Eric shares 2.5 Rules that have changed his blogging in a guest post. Want to write for us too?
A year ago, my brother and I made the decision, we were going to start a blog. Gulp.….
I barely went to blogs. I didn’t know anything about the form or blogging culture. I barely read blogs, knew a smidgen of HTML, and that was it. Needing to know more, I went out in search of tips on blogging.
As soon as I began my search, I became inundated. I found advice from blogs I already trusted, from blogs I would come to trust, and advice from blogs I would never go to again. I read blogs on writing, web designing, and SEO, on marketing, editing and social media.
You want it, you got it, it’s out there, and it’s overwhelming.
Learning the Golden Rules of Blogging
I had an Economics professor in college who told me that to know Economics, you only needed to know two things: supply and demand. The rest was, in his words, all details. Through all my research – many books reads, many blog archives scoured for tips, many videos viewed – I’ve found blogging is like economics.
To be a successful blogger, you only need to do two (and a half) things:
1. Publish Good Content (Regularly).
2. Tell People About It.
Everything else is, as they say, all details.
Now I’m not saying becoming a successful blogger is easy; I’m saying understanding the formula is. If you work at figuring out how to do the above – and trust me all the information is out there, free and open source – eventually you will be successful.
Rule Number 1: Publish Good Content
This is the first part of the equation. You need to give your audience something to enjoy. How do you define good content? Well, this is a matter of debate. Many think good content addresses a need. Others think it means providing a service. I tend to fall into the “inform and entertain camp.”
So write good content, improve your language, love your topic, and you’ll succeed. There isn’t much more to it. In fact, outside of a few grammar books, if you love your topic and write about it for two years, your writing and content will improve. (I wrote a “Golden Rule of Writing” for Writetodone last month if you want some more ideas.)
Publishing Content: Writing Great Headlines; Don’t Let SEO Kill Your Content; Importance of Writing Great Content
Rule Number 2: Tell People About It
People need to know your blog exists. So tell the world. Tell friends, family, strangers, advertise, comment, guest post and above all join the community (I almost made this the rule). There is a lot of advice out there, but mostly it is simple. Go to other blogs, engage other people, and guest post as frequently as possible. Simple, right? (I hear some people saying, well, what about SEO? Guess what, it comes a lot more naturally than you’d think. My blog still has crappy URLs, and we get plenty of Google traffic.)
If you want some good marketing tips, Seth has 169 great ones right here
Blog Promotion: How to Market Articles Without Leaving Your Blog; Reaching New Customers By Expanding Your Vision
Rule 1/2: “Regularly”
That pesky adverb is no accident. Virtually every guide book will tell you to post your content regularly. How do you do it? Here are 4 tips for how I do it.
- Whether you post once a week or three times a day, make a goal and stick to it.
- Don’t become the blogger who keeps writing, “Sorry I haven’t posted for a while.”
- Don’t post too much, or you may overwhelm your reader.
- Stick at it. For my blog, my co-blogger and I have given ourselves a three year plan to gain success.
Regular Publishing: Does Your Posting Frequency Bring in the “Best” Results?; The Power of Recycling Posts
In Closing
It’s a shame, in a way, that there are so many blogs on blogging out there. With so many programs out there offering “The Secrets” to blogging success, people are getting suckered.
There are no “secrets” to blogging success, except hard work and tenacity. These are the only rules you need to know.
This is the blueprint, the rest of it is all details.
87 Discussions
Eric – I think you are exactly right! Blogging is simple when you get down to it. Its all about writing and promoting. At Blogussion we hope to help everyone learn how to do just that. I guess you would say by providing the “details”.
Great Post!
Seth´s last blog ..How I Leaped from Pagerank 0 to 4 in 21 Days Without any Connections
I think learning the “details” is fun, I just think ultimately you don’t need to follow every detail, just the above two rules.
Eric C´s last blog ..All’s Fair in War: Guerrillas, Justice and Counter-Insurgency
I think a third rule is that we need to be patient. A lot of bloggers lose their drive after 6 months of poor traffic. I think it’s great that Eric is giving himself three years to make their blog succeed.
Gordie – Lifestyle Design For You´s last blog ..Why Meditation Is The Rocket Fuel For Lifestyle Design And Personal Development.
I definitely am taking the long term approach. People lose interest after six months, but I think they expect too much.
Eric C´s last blog ..The Army Level AAR- Fixing the Army from the Top
Great article, and what you say is very, very true! There are other things you need to do of course, but those are quite simply the main two. After all, there’s no point in a blog with no posts, and there’s no point in a post with no readers!
Simon | Teenius´s last blog ..Finding The Blogger/Student Balance
Man, I wish I could steal your last sentence, you said it perfectly!
Eric C´s last blog ..All’s Fair in War: Guerrillas, Justice and Counter-Insurgency
That was very nicely said, Simon! I’m going to tweet your last sentence.
Nick Tart | JuniorBiz´s last blog ..Interview: Emil Motycka, From ‘Mow Boy’ to $135K
Aha, glad you both liked it!
Steal away Eric lol.
Simon | Teenius´s last blog ..Finding The Blogger/Student Balance
Shakespeare of blogging – Simon Rogers (from same country!)
Yeah!
King Sidharth´s last blog ..What to Think When Chanting and How Long To Chant
Haha, I think comparing me to Shakespear is a bit of an exaggeration, lmao
Simon | Teenius´s last blog ..Why 1 Guest Post Took 44 Hours To Write
This thread was hilarious.
Eric C´s last blog ..On Violence in Other Places
Hey Eric! I really like your second rule, especially telling friends and family. This is one of the mistakes I made as a new blogger. I wanted to keep my “business” life and my personal life separate. But when it comes down to it, your friends and family are going to be your biggest evangelists. You need to start somewhere. Why not start with the people who truly care about you and want you to succeed?
Your site sounds interesting! I’m gonna go check it out!
Nick Tart | JuniorBiz´s last blog ..Interview: Emil Motycka, From ‘Mow Boy’ to $135K
Look out on daily blog tips next week, we have a post that will elaborate on just that point. Also, thanks for the tweets.
Eric C´s last blog ..The Army Level AAR- Fixing the Army from the Top
You’re absolutely right and in my case it’s that half rule that has proven most problematic. A few months ago I started a blog about a topic in which I’m fairly knowledgeable. I wrote a few good, in-depth posts and then kind of stopped having the time for it. All my readers said that the content is great and that makes me feel good, but my problem is that I post at most once a month and that’s just not enough. So one important thing to consider when starting a new blog is to set a goal for committing a certain amount of time to your blog every week so that you keep updating it regularly.
Mark´s last blog ..Movers Pittsburgh
Mark, I feel your pain. Having time to give away content is just rough. I think the minimum a new blog can post is 2 times a week. If you are established and popular, you can cut it back.
I’d recommend writing in batches. It may make it easier for you take three hours on the weekend to write the next week’s posts.
Eric C´s last blog ..The Army Level AAR- Fixing the Army from the Top
Writing in batch is so helpful. Firstly, you are in flow so you end up writing awesome content and second that you save time.
King Sidharth´s last blog ..What to Think When Chanting and How Long To Chant
Very simple and straightforward, obviously there is much more to it, but this is a good start.
Keith´s last blog ..Make It Easy To Promote YOU:
Good to hear the truth – blogging is hard work, but ultimately rewarding. And “inform and entertain” is the secret – too many do the former whilst forgetting the latter. Nice post!
A lot of blogs say address a need, but I think entertainment is always number one.
Eric C´s last blog ..The Army Level AAR- Fixing the Army from the Top
Fantastic post, Eric!
How about we call it ‘addressing the need to be informed and entertained?’
I like the half rule the most because it sounds like a deal breaker to me. No matter how great our content and how many others know about it, posting irregularly can kill the good done.
We worked so hard as newbies to get readers and somewhere along the line, we start taking them for granted; thinking that if we skip posting today or this week, they would understand. What happens is they get disappointed and move on.
My blog has consistently published posts for nearly seven months now and we only missed one post by half a day. We’re proud of that, and I think our readers appreciate it.
Eric C´s last blog ..On Violence in Other Places
Eric,
Kind of interesting that the blogs you started reading were personal finance blogs? Any reason?
Evan´s last blog ..Wifey 101: Messing with His Manhood
Evan, interesting question. My co-writer really only read one blog, and that was thesimpledollar.com. Since Trent had a series on 30 days to a better blog, Michael recommend that he and I start getting advice there, since we already trusted Trent. The Simple Dollar linked to the other series. Really just sort of happenstance.
For Problogger and Daily Blog Tips, I quickly found out they were giants in the field, and I liked there contest best.
Eric C´s last blog ..The Army Level AAR- Fixing the Army from the Top
I think it’s the other way round – since their content is the best – they are giants.
This stirs another think – we got to be careful about whom we are linking to from our blogs – coz our readers trust us.
King Sidharth´s last blog ..What to Think When Chanting and How Long To Chant
it is kind of a chicken or an egg thing. Are you a giant in the field because you have good content, or does your good content make you a giant in the field.
Basically, I agree.
Eric C´s last blog ..The Army Level AAR- Fixing the Army from the Top
Great advice! I’ve learned a lot from your blog. Very well-written and lots of useful information. Thanks!
Few questions. First, who determines what a quality post is. Most posts on politics, current events, and foreign affairs are extreme opinions. Extreme opinions that get a lot of feedback because there are so many people ready to scream at the top of their lungs in favor of a counter argument. Second, with that said, don’t you find that inflammatory posts, post to strike up arguments get more views? And lastly, you stated you started with you’re brother. I’ve read a number of other posts of bloggers who found it helpful to “join forces” with other bloggers. Do you and you brother have your own sites or did you collaborate on one?
Redford, we write together because we tend to think along the same lines.
Problogger did an interesting post on a secret blogging alliance, and I think recruiting other people to help write a blog is a great idea.
Also, quality is up to you.
Eric C´s last blog ..The Army Level AAR- Fixing the Army from the Top
It really is a very basic concept; I’m not sure why we as bloggers make it seem so much more difficult. Do we have Rocket Science envy? LOL
Ms. Freeman´s last blog ..A Plea On Behalf of Haiti
Bloggers want it to be complicated so that they can make money, in my opinion.
Eric C´s last blog ..The Army Level AAR- Fixing the Army from the Top
I don’t know that any bloggers intentionally make it difficult, I think it really is. Hard work matters more than any thing in the world, not just blogging. Hard workers get things done and make money.
The problem is hard work does require know how. The details (in my opinion) are essential to blogging successfully if and only when they actually make sense in regards to the 2.5 rules of blogging.
If they don’t actually help the content to be high-quality or promote it regularly then the details may be worthless. But if they do… then those details are going to save you a lot of time and work.
I would just say, and this does not refer to this site or some others, that there is a market to selling “secrets” or “Secrets to blogging success.” I don’t think there are any secrets. Understanding what to do is easy, doing it is very, very hard and probably takes more luck then we would like to admit.
It is like losing weight, or making money. Knowing what to do is easy, eating less and running, or working hard and saving money are the hard things to do.
Eric C´s last blog ..On Violence in Other Places
Hey Eric, this post is really awesome. About posting regularly, you can also pick a day of the week, say the weekend, and then you write up all the blog posts for the week and set it up in wordpress to publish them on the selected dates. Wordpress has that feature in the “Post” panel. Thanks for sharing this article
.
Kwame´s last blog ..List of 28 New Advice For Serious Bloggers
Totally agree. I’ve read before that some people recommend working in blocks like that, and I think it is a great idea. Plus, it allows bloggers to be more versatile and connect during the week.
Eric C´s last blog ..The Army Level AAR- Fixing the Army from the Top
This is a really interesting article guys! I have tried to explain this to so many people but nobody seems to get it – making money online is easy! It’s the amount of work and manhours you need to put into your websites that’s the difficult part, but over time it really does pay off
Blogger Den´s last blog ..wordpress plugins for mobile phones and mobile devices
What dto do is easy, doing it is hard.
Yes, you are absolutely right! I think the quality content is the must golden rule for a blog to survive in blogosphere! Thanks for sharing!
Kok Siong Chen´s last blog ..Prader-Willi Syndrome – Genetic Disorder That Cause Obesity
Indeed, nice short post, yes links promotes a site and regular great content maintains it….
Link Exchange Forum´s last blog ..Web Master Resource Scripts
Love how you compare it to the laws of supply and demand of economics, and basically, that’s true. You supply content, and need to find demand, readers for it.
Bjorn | iCan’t Internet´s last blog ..6 non-writing tips to make people want to link to you
Amazing Article. All steps are necessary to make blog more popular. Num-2 is important to get more traffic.
Yeah, you surely make blogging is a simple thing which is but when i back do some blogging detail, blogging become not that simple.
Dana´s last blog ..Email Creation by Using WebHosting Cpanel
Ok – the guest post thing. I am pretty well educated, and I write well when I put my mind to it. I have lots and lots of opinions, and am not afraid to share them. I’m a shutter bug – so I can guest post either in language based or photography blogs. I have blogs of both nature in publication.
How does one go about connecting with and establishing guest blogging opportunities???
Would love to get some feedback on this.
James´s last blog ..Caution – steps may be slippery
James, that would almost be a whole post in itself. I would recommend checking out men with pens, they have a series on guest posting.
I’m probably in the future going to write a post on how to make guest post connections.
Some of it is just shooting the post out there, and seeing what happens.
Eric C´s last blog ..The Army Level AAR- Fixing the Army from the Top
Blogging good content is quite difficult, as you have to research alot.
Dinesh´s last blog ..Default https access for Gmail
Practice makes perfect.
Eric C´s last blog ..The Army Level AAR- Fixing the Army from the Top
@ Kok, Linkexchange, Bjorn, and Chris – Thanks for the kind words.
Eric C´s last blog ..The Army Level AAR- Fixing the Army from the Top
I really agree to you, there is really no secrets in blogging. You just have to be consistent in providing good quality content, market it and rinse,wash and repeat
Pinoyblogtips´s last blog ..Top 5 Reasons Why People Started to Blog
Dude, I love your 1/2 rule! I think consistency and longevity are at the top of the list of how to be a successful blogger. Excellent rules!
Brandon Cox´s last blog ..Included in Top Pastor Bloggers
When it came down to it, I just had to include regularly. It is a foundation of good blogging.
Eric C´s last blog ..On Violence in Other Places
Thanks for the great article! Sometimes, the key to success is keeping things as simple as possible.
Tony´s last blog ..How to Track the Number of Clicks on Your Bit.ly Links on Twitter
These are the basic things which most of them don’t keep in mind. Looking at the title i became curious saying as 2 1/2 rules. The 1/2 rule which u mentioned is the key to success for a blogger. no blogger can get succeeded even he posts great content Unless you follow the “REGULAR” word.
Krish´s last blog ..Three Important things to Increase your Affiliate Earnings
That is why we titled it (and a half) to intrigue people. I’m glad that it worked!
Eric C´s last blog ..Inglorious Analogies: The Golden Rule, Killing Nazis and Inglorious Basterds.
Blogging seems to be simple but one should always write by keeping the reader perception in mind. Love to Read your Blog. It’s overwhelming.
Now the main mantra of successful blog is regular update.
Everyone is talking about this and everyone knows that if they want to be get noticed than they will have to keep update their blogs with quality contents. Only adding contents is not good enough, yes sooner or later you will get few visitors through Google but they will not stay at there for longer period.
ZK @ Web Marketing Blog´s last blog ..FREE Download – 10 Deadly Business Mistakes You Should Avoid
That is why it is two rules. All the advertising in the world is useless if you have a crappy site, and all the good content in the world is useless with no visitors.
Eric C´s last blog ..Inglorious Analogies: The Golden Rule, Killing Nazis and Inglorious Basterds.
Simplicity is always the best route, and also the most overlooked…
Great article Eric; I’d love to see that 3yr plan.
Dennis Edell´s last blog ..4 DAYS LEFT!- ProBloggers-31 Days To Build A Better Blog- + 3 Awesome Bonuses!
Hi Eric C
Sticking to the two and a half points are what will make you succeed in blogging.
Even if you don’t want to bother with SEO.
However for me I’d recommend doing SEO as a way of telling people about your blog.
Once done, it will be spreading the message for a long time.
Telling my friends and family that aren’t interested in blogging or the subjects I write about wouldn’t do my traffic any good.
But the other telling people methods you suggest are going to work.
It’s great that you can post so regularly.
Vance
Vance Sova´s last blog ..Earn Money Blogging, Get Traffic Without SEO, True Or False?
I say tell everyone. The thing about SEO is, how do you optimize it? Every article I’ve ever read on SEO says great content gives great SEO. Really, as long as you don’t do bad SEO, you’re doing good SEO.
Eric C´s last blog ..Inglorious Analogies: The Golden Rule, Killing Nazis and Inglorious Basterds.
Wow, 3 year plan for your blog? If you’re working alone in managing one blog then worst case you have so many sites, that can create tons of work for you. In the long run, you’ll surely forget to update all your sites. The only key there is to plan all your task ahead of time. Budgeting your time wisely is the most effective way to be successful in this blogging career.
Harrison Stuart´s last blog ..Spying on Your Spouse’s PC- Right or Wrong?
2.5 simple rules. That is pretty much what it boils down to.
I saw a pretty cool thing on getting the word out. People are forming clubs, they go to each others blogs and comment, they tweet each other and send the bogs to the bookmarking sites.
Sheila
I’ve read about blogging alliances, and my co-blogger and I have already subtley begun one.
Eric C´s last blog ..Inglorious Analogies: The Golden Rule, Killing Nazis and Inglorious Basterds.
Eric, I couldn’t agree more about your comment “With so many programs out there offering “The Secrets” to blogging success, people are getting suckered.” Nurturing your blog and being patient is the key to a successful blog, I think. Also, ensuring your content is well written, structured, and free of grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. Oh, and taking a few risks along the way – trial and error is a great way to learn.
lickshunmewah´s last blog ..You’re Content is great, but your English Sux
I love the idea of taking risks. I totally agree, put yourself out there!
Eric C´s last blog ..Inglorious Analogies: The Golden Rule, Killing Nazis and Inglorious Basterds.
I fully agree with the nurturing and being patient with your blog. Akin to a snowball approach, start small but steady, and your blog will naturally grow on its own. I still need to work on the structuring portion of my blog. Everything is all haphazard, and i know I am losing visitors in the maze and mess.
Chaos P. Bennu´s last blog ..Burkman Bros | Autumn Winter Collection
Thanks for sharing such a useful information. I am definitely going to consider it next time.
This one is a free and useful content itself and waiting to be found by aspiring bloggers. Those people who offer their so called “Secrets to success” for a fee, I don’t really believe them because this is the internet and most are free. True bloggers like you know how to work hard and not just looking for some shortcuts. You also got sleek graphics! I like them.
if I could, I’d email this post to everyone starting a blog.
Eric C´s last blog ..Inglorious Analogies: The Golden Rule, Killing Nazis and Inglorious Basterds.
Thank you so much for the great pointers and advice.
Ed´s last blog ..Annoy Your Customers Enough To Make Them Buy
Your welcome.
Eric C´s last blog ..Inglorious Analogies: The Golden Rule, Killing Nazis and Inglorious Basterds.
Hrm…not a fan of FreeMoneyFinance eh?
Danny Concannon´s last blog ..Disney’s Boma
It isn’t that i’m not a fan, I’m just being honest: I never went to that blog again. I really only have room for one personal finance/money blog, and the simple dollar is the one i chose.
Eric C´s last blog ..Inglorious Analogies: The Golden Rule, Killing Nazis and Inglorious Basterds.
I definitely am taking the long term approach. People lose interest after six months, but I think they expect too much.
I totally agree. You see way too many blogs give up, but you need to pound away at it.
Eric C´s last blog ..Inglorious Analogies: The Golden Rule, Killing Nazis and Inglorious Basterds.
Exactly, Eric, you hit the nail right on the head. Those are the two essential things in blogging. Focus on them and the others will follow naturally in their due course.
Great tips
.
Shirley´s last blog ..Discussion: Why Hasn’t My Teeth Turned White With All These Twitter Teeth Whitening Ads?
Thanks!
Eric C´s last blog ..Inglorious Analogies: The Golden Rule, Killing Nazis and Inglorious Basterds.
Hi Eric,
It’s imperative to blog from the heart. Valuable content comes from caring what you’re writing about.
Don’t focus on your audience because you won’t write from the heart. Don’t seek to sell something because you won’t write from the heart. Find topics that you enjoy and start blogging. The right people will find you when you feel genuine.
The best content creators love to create. They enjoy blogging.
As you mentioned sticking with it is a key. You’ll learn what works, what doesn’t work, and what you really want to write about. Don’t stay fixed to a particular topic if it isn’t in your blood.
I don’t think people understand that equation. If you don’t love what you are writing about, people will feel it and reject you.
Yeah, it doesn’t matter how good your contents are if no one knows and reads them
Michael Aulia @CravingTech.com´s last blog ..Tiny YouTube Converter Review
That’s why there are two rules, they have to go together. No one will stay at your site if you don’t have good content.
haha, posting once a month is also a kind of regularity.
scheng1´s last blog ..Overcome weaknesses to achieve goals
And it works for Dosh Dosh. I just don’t think you can build a brand in the beginning with that type of schedule.
I am pretty well educated, and I write well when I put my mind to it. I have lots and lots of opinions, and am not afraid to share them.
“It’s a shame, in a way, that there are so many blogs on blogging out there. With so many programs out there offering “The Secrets” to blogging success, people are getting suckered.”
- There is no way, that so called secrets will work for everyone and always. They work for those, who is able to catch the moment. Then most of those secrets become out-dated.
I totally agree. But people want a magic pill to swallow.
I really liked the way you have summarized essential points of blogging in this post
Nimit kashyap´s last blog ..Wordpress Sociable Plugin To Get More Traffic From Social Media Sites
Hi Erick, you made it simple. Just two and half, lol! Writing Content and right promotions for your contents are the main blog activities, I can’t deny that. But when I sit and write my articles, it can’t be that simple
But I love the way you write this article.
Latief@AnotherBlogger´s last blog ..Win Some Amazing Prizes in the Blazing Minds Competition
content is KING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
wacom´s last blog ..Home Page
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