ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

How to Start a Successful Blog;

Updated on December 10, 2012

Starting To Blog

By now practically everyone has heard of blogging, however, many people still do not know exactly how to blog, or have the slightest idea of how to blog for money.

A blog is actually a log or personal writing that is accessible to the world on a web page. The act of sharing one's personal thoughts on the Internet, with photos, videos and an engaging social medial feel, complete with a comment box, is what is considered being a blogger.

Some bloggers have turned their passion for writing and sharing knowledge into a business and livelihood, others consider their blogs as more of a hobby that brings in extra cash.

There are many different reasons for starting a blog.Some of the most common are, for their families to enjoy, to store a collection of crafts, and to promote a business or product.

Blogs are creative. Unlike the basic platforms of MySpace and Facebook, one is free to design a blog to their own tastes. For business people, having a blog is a great way to attract clients. Once a client finds your blog and becomes acquainted with your product, they will grow to trust your brand and expertise.

If you are a business owner, it is wise to remember that Internet search engines love blogs. This can make it very easy for clients to find you. Some business have very active blogs that are so rich with content, that they actually replace their formal websites, as blogs tend to have a more social and down to earth feel.

Blogs can be linked to your Twitter and LinkedIn accounts, generating and driving even more traffic to your site, and providing fans, clients, and shoppers a place to leave detailed comments. Which in turn boosts your reputation as the "expert" in your field.


Make A Good First Impression

Never make fewer than five posts and then market your blog. If your site looks in any way abandoned, it will forever reflect on you. Make at lest 5-10 posts, and do your best to make your blog look well maintained and active before you send out any e-mail links, Bookmarks or backlinks. A blog that has very little time and effort put into it, will give the impression that this is a dead page. And once people have stumbled upon a dead page, there is a negative, and suspicious feeling that visitors will feel when they hear the name of your blog, or see the URL in the future.

Outbound Links to Raise Your Profile

It Took me personally more than one year to learn the importance of outbound links in blogs posts. It is in your best interest as a new blogger, to target other bloggers as your audience. They have links that could benefit you a great deal.Some of their clout could actually get your blog to the top of the search engines. The key is to get other bloggers within your genre to recognize you as someone to network with. Most successful bloggers will check their site referrals list on a weekly basis, this will tell them the last page a visitor was on before landing on their site.

When "The Pin up Girl Workout" at blogspot started out as a simple list of workout routines and encouragement for friends to stay motivated and because the content was so good, advertisers wanted a piece of the action too.

Submit Your Blog To Search Engines

Many search engines will find your blog eventually, but as an entrepreneur, you should make sure that it happens sooner rather than later. Submit your blog to Google, Yahoo, Bing, and Technorati.

Google Add URL

Yahoo Submit Site

Bing URL Submit

Technorati Submit URL


Build A Community

Most successful bloggers give credit to their community when asked what helped them reach success. The people who visit your blog and enjoy what you have to say and return for more are your loyal readers and absolutely valuable to the success of your blog. Always be respectful and engaging with your followers. Encourage visitors to leave comments, and ask questions in blog posts that encourage readers to leave comments and opinions.

Take the time to comment on other blogs

Just as you want people to leave comments on your blog and start a conversation, other bloggers want the same thing on their blogs. Leaving comments on other blogs not only makes those blog authors aware of who you are but also when you include your URL with your comment, it makes highly likely that the blog's author or readers will click your URL to find out more about you, and read more of what you have to say.

Tracking back

When you find a blog post idea in another blogger's post, always link to the original source in your own post, to give that blogger credit for writing about it first. By doing this, you are maintaining your own integrity and upholding the rules of blogosphere. It can also help you build a relationship with another blogger and can drive traffic to your blog over time.

Social Networking

Use social netwoking in a variety of forms to promote your blog.

You may join an online forum on a topic that you think is relevant to your blogs and become an active participant. You can also include a link to your blog or in your e-mail signature, which gives every person who receives an email from you the opportunity to discover your blog and possibly become a new and valuable contributor.

MySpace can also be a viable option, because it is more than a social networking tool. It provides far more options than typical social networking platforms, such as the ability to create individual blogs. MySpace can be highly effective in driving traffic to your blog. The key is to make friends with other users and get to know them by leaving comments on their profiles.

LinkedIn The go to place for business and career related social networking. It has a stripped down interface that is intended to be free of spam. A LinkedIn profile acts similarly to an online resume. You should upload your business and career accomplishments. Then you can add your blog information. If your blog is related to your career or business in any way, your LinkedIn profile can be another tool to help you drive traffic to it. The more connections you make, questions you answer, and relationships you build, the more potential you have for blog traffic.

Join bookmarking sights such as StumbleUpon, Digg and Delicious. These sites will be of tremendous value when just beginning a blog. Read these articles to learn more.


Time and Persistence

Having a successful blog takes time. One should not expect to have a serious money making blog within one year. The quickest I have heard blogs take off is two years, but most take much longer, with many top bloggers achieving major success after 10 years of hard work.

It may be a little tedious, but it will be well worth it.

Here is a list of some blogs that have friendly and professional owners who will network with you.

Multicultural Cuisine at blogspot

From Debt to Net, Online Millionaire

Freedom Examiner

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)