Just imagine if you developed one of the most popular blogs in your niche. Think of how much money you could make selling your products or affiliate products.
Imagine how big your list would be. And when you were ready to exit the business, just imagine how much money you’d make selling your corner of the web.
All of this is within your reach – especially if you follow these 10 tips for becoming a better blogger…
1. Survey your readers to find out what they want.
Adding a poll or short survey to your blog not only makes your blog interactive (which is a good thing), it also gives you an idea of what kind of content and solutions your readers are looking for.
2. Give your readers info that they’d gladly pay for.
Just because your blog is free doesn’t mean you should post content that’s not worth anything. On the contrary, you should post valuable content – the kind of solutions your market is already paying for – on your blog. That way you can build trust and establish yourself as an expert in your niche.
3. Write about hot or controversial topics to spur discussion.
When there’s a controversy going on in your niche, decide which side you're leaning towards and blog about it. Push a few emotional buttons. Then create a call to action at the end of your post where you specifically ask your readers for their opinions and feedback. The more emotionally charged the post, the more likely it is that you’ll get comments.
4. Join the blogosphere discussions.
Your blog is not an island. Start visiting other blogs in your niche and join the community discussions. You can comment directly on their blogs. Or better yet, write a response on your blog using a trackback link.
5. Optimize your posts for the search engines.
You don’t have to optimize every post you make. But if you make a point to optimize at least one post per week, you’ll see a steady increase in traffic.
Tip: Use a tool like WordTracker.com to uncover your niche keywords. Choose words that have low competition. Then include your keywords two or three times for every 100 words of content.
6. Arouse curiosity with password-protected posts.
Your visitors can see that your blog has a lot of good content. But then they notice that you lock up your best content behind password protected posts (with the passwords only being available to your subscribers). You can bet curiosity will get the best of many of your readers… and they’ll subscribe.
7. Learn to create killer headlines.
People will decide whether to read your post based on your headline. As such, use headlines that include power words like “how to,” “amazing,” “secrets,” and “discover.”
8. Vary your posting style (some long, some short, etc).
Don’t always post a 400 word “how to” article. Instead, mix things up by posting articles of different lengths and different styles.
9. Interact with your readers by answering their comments.
Your comment section isn’t just a place for your readers to talk amongst themselves – it’s also a great place for you to interact with your readers. In fact, if you're not responding to comments on your blog, you're missing out a huge opportunity. Since people buy from those they know, like, and trust, this simple act of interacting will grow your income.
10. Make blogging a part of your daily routine.
Add “write a blog post” to each and every daily to-do list until it becomes a habit. If you write just one short blog post per day, in a year you’ll have 365 blog posts – and a whole lot more readers, subscribers and income!
In sum: Creating a big, popular blog isn’t a matter of doing one thing. Instead, you can create a better blog (and become a better blogger) by consistently taking a series of smaller steps.
