Blogging Tips: Do's and Don'ts of a Blog

Planning on writing a blog? With these blog writing tips I'll help get you going. Remember that building a successful blog takes time, dedication and the most important of all, passion in your subject. There are
millions of blogs out there. But only a small portion of them are successful and have a reasonable number of readers. What separates the successful blogs from the unsuccessful ones are some simple points. Please read the whole article and make a note of them.

Do's

Choose a proper topic

A blog stands or falls with the topic of the blog. So make sure you keep your target niche fixed, and then determine the theme of your blog. A blog providing tips on getting caught for driving under influence won't get any readers, but a blog on overcoming addiction will.

Make References and include Images

Use hyperlinks in each blog post you make where ever necessary. This ensures that visitors read on to understand the context of the link and make your blog additionally findable for search engines. So refer to other sites with useful information and especially to earlier posts on your blog. This will help the reader and also helps your blog in getting a high Google PR. Adding images will be pleasing to the eyes of the reader. No one wants to look at just a bunch words over and over again.

Respond to visitors

The more traffic you generate, the more responses you will get. Especially in the beginning, make sure you reply to all the comments made by your readers, because visitors feel valued and they will visit your blog more often. Other visitors will also appreciate you for engaging personally with your readers. You do not have to respond to every comment that takes a lot of time and it is often not worth it.

Add your own experiences

Writing about a topic where you've been, what you have done, what you learnt from that will certainly make your blog interesting because it will become your personal journal. A blog is distinguished by the tone of the writer, the voice of the person behind the scenes. See it this way: the content of your blog pull your visitors, and your voice will keep them engaged and coming back for more.

Here is one of post which talks about my experience in MOOCs.

Promote your blog

Spread your blog whenever possible. Use Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and any other social network. This will help you gain more readers. Do not hesitate to ask friends and family to 'Like' your blog's facebook page and to add your blog to their 'Circles'. They will be more than happy to help you.

Write, even if you have nothing to write

Punctuality and Quality are perhaps the heart and soul of a blog. Write at least once a week about something interesting or helpful on your blog, even if you have no inspiration. Not every post has to be perfect and have 500 words. Writing regularly will make your blog look active and relevant to visitors. Search Engines will rate your blog higher if you provide fresh content regularly.

Do not

Be unrealistic

Do not you just start a blog, and expect visitors to come flocking. Many newbie bloggers fail to realize this and give up thinking that maintaining and getting traffic to your blog is difficult. You should know that all successful blogs today like Mashable once had to start from traffic next to zero. Be realistic in the goal of your blog and set reachable targets for daily or monthly traffic.

Flame your readers

It is true that a blogging is a means of communication to bring to the audience your opinion about something, but some people will disagree with you and use the comment box as an outlet for angry thoughts. Controversial topics are good for a blog. It will get your blog a lot of attention and more engagement from your readers. Some will agree with you and some wont. Add a touch of humor and a witty approach, while dealing with readers who strongly disagree with you. Do not ever use vulgar words or flame them because they might be your blogs loyal reader and you risk loosing a lot of them.

Write about everything

A blog that one week is about football, and other week about food recipes, and another week about pregnancy has no clear theme. Visitors snap when they realize this and see your blog as a mediocre one and they will never come back. They expect valuable information or entertainment from your blog, and that you can only achieve if you stay with the purpose and theme of your blog.

Write in long paragraphs

Keep your blog uncluttered with short paragraphs and sentences just like in this article. Say as much as you can be as little as possible. Do not aim for a word count. Very few visitors actually read a 1000 word article fully, but if you ever need communicate a lot of information, do not be afraid to do it. The same is true for shorter pieces. You should keep your blog posts straight forward as possible. Unnecessary filler content is bad for your readers and also for search engines.

Listen to your inner critic

The critic in yourself will bring you every doubt. Will people want to read this? Will anyone care about what I write in my blog? Do not pay any heed to such doubts you may have while blogging. Once you overcome this obstacle, you will automatically open up to inspiration.

And there you have it. If you follow these blogging tips, you should have a successful blog in no time with lots of readers. If you have any questions or if you would like to add a few points, please do so in the comment box below.