2013
• ENTREPRENEUR
Popularity Rules Publishers Adam and Matthew Toren offer six practical tips for building a successful blog. YOUR BUSINESS IS thriving. You’ve managed to stay ahead of the competition. But staying on top requires a strong and consistent connection to your audience (i.e., your current and potential customers). While a blog offers an excellent forum to build this relationship, it seems everyone’s got one—or more. Like stars in the sky, there are now so many blogs vying for eyeballs, with thousands upon thousands more coming online daily, that creating a successful blog (translation: one that people actually read and come back to) takes skill and a whole lot of proverbial elbow grease. Whether you haven’t set foot into the blogging atmosphere or you’re a blogging veteran, know this: Building and maintaining a hightraffic blog can be a daunting and anxietyinducing task even for the most highly successful and productive of individuals. Yet surprisingly, building a popular blog comes down to a few simple, elemental steps:
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JUNE | JULY 2013
ADDRESS TOPICS YOU’RE
regularly go off on tangents involving too many topics and issues that don’t support the main purpose of your blog. Again, simplicity rules. Be concise and stay under 500 words so you don’t lose your readers’ interest.
PASSIONATE ABOUT
Now that you have an idea of where you want to go and how you’re going to get there, ditch the ho-hum and tackle concepts that get you fired up and, more importantly, help fulfill your goals. Chances are that your passion will excite your readers and incite them to get emotionally invested in what you’re writing about, making it more likely for them to comment and share your blog with their circle of influence. •
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STAY ON TRACK
Don’t stray too far from your original thesis. You’ll lose your audience if you
BE ORIGINAL
Develop your own voice. In a world of homogeneity, a blog is your space to let the real you shine. No one wants to spend time reading a rehash of every other blog that touches on your topic. Readers latch on to originality and personality, so don’t fear being creative and blogging with flair.
KEEP IT POSITIVE
Remember these words: simple and authentic. Drop all hints of pretension and garrulity and write with an eye toward inspiring your readers. Everyone wants to feel good and be a part of a bigger, brighter future.
KNOW YOUR PURPOSE AND HAVE GOALS
You wouldn’t expect to successfully complete a marathon without setting training goals and milestones. The same concept applies to building a successful blog. Think about what you
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want to gain from blogging. Increased profits? Visibility to new customers and partnerships? Whatever you expect to gain, home in on what you’re looking to achieve and create a realistic roadmap to get you there.
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CONSISTENCY IS KEY
In the business world, we often hear “You’re only as good as your last sale.” The same theory applies to blogging. You need to constantly create and post interesting content to give your audience a reason to come back—and offer them a reason to bring their friends along next time. So dedicate yourself to blogging regularly, say three times a week. You might not see an instant response, but if you hang in there, results you hope for are inevitable.