Keys to Blogging Success

Here are eight questions to ask–keys if you will to blogging success.

1: Are You Passionate?

Bloggers to “be passionate about and want the world to know about” their subject. If you need copy written for a corporate blog and you don’t have a fire in your belly for the subject matter, delegate to or hire someone who does.

2: Are You Patient?

Bloggers have to network, repurpose their content in as many places as possible and comment frequently elsewhere online, such as other people’s blogs and LinkedIn discussion groups. Give people a reason to want to know what you’re talking about.

3: Are You Clear?

Bloggers must hit the ground running, think outside the box and bring a lot of value to the table for their readers.

4: Are You Brave?

Having an opinion and being able to share some of yourself as you defend it are crucial to building trust with your audience.

Deal with confrontational commenters. If you’re putting yourself out there with an opinion, odds are good that people who disagree will respond.

5: Are You Seasoned?

Build a better framework of understanding you’ll be able to offer your readers much more than warmed-up leftovers from somebody else’s blog.

6: Are You Helpful?

Via the Third Tribe, Chris Brogan once told me that the heart of good blogging is addressing people’s pain. Most of us are familiar with the saying “People don’t Google aspirin; they Google headache.”

7: Are You Organized?

Blogging doesn’t require a spotless desk or a rigid daily schedule, thanks to the ability to schedule posts. Some people write them in advance when they know they’re going to be out of town or busier than usual.

8: Are You Focused?

Are you able to stay focused on that one subject that keeps you up at night because you’re so eager to tell the world about it? Are you able to hold your course when people start asking about everything from technical reviews of the latest gadget to your opinion on experimental Asian cuisine?

After reading all of these questions, you’ve probably got a lot better sense of whether you’re going to be happy blogging or not.