is Better and Why]
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Tom Reply:
February 24th, 2010 at 6:02 am
I couldn’t agree more! I have seen some people disable comments to try and transfer the interaction to their forums, but even then I don’t think it has the same effect, because the thing that makes comments so effective is that they are right there with the content they are referring too.
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I saw your blog has grown up. Nice effort. Nice to know a guy like you too. Passion is the important thing no matter lot or hard work we do.
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Yea it is growing quite nicely at the moment. Now I am just focusing on continuing the growth. Passion is integral!
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wow, Thanks for the great advice! I want to Use comment luv but I’m afraid it will hurt my SEO. anyways, I’ll follow your advice and meet new bloggers.
elie palima@make money online´s last blog ..How to Start a Blog and Make Money – Coaching Videos
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Tom Reply:
February 24th, 2010 at 8:23 pm
CommentLuv will not do anything to your SEO unless you start using Do-Follow. But even then I wouldn’t worry too much. I am ranking well for some of my posts and I have Do-Follow, CommentLuv, AND KeywordLuv!
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How long have you been blogging and what made you start?
I think the reason these articles scare me is because I have a different aim. I’ve been blogging for just about a year now – consistently for about 7 months. I started blogging just to improve my writing skills. Being on Twitter and involved with social networking has pulled me in deeper than I expected to go. Because I have taken a strong liking to the interaction with other bloggers, I will do what I can not to have my blog flat line.
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Tom Reply:
February 24th, 2010 at 8:25 pm
I have been blogging here for almost two months now. But I have had successful blogs previously. I’ve been blogging for about 3 or so years now.
The fact that you started to improve yourself is great, because you are blogging about something that you are passionate about! Just keep networking and writing and I am sure you blog will grow really nicely!
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Kissie Reply:
February 24th, 2010 at 9:42 pm
Three years ago? Wow! You didn’t mention what made you start blogging.
Kissie´s last blog ..Heart of a Child
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Tom Reply:
February 24th, 2010 at 10:23 pm
I really started blogging just to journal my journey into the world of internet marketing. And the blogger that in a way convinced me to start blogging (because of his content) was Yaro Starak. My latest post may give you little more information:
http://www.buildthatlist.com/internet-marketing/f-o-c-u-s/
Great post, Tom!
You covered this really nicely and I could not agree more. Blogging is a lot of work but so is a regular job. If you want anything to grow and become something, a lot of effort will have to be invested.
This is a good read, man.
Jimi Jones´s last blog ..How To Beat Procrastination
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Tom Reply:
February 28th, 2010 at 5:39 am
I love how you relate it back to a regular job, because if you want to succeed then you have to treat your blog like a business!
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I’ve decided to eject more life into my blog by following some of the very steps you’ve mentioned above. I realized that I wasn’t doing my readership any justice by allowing my blog to lie in the trenches. I think that any blogger who wishes to succeed needs to find a balance between your “paying job” or (9 to 5) and building your blog at the same time.
Flippa Chick´s last blog ..Case Study #1: Turning Bronze Into Gold with an Underutilized Niche Website
[Reply]
Tom Reply:
February 28th, 2010 at 5:40 am
Balance is definitely important. You are getting paid for your regular job so when you are at work your mind should be in your job, but when you are home make the most of your time and grow that blog!
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Another great post! I truly enjoy reading your articles and am using the tips you provide to make my own site better.
Tina´s last blog ..You Might Need a Secret Decoder Ring to Log on to Future Macs
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Tom Reply:
February 28th, 2010 at 5:41 am
Thanks Tina! I am glad to hear that you are able to get something from my articles
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Blogs are like cute little puppies. They start off as these wide-eyed, adorable balls of cuteness that we can’t help but devote crazy amounts of time into.
… Then they grow into an adult dog who constantly chews stuff, eats out of the garbage, farts in front of company, incurs vet bills… Suddenly the cuteness wears off. Which is sadly why animal shelters are full of adult dogs, and the Internet is full of abandoned blogs.
BTW, nice site you’ve got here. Just found it today, really like your concept of helping people build lists. I’ve built them for clients, but never for myself; I might just grab a cup of coffee and sit down for some hardcore reading!
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Tom Reply:
March 3rd, 2010 at 5:19 pm
Great analogy and it is so true! Glad that you found me and I hope I inspire you to start building your own list.
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Hey Tom,
Great Post, i really like your writing style.
My new blog is just about a week old now and I think networking with other bloggers and contributing to their sites is a great way to get things rolling and I also realize that promoting new posts via twitter does attract some readers.
What do you think about submitting articles over the web via a site like ezine articles? Should bloggers submit the exact posts from their sites or should they be rewritten before posting on ezine to prevent duplication?
Sam’s Web Guide´s last blog ..Alexa Traffic Rankings Inaccurate – Room for Improvement
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Hey Sam! Great to see you hear and I am glad you are liking what you are reading.
In regards to Ezine Articles, this is something that I will be targeting in just part of my upcoming ecourse – but my opinion is that you should always try to rewrite from your blog post.
But when it comes to multple Article directories, I will sometimes submit the same article to about 3-4 directories, before rewriting again for about 3-4 directories. (I will be looking into article rewriting software shortly).
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Thanks Tom,
I’m looking forward to the article rewriting software.
Sam’s Web Guide – Web Tutorials & Tech News´s last blog ..Alexa Traffic Rankings Inaccurate – Room for Improvement
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Tom Reply:
March 3rd, 2010 at 5:46 pm
There is a product that I have been meaning to purchase and test, so I might buy it after I launch my e-course, and obviously reviews would follow!
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One of the reason a blog dies is been penalized by google decreasen the visits . I have one that was from 1,000 visits daily to 98. I spend 3 month with that traffic. I just leave the blog, and let it die.
ARQUIGRAFICO´s last blog ..El arco en la Construccion.
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