BluePop13

I was just over at Site Sketch 101 reading about how to blog as a newbie which is a guest post from Jen Smith about some things that are important when writing and maintaining a good blog. She hit a lot of good key points and something came to mind while reading what she had to write: passion. Do you have it and how do you know if you do?

Love To Write

I write about what’s going on in my life or at least that’s what I started writing when I first started my blog. I won’t go into detail there… Some of it wasn’t pretty and I’d rather not remember or go back to those times… Extremely hurtful.

I like to write though. I like writing about what I learn and sharing it with other people who are also interested in what I write about. I don’t have a niche and that’s fine with me. I talk about blogging and success and whatever is on my mind at the time. I do know the importance of finding a niche and talking about that in order to really create something great with my blog. Bottom line though, I love to write in general and it’s what keeps me going.

Content Flows In Like Waves

I do have writer’s blog sometimes but life experiences and just feeling calm once in a while and taking things slowly helps content flow in easily. Sometimes I even have so much info flowing into my brain that I feel like I couldn’t type it fast enough let alone write it on paper. Who can honestly type slower than writing things down anyway?

When content keeps flowing in and one of those days just happens to be great where you can think of a bazillion things to write about, figure something out and get those ideas out some how. They’ll help for later on.

There’s Never Enough Time

Even with great ideas coming in sometimes it doesn’t feel like there’s enough time in the day to get all those out and some ideas are then lost. They may return but you won’t know unless you had some way to remember what that idea was that you previously lost. Use your time wisely and try to get everything you can down if it’s important enough. There’s no time like the now.

Money… What’s That?

When you’re passionate about it you just won’t care if you make money or not. Sure it’d be nice to make money with what you love writing and doing but you won’t get burned out and get frustrated as much (or at all) if you truly love what you’re talking about or doing. Money will come when things are ready and for now you just love to write.

Butterflies And Maybe A Dollar

When you write, sometimes you may get butterflies because of how great something you wrote turned out. It’s a wonderful feeling I think every blogger has at some point or another. It’s enough to make you want to make money because you feel you could easily do it for the rest of your life but if you never make money you just don’t mind either.

Forever…?

Things change and you may not be a blogger for the rest of your life. You may never live off your blog or you may be able to by tomorrow, depending on how far along your blog is. Either way, are you crazy enough about your content to do what you’re doing for as long as you can dream and imagine doing this?

What are you passionate about that you could just do and keep learning more about in order to get out there and share your love for your topic with the world?

Today I was at a friend’s house and we were in the back behind his garage building a small fire on some wood he had chopped up. It was safe and it was also a fun time as we don’t see each other too often any more. Building that small fire reminded me of building up a blog.

Here’s how:

Think Big

We just wanted a small fire so ‘think big’ isn’t relevant in this case. However, we still wanted a fire and wanted to keep warm so we didn’t just want to barely see the damn thing… We wanted something pretty good. This led us to what kind of material we needed to get the end results we were looking for.

With your blog you need to be doing the same thing. How big do you want to go? What do you want to be able to do with your blog and more importantly what do you want your blog to be able to do for you? You’ve got to come up with something. I’m not going to lie, I’m not too great at this part myself. It’s hard for me to think of bigger and better in a lot of situations for some reason. Do I give up though? Hell no!

Gather The Right Material

After figuring out what kind of fire we wanted to build we needed to gather the right material for the job to get done correctly. I started gathering bark and my friend explained that bark doesn’t burn too well and if we wanted this thing up and going as we’d planned we needed to just use some very small pieces of chopped up wood and scraps we had lying around. I didn’t know that so I learned something new. At the same time, I was then able to help him gather the right material.

With your blog you must also use the right material. Make sure you are always giving your readers good and useful information. Make sure you keep it coming on a regular basis and at least let them know when you’re not going to be around for a while and give an approximate time line too. It’s better to do this than to just quit blogging and then come back as that = readers lost!

Use The Right Tools

When we first started building this fire of ours we poured some lighter fluid (I think it was lol) on the scraps and wood and tried getting it started. I soon discovered that it doesn’t just burst into flames by doing this but after it catches on it does take off a bit. My friend went ahead and poured on some motor oil (again, I think it was) and the stuff sizzled and kept things burning much longer.

You need to have the right tools to make the job work for you. This in a way is kind of like having your money work for you instead of “just” working for your money. Use WordPress or whatever blogging platform you like. Everyone uses WordPress because it’s just damn good. Don’t feel like going with the crowd then that’s fine but look at results and just check it out anyway. Use good hosting and buy a good domain name. This all adds up over time given you got what you need.

Also on this one, plugins come in extremely handy so make sure you have plugins that are going to very much help you out.

Take Action

This one might as well be a dead horse but it can’t be because it’s the end all of what brings about those results you’re looking for.

We just gathered everything, laid it as we wanted it and just did it. And we kept doing it and it worked and we had fun. What more can I say…? It was a great time!

With your blog you just need to start writing articles about something you know and love. Forget making any damn money just yet. I’m not yet and look at how many I have. Hell, I have yet to get a mailing list and I’m still blogging and even changing up my topics from time to time as you can tell reading some past posts. So just get out there and do something, anything, maybe even something you don’t like. You’re never going to know if you like it if you just think about it and don’t do it!

Improve As You Go

As the fire kept going we kept adding bigger pieces of wood to it and kept helping it out with motor oil and just stood there chatting and having a good time. We watched it and made sure it got to the point we were looking for. Always helpful to keep at it and improve until you get the desired results you’re looking for.

With your blog, figure out what works and what doesn’t work. Look at others and watch what they do. Don’t just copy them but do something similar and then monitor your own results. Keep going and keep improving. My blog may not work like your blog will. That’s why you have to change things up a bit. Again with the dead horse, take action, and it’s not dead because it’s what everything just comes down to. Period.

Monitor Your Results

As we did something about the fire and the wood and the material we used and we kept improving as we went we had to monitor what was happening and make sure things were going as planned. They were and the improvements helped.

With your blog you need to know where you’re at at all times, or at least most times. Keep checking things out and as you improve take notice of what happened and then keep track of that. This is the only way you’re really going to know where you’ve come from and where you’re going. This is huge in showing how you’ve improved and explaining your results to people who may not believe what you say about how to do it. Prove it, show the results you have because you took the time to get them. They’re so worth it!

Think For Next Time

We didn’t talk about what we were going to do for the next time we got together or even for next fire. We probably will build a fire and maybe even a bigger fire somewhere a bit safer and with better material and more time. Who knows.

With your blog, if you mess up or even if an idea failed just dust yourself off and go for it again. Learn from your mistakes and keep at it for the next round. You’re never going to learn unless there’s a next time. And if you don’t mess up (pretty unlikely) then congratulations!

So, what does everyone think?

I started this last month (January) with the intention of everyone helping everyone by sharing their top 10 favorite blogs and why. A very simple concept that I believe will go far and we can all recognise a bit more about each other as well as discover new people all at the same time. What is this all about and what do you have to do to join exactly? I’m glad you asked! All you have to do is send me your top 10 favorite blogs and what you like about each one by the 25th of each month. I will then post your name and your blog including your top 10 favorite blogs and we will hopefully build a fast growing community of people from all walks of life engaging in this activity to support and help each other. And yes I will of course include my own list every month as well. If you’re not on my list one month don’t feel bad. This is a top 10 list each month for a reason and the list from everyone will probably change as months go by. This is just something fun… Nothing to be taken hard feelings to. Here it is… Enjoy!

Heather from ShadesOfADream.com/Blog’s List:

1. http://www.theinfopreneur.net

Where to start… This guy is the main reason my blog’s already up and running before the rest of my site. I go by every day, sometimes several times a day to comment, and he’s been a huge inspiration for me.

2. http://www.workawesome.com

Makes me think with every new post, full of common sense and practical ways to rock, at work.

3. http://www.zenhabits.net

Leo talks about a whole host of things to simplify and therefore improve your life. Always look forward to them appearing in my reader.

4. http://cg.tutsplus.com

My favourite 3D tutorial feed, so many amazing and creative things there it’s unreal.

5. http://www.smartpassiveincome.com

Pat’s approach is really down to earth, and shows that he honestly cares about his family and non-blogging life while still knowing what he’s talking about.

6. Seth Godin (Please Google him… If I put the link to his site on here as I tried doing like all the rest, an error comes up on my blog and I’m not sure why. Sorry about any inconvenience.)

What can I say? He’s Seth.

7. http://www.freelanceswitch.com

Favourite Freelancing blog, full of ultra useful tips that are important, but maybe not covered as well elsewhere.

8. http://www.6aliens.com

Fairly new addition, but it’s quickly become one of my favourite feeds; lots of good advice and interesting things to think about.

9. http://www.ameaningfulexistence.com

Just For Today Challenge. Really useful, and she’s a lovely person; I enjoy commenting there.

10. http://blogussion.com

Like most of the others; inspirational and useful, the attitude of the writers often makes me smile too.

Barb Dorsett from GetBlogsDone.com’s List:

1. http://www.stevepavlina.com

a personal development blog which encourages me to get out of my comfort zone all the time, in order to grow and change for the better. He inspires me more than anyone else. And he has the best forum community out there for personal development. I’ve made some good connections and friends there!

2. http://www.problogger.net

the most excellent advice and training ground for newbie bloggers like me, with Darren Rowse’s down-to-earth and sometimes humorous personality thrown in. I have learned so much from him in such a short time! And I love his Aussie accent that you can hear in his videos!

3. http://www.dailyblogtips.com

Lots of great little tips and tricks for bloggers to try out…plus, I credit Daniel Scocco (blog owner) with alerting me to internet marketing genius Eben Pagan’s Ignition Program, which is changing my life!

4. http://www.davidrisley.com

a 6-figure blogger who really helps put together internet marketing with blogging and is very approachable for those who want to become successful with his help. He’ll be the one I rely on most this year to bring my blogging to the next level!

5. http://www.zenhabits.net

a wonderful personal development blog by Leo Babauta which helps me learn to do less and more efficiently with great articles that make me really think about things in life that really count the most.

6. http://www.lifeoptimizer.org

a personal development blog by Donald Latumahina which gives me the most motivation and inspiration when I need it. Easy, clear reading, and good resources lists.

7. http://www.entrepreneurs-journey.com

Yaro Starak’s blog about becoming an online entrepreneur, filled with his experiences and insights, and HIGHLY educational. He offers online courses, and now private coaching for a select few who are dead serious about becoming really successful online. Very thought-provoking posts which call me to action every time. And his sometimes “crazy” hair just adds to his appeal!

8. http://www.websites-in-a-weekend.net

David Doolin’s (“Dr. Wordpress”)blog which can teach you how to put up a fully functioning self-hosted Wordpress blog in a weekend. Pretty cool stuff which has helped me through some technical nightmares…and he’s f’in funny, too!

9. http://www.viperchill.com

This blog centers around viral marketing online and shows you nice little “secrets” to getting your business or blog circulated out there on the web. When I’m ready to really market my blog, I’m listening to HIM! The owner, Glen, is just 20 and makes his living online while traveling the world, already making 5 figures, and has attracted attention from the likes of companies like Nissan, Land Rover, and Hewlett-Packard. Keep your eye on this one–he’s gonna do great things!

10. http://postsecret.blogspot.com

a picture-blog where people send in their darkest secrets on postcards anonymously for the world to see. The value is gives me is to see some of the problems people face that I wasn’t even aware of. I may get some ideas for articles to write in the future on another one of my blogs about relationships and personal development because of this blog. It’s interesting, entertaining, and thought-provoking…

Phil Starn from PhilStarn.com’s List:

1. http://www.copyblogger.com

How to write an effective copy. Even if I’m not into selling and marketing, following this blog helps be write better blog posts.

2. http://www.menwithpens.ca

Writing tips for freelance writers. Again, I’m not a freelancer but the writing tips are worth it!

3. http://www.problogger.net

Needs no introduction! I’ve been following it for five years, although I have only been blogging on and off during that time.

4. http://www.waiterrant.net

Steve was a waiter in NYC for many years and wrote a book about it. His blog is filled with good writing and interesting stories.

5. http://www.davecheong.com

Dave Cheong has been quite busy this year, but each one of his posts is a little gem.

6. http://www.stevepavlina.com

Steve’s views on personal development are sometimes unconventional yet very inspiring.

7. http://www.dragosroua.com

Dragos’ personal development blog is now famous for its huge list posts

8. http://www.smartpassiveincome.com

I like Pat Flynn’s advices about passive income and his transparency. I could look at his income reports all day!

9. http://www.writeinmyjournal.com

David meets strangers in the street and asks them to write a little something in his journal.

10. http://tynan.net

Tynan wants to make his life as interesting as possible, and succeeds beyond expectations.

James from TheInfoPreneur.net’s List:

1. http://www.bloggerillustrated.com

Allyn is the man, little brash and not for everyone, but this guy makes coin!

2. http://www.6aliens.com

Ben is the nicest guy in the world, amazing writer.

3. http://www.donpower.me

Don is the kind of guy who will go far.

4. http://www.davidrisley.com

Dave has given me a lot of time recently without asking anything in return, great bloke

5. http://www.giveabrick.com

Eleanor is such a nice woman, she really does get there and give something back

6. http://www.escapingthe9to5.com

Maren is probably (in my eyes) the one to watch this year, fantastic information and one hell of a business mind.

7. http://www.kellydiels.com

Has a regular slot at problogger, amazing talent and actually a very fun read.

8. http://www.wassupblog.com

Sire is the man, he doesn’t mince his words and tells it straight to anyone!

9. http://www.extremejohn.com

I have guest posted for John, fantastic bloke and well worth a visit, awesome stuff.

10. http://www.travisamorgan.com

Travis is a great guy who wears his heart on his sleeve, awesome read.

Ben from 6Aliens.com’s List:

1. http://www.zenhabits.net

it start me off blogging all those years ago.

2. http://www.theinfopreneur.net

3. http://www.steveyoungs.com

4. http://www.giveabrick.com

5. http://www.reachourdreams.com

6. http://www.adifferentkindofwork.com

7. http://www.wakeupcloud.com

8. http://www.writetodone.com

9. http://www.ameaningfulexistence.com

10. http://www.lifehacker.com

Steven from TheEmotionMachine.com’s List:

1. http://www.dragosroua.com

personal development + productivity

2. http://www.realitysandwich.com

spirituality, philosophy, and activism

3. http://www.sharpbrains.com

psychology, science, self-improvement

4. http://www.heartofbusiness.com

business, philosophy

5. http://www.theemotionmachine.com

my blog: personal development, philosophy, psychology, spirituality

Matthew Needham from BigRedTomatoCompany.co.uk’s List:

1. http://www.giveabrick.com

2. http://www.problogger.net

3. http://www.theinfopreneur.net

4. http://www.6aliens.com

5. http://www.chrisguillebeau.com

6. http://www.ameaningfulexistence.com

7. http://www.menwithpens.ca

8. http://www.ittybiz.com

9. http://www.escapingthe9to5.com

10. http://www.copyblogger.com

Karilee from BootStrapBlogger.com’s List:

1. http://www.Ittybiz.com

Naomi Dunford’s blog

2. Pete Michaud’s Blog

3. Remarkablogger

Michael Martine’s blog

4. Heart of Business

Mark Silver’s blog

5. Problogger

Darren Rowse’s blog

6. Copyblogger

Brian Clark’s blog

7. The Art of Non-Conformity

Chris Guillebeau’s blog

8. Extreme John

9. Website in a Weekend

Dave Doolin’s blog

10. Seth Godin’s Blog (Again, please google for Seth Godin… Sorry!)

11. Steve Pavlina’s blog

12. Men With Pens

Anne from AnnOnLife.com’s List:

1. http://www.extremejohn.com

2. http://www.heatherkephart.com

3. http://www.iamamoneymagnet.com

4. http://www.sheddingit.com

5. http://rosedesrochers.todays-woman.net

6. http://www.wassupblog.com

7. http://www.jahangiri.us/news

8. http://www.iheartcvs.com & others of similar content by Erica

9. http://www.lifestyledesignforyou.com – new one on my list

10 http://www.website-in-a-weekend.net

Thomas from InteractOne.com’s List:

1) http://www.shimonsandler.com/

2) http://www.theregister.co.uk/

3) http://www.sitepronews.com/

4) http://mashable.com/

5) http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/

6) http://www.engadget.com/

7) http://www.techcrunch.com/

8. http://www.practicalecommerce.com/

9) http://www.searchenginejournal.com/

10) http://www.seobook.com/blog

Ana Goncalves from ExpressiveWorld.com’s List:

1. http://blog.veganfamily.co.uk/

Blog of the Vegan Family House

2. http://ians-eco-blog.blogspot.com/

Ian’s Eco Blog

3. http://www.abiggerpond.com/blog/

A bigger pond; Stop playing small

4. http://srilanka.laurieashton.com/

A Canadian in Parakramabahu’s Court

5. http://heatherkephart.com/

Happymaking

6. http://sandycoleman.wordpress.com/

Creations by Coleman

7. http://jcaddell.wordpress.com/

Writing builds characters

8. http://www.michaelbauzon.com/

Life is a Canvas

9. http://techpatio.com/

Tech Patio

10. http://messyfish.blogspot.com/

Messy Fish

Tom from EvenGrounds.com’s List:

1. http://www.davidrisley.com
2. http://www.problogger.net

While I’m not necessarily trying to make money with my blog, my company is… They always have something new to show you to help your blog.

3. http://www.theinfopreneur.net.

He is one of my recent discoveries. What I like about him is that I can count on the frequency of his posts.

http://www.fatherchuck.com
He just makes you think, and he will always have a surprise to read about, he leaves long lasting impressions. And it is even more meaningful that I know him personally.

Karen Ruby from AMeaningfulExistence.com’s List:

Maren blogs about entrepreneurship and business and definitely has a mind for it. Go check her blog out now!

This is a Pop Post by James Richmond from TheInfoPreneur.net. James is an incredible blogger who hasn’t been at it for very long (about 3 months) and is the ultimate example of how hard work will bring you amazing results. I’ve been with him since about the beginning of his blog and have seen what he can do.

I recommend everyone who reads this post visit his blog and discover someone who is more than willing to help you out with whatever you need and can push content out like there literally is no tomorrow. Enough said, though I could go on and if you want more please read inspiration, smart work, success | the infopreneur.

Over to you, James.

Let’s just get this out of the way first, I’m not a marketing expert or a web 2.0 guru, in fact I have no qualifications at all. So why read the rest of this post then? Well, despite my methods and mentality not working for everyone, it works for me, so read on and give it a shot.

Millions of new websites are created every week and within weeks most of then are already starting to fail. A website, your website is your megaphone, your worldwide banner that says ‘Come and listen to me’ but why do so many fail where the minority succeed?

I have never paid for a coaching programme, never paid for advertising and have made a stack of mistakes, but I firmly believe the main reason after 3 months my site is growing is because of these simple but vital parts;

• Drive

I’m driven you have to be, in my opinion it’s the only way to succeed. A website with no drive is going no where, it’s simple. Imagine a car, any car without an engine. It becomes a piece of scrap without any drive, you need to want to tell people about your thoughts and opinions.

Drive can come from anything around you or something that you yet to have around you. My family and my full time job drive me to over produce and keep moving forward, I want to spend more time with my family and leave my full time 60hr working week job, so I’m driven to achieving that as quick as I can.

• Passion

You need to be passionate about your topic, I don’t care if it’s an article about pin cushions or rocket engines, if there is passion behind it I will read it. You know what I’m talking about, you would and probably still come across, websites that just talk about the same old blurb everyone else talks about and it’s a boring read.

On the same thread, you can really tell if someone is passionate about that topic and whether you’re into it or not, that will inspire you and it’s this point you need to have in abundance. Passion for your subject matter will transform you into yet another site people will close straight away into a website with real fire and fuel to keep it burning for a long time.

• Accessible

How many times have you gone to contact a site owner and never been able to find out how to do it, or have had to go to site map and track their contact page or email down that way? It really gets to me when owners do this, the other thing that drives me mad is when the author of the content never interacts with their readers.

If people are taking the time to read, spread and reply to your content then the very least you should do is to thank them and talk to them in the comments section or the forum you have created. No matter what you need to be present for your visitors, customers or readers to actually reach out and shake your hand, no hand shake, no business.

• Readers

Every site needs visitors, fact. No traffic no website. Your readers are the very reason you write new content or produce latest products for them to buy. Without your readers you are nothing, absolutely nothing. I want you to really think about that, without your readers you wouldn’t even be thinking of how to take it to the next level, so make damn sure you look after them.

All these are the vital components of a successful website, SEO, links etc all important yes, but without these vital parts the site is on life support with only one outcome.

1. I love to share the latest information about what I love with the world.
2. I love discovering new and exciting people who write blogs that strike an interst in me and teach me something fun and useful
3. I love building relationships that will grow with passion over a period of time and build a community of blogs that help one another each step of the way
4. I love how inspiration can come from something as simple as a change in how things work or how something doesn’t work and how sometimes it takes hours to think of a killer article that will be out of this world
5. I love making a difference in someone’s life by sharing what I know

Above all, I love the experience I get each day and how time allows for improvement in everything that goes into blogging. Blogging isn’t just writing something about what you did last summer… It’s about embracing the world with your passion and intelligence and taking tomorrow by storm.

What do you love about blogging?

I have writer’s block every now and again. The reason why is because sometimes I just don’t have inspiration to write anything. Things just come to me randomly and I’d better be ready to at least write down a title and with that I can usually think of something damn good to go with that title later when I can sit down and write something out.

I’m sure everyone has this happen from time to time and if not, you’re lucky. When I have inspiration to write and can just sit down and throw out an article left and right and turn it into something amazing I get a sense of accomplishment because I can load ‘er up into WordPress and set it for a future date.

Now on to the main point of my article.

Inspiration

Everything has to come to you from somewhere. Sometimes you could be sitting on a bus and think of something great to write about that you know would help others greatly. Would it not be beneficial for you to sit right down and do something about this? Of course it would! What if you have no way to… How and what do you do about remembering your great idea for later when you have what you need to get things going again?

Previous Articles

Unless you’ve just started your blog you have some articles already written that have been published on your blog and can go back and look at what and how you wrote. Heck you may even learn something new by rereading them yourself! Use this for ideas for future articles and add something that has possibly changed now or that you didn’t think of and revise it a bit. Get very creative here and maybe redo the entire post!

Comments

Those who leave comments hopefully have added value to your articles and you can definitely use those to help you come up with new ideas. Heck, they may even be honoured to Guest Post (or in my case Pop Post) for you and there’s even more ways you can come up with great ideas for articles. Use comments others leave as well as the article they themselves have written.

So how do you manage to keep writing? What inspires you and keeps you on your toes with new ideas and thoughts? What do you enjoy most about writing and what do you get out of it?

My Google Reader account is full of blogs. So full in fact that I have to talk myself into using the damn thing because more often than not I can remember out of just thinking about it what blogs I visit on a daily basis and get there myself, without the help of the reader.

That being said, I feel now that there is a time you should look into actually adding a blog to your RSS reader because it matters. You might be thinking… But don’t all blogs that have something useful to say matter? Yes, if it’s going to add value to your daily life. Not if it’s just something you can remember easliy and has a few good articles every once in a while.

My point with this has to do with a few factors about blogs in general which are…

Amazing And Catchy Titles

I write the title of my articles first and I recommend you do the same. I heard about this from CopyBlogger.com and the reason it’s recommended is because it’s a starting point to what you’re going to talk about in your article. Have a great title and use some key words each time. Make sure it makes sense and that it will catch attention of certain people and make them want to know more. This is where it all starts because if no article catches their attention then you’re never going to have them visit that article.

Amazing Content To Backup Your Titles

This is just as important in my opinion. Make sure that you provide extremely useful content that is related to your title in some way and that really stands out in how you present it. At first you might suck at writing but if you’re writing about something you’re passionate about it really shouldn’t take long before you really do become better at it. Let your article inspire people, teach them something, allow them to think about what you’re saying, have solid and meanginful points and ask them questions to really get something going on in their heads. Do all of this each and every time you write an article about anything and watch what happens.

Interact

Everyone knows about commenting and it’s important to do so. If you want to know what everyone thinks about what you have to say you need to ask them to do do this. More important, whether you have 50 comments a day or 2 comments a day is replying back and interacting with people. This shows so much about your blog and about you. Do this and watch what happens. On top of this you need to at least visit the blogs that comment on your blog to see if there’s anything you can find of value and return the favor with. If not, that’s ok. But you should at least put in the extra effort to show you appreciate something they have to say in case you do find something worth saying on their end of things.

Re-Tweet

There’s more than just tweeting out there to help spread the word about your blog and your fellow bloggers, I understand that. Tweets however, are one of the biggest ways of spreading information around so do something to allow your content to be spread because if it’s good enough (and you’ll know if it is) then you want to provide a way of doing this. Also, make sure you remember to return the favor to others who provide excellent content and value. Give them love too.

My bottom line with all of this is quite simple. This is just the basics of what I feel makes a decent blog… Yes a decent one. Look at these factors to see if that blog is worth keeping in your RSS reader. If so, keep it. If not, maybe it’s time to reconsider why it’s still sitting there.

Why am I putting this statement out there? Because this is one huge factor to look at to make sure you’re getting value for your time and maybe someone can think about doing all of this to maintain their stability in YOUR RSS reader for days and more to come.

Keep all this in mind when loading up whatever reader you use and consider why you read each blog there when you visit it. I make sure there’s enough good articles that really catch my eye and I make sure that they’re always interacting with their commenters and maintaining things nicely. Consistency is a big factor in keeping up with things.

Ok… Now to you my loyal friends, family and fellow bloggers.

What do you consider to be worth keeping certain blogs in your RSS feed readers each time you visit them?

I wanted to let be known before going into this particular article I’m about to write that I am currently trying out Yaro’s Blog Mastermind Course (affiliate link) and signed up right from his blog, Entrepreneurs-Journey.com. I paid my dollar and am currently taking this course as well as Become A Blogger Premium.

Listening to an audio for about half an hour just now I came up with this idea and it makes sense and will hopefully help you for some if not all of your future writings in a big way.

I won’t go into detail and give away any information about his course just yet as I’m currently brand new to it but I will say that I’ve not done much with it and I feel that it’s already definitely worth the amount of money he’s asking for it. I say this because I personally feel it’s got great value, not because I want you to take his course unless you also feel he’s someone to trust giving your money to because he’ll give you great value as well. I encourage you to decide that one for yourself.

Now to my article.

Doing

Something to keep in mind when writing blog posts is delivering an important message to our readers. We also should look at how we come across in our message that we deliver and make sure we’re doing it in an appropriate way in which benefits those who read it so they can take something away from it. Doing this will allow you to show your expertise in the topic you’re covering even if you don’t know that much about it.

This is important because it shows you’re interests and it also shows that you’re willing to admit you may not know all that much but are more than happy to help anyone out with the knowledge you do have by talking with people and helping them in the way of your words.

Videos are also a good way of doing this because videos literally show you there talking to your readers and letting them know you’re willing to connect with them on a more personal level. This isn’t for everyone but those who do decide to add video once in a while will surely gain more attraction to their blogs and deliver a more powerful message. That’s something to really consider when doing video, however, is exactly how you’re going to deliver your message.

Doing a video for your readers isn’t nearly as important in my opinion as how you present yourself in your video. A bad video can be worse than well written text on your blog which informs your readers of valuable information. A great video can add much higher quality rewards than text does when done right and when both are presented with each other amazing results could come about. Bottom line here is that every blog is different so experiment but make sure you’re presenting whatever content you’re delivering, in whatever way you’re delivering it with a bang for your readers enjoyment and fullness.

Learning

This is something you want to keep in mind to allow growth and improvement to your blog at all times. Ask your readers what they think and let them add to the story you tell. Allow your readers to share what they know about what you have to say and then explain to them how you feel in a positive manner by replying to everyone worth while.

Everyone should get replied to until it gets too overwhelming and for this to happen it could take months or years so I don’t think it’s going to be hard to actually follow this to the core. If you’re readers have something they would like to share with you simply let them have the opportunity. This is what life is about in general. You put out there what you know and who you are and then take in what you can and continue to improve yourself. Let your readers have a chance to put something out there for you to improve yourself with.

A blog is nothing without readers and everything with them even if they’re not customers yet or ever will be. A blog doesn’t necessarily need to have readers as a blog can exist without them but things go much further when there’s interaction.

The bottom line here is to learn and keep learning by letting interaction between anyone who has something of value to add to what you provide them to shine. Doing this will pay off much reward down the line.

This is what came to mind from listening to an audio from Yaro’s course that I just had to write and talk about to those who are interested in blogging and learning to improve their skills as a blogger.

If you’re ready to learn how to provide more value to your readers and gain more value from them by doing so, I encourage you to at least check out his course (affiliate link) and see what it might have to offer you. By no means am I saying for you to sign up for it or anything of that nature. This is all up to you.

Have you taught those who visit your blog anything of value and have you allowed them the opportunity to connect with you and others through your message?

This is a Pop Post by Ben Lumley from 6Aliens.com. He’s a great writer and a very cool person to talk to. Check out his blog and get to know him, you won’t regret it. Over to you, Ben.

I’m Ben Lumley, a blogger from the UK who writes about self development at 6aliens.com. Why not connect with me on Twitter @benlumley6 or if you liked this article then why not subscribe to my RSS Feed?

We can all have our say now and reach a massive audience. 20 years ago, if you wanted to have your say and have everyone listen, you needed to be on radio, TV or on a massive billboard somewhere in the middle of town. Even then, you only had the potential to reach a particular geographic group of people, unless you moved on to better things.

Now if you write a blog post, it has the potential (without the need to take it to any other forum) to reach millions of people from all over the planet. That’s a massive thing if you think about it for a minute. Everything you write, or take pictures of, or video has to ability to hit a huge audience.

But there’s a funny thing about potential. It’s pretty useless unless you do anything about it. It’s like having a million dollars (something we can all relate to) and letting it sit in a box under the floorboards. It has the potential to change the lives of millions of people in either a positive or negative way but is useless unless you take some massive action with it.

Think of your blog as that million dollars.

Nurtured in the right way, it can positively affect the lives of people from all walks of life or it can lay dusty on the shelf.

How to make or break your blog.

Content

Make: With great content you can achieve anything. What was it the man said? “Give me a lever long enough and I can move the Earth.” You need to create stuff that you’re truly passionate about. It might be hard to come up with, it might take a while to put together, but by the end of it you should be so excited to publish it that you’re fit to burst.

Break: If you’re sitting down thinking, “I don’t want to write this” then don’t. You’ll end up creating something that makes people think “I don’t want to read this.” If you write in one continuous paragraph you’ll lose people’s attention. Focus on giving your readers a great article that they just can’t put down.

Comments

Make: Getting comments on your blog to start with is hard work. You can’t get your message heard if you’re standing on an island. Get out there and talk to other people. Commenting on other blogs has exploded my traffic. It’ll do the same for you.

Break: Make sure you always add value – just saying “great post, Dude” won’t get you anywhere. Just shouting your message on every comment page on every blog you find is just selfish and won’t make people want to come and visit your blog. Oh, and whatever you do, have the courtesy to reply to people who leave comments on your post. They’ve taken time out of their day to leave you a message, the least you can do is thank them (sorry rant over).

Promote

Make: Having a great post is one thing; telling people about it is another. Ever wonder how many people pay attention to cards you see up in shop windows saying that they have something to sell? Realistically, probably not many. What if your card was an advert but it was the one that came on TV just before your favourite programme, just after you sat down to watch it? You’d notice it then wouldn’t you? My friend James has this down. Write and promote, write and promote.

Break: The biggest things that will break your success with regards to promoting your posts are the fact you either don’t promote them (let’s just keep that box with a million dollars in it under the floorboards shall we) or that you promote it badly. Keep it simple. Don’t demand that people come to read your posts. Give people the choice and you’ll find that as your blog grows more people will choose to come and read or watch.

The making and breaking of your blog really comes down to one simple question… what are you going to do with your million dollars?

I have to admit that I’m currently in the middle of another article as I’m writing this one and the idea for this post just popped out to me so I thought I’d do something with it.

Whether you blog about a hobby for fun or you’re trying to make money with your blog are you allowing your reader to understand that you’re real just like they are? Or are you sending the message that you’re nothing more than a robot inside your own blog that just wants their money or to steal traffic for no good reason.

I hope you’re real because that’s what it takes to make it no matter what niche you’re in. Connecting with your readers is so important and doing it in such a way that makes them feel like they’re wanted and like they’re number one is critical for your success. Help them. Solve their problems. Ask them questions. We’ve all heard that before and again. Along with this we’ve also heard add your personality to your blog which is a good idea too!

Just how real can you get though? Video blogging? Audio? Why not? These are both good ways of letting your readers know that you actually exist. If you want to build their trust why wouldn’t you consider at least giving these a shot once in a while if not on a regular basis.

Here I’m going to write about what I think will come about depending on which you decide to present yourself as and you decide which sounds better to growing your blog into a lasting career earning maybe even money.

Robot:

You talk at your readers or talk to yourself and there’s no knowledge of a real person behind the words. You don’t care because you don’t market yourself anyway and if you do for some reason you’re not doing a very good job because you’re not attracting repeating visitors, instead just visitors that may come back once and then they’ll never see a single blog post of yours again. You never ask questions and you never have anything truly important to say that could actually benefit anyone.

When people look at your blog they see spam and never return so you might as well keep this as an on line journal just for yourself and never worry about doing anything with it because you’re pretty much dead at this point.

Real:

You discuss real world problems with your readers that are important to them. You also do this in such a way that involves them completely in the conversation so as to allow them to respond with comments that help your blog out as well as any other comments on your blog also. You solve their problems and let them know you’re there for them day or night. You comment on their blogs and you market yourself to the point they know you’re a real person and you make your blog fun and enjoyable experience to revisit daily and maybe even a few times a day.

Your blog truly kicks ass and you make it work for each individual who visits and new comers as well.

Great job, you’re really making things real out there!

Is your blog alive or is your blog battery operated?