An article in the New York Times: So You Want to Be a Blogging Star, covers the tried and true ways to get known as a blogger in your niche. Several high profile bloggers, including Mark Cuban, give their tips for building an audience and maintaining a successful blog.
Mr. Cuban said: “Blog about your passions. Don’t blog about what you think your audience wants. Post because you have something you are dying to write about.”
Mark Cuban's advice is a bit contrary to what we recommend for a business blog, though not completely. You need to find a balance between your passion, educating your prospects, informing and entertaining in order to convert readers to customers. That may not be Cuban's goal but for most business bloggers, the bottom line is to attract readers to click the buy button or pick up the phone to find out what you can do for them.
That being said, there's some excellent, if not new, advice about how to build a successful, popular blog.
In a nutshell:
- Don't expect to get rich
- Write about what you want to write about, in your own voice
- Fit blogging into the holes in your schedule
- Just post it already! (this is where I think a lot of people get hung up -- trying to write the "perfect post)
- Keep a regular rhythm
- Join the community (link!)
- Plug yourself (it's OK)
Read the article to get some insight into what makes popular blogs, well, popular.
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