Blogging doesn’t mean putting random content. It requires proper planning and system to become a successful blogger. A study conducted by Orbit Media states that bloggers are putting more time and effort into each post which is bringing strong results for them. Not only this, the majority of bloggers are including media to enhance their blog posts. The quality of blogs is given much more important than quantity. It is no more a trend to publish posts daily, rather most of the bloggers publish weekly.

With new blogs emerging every day, it is very important to understand the blogging trends and stand out from the crowd. If you also want to create a space for your blog in this blogosphere or, if you already have a blog but are feeling lost amongst the competitors, here are some valuable lessons for you.

1. Know your purpose

Are you blogging with a purpose? If you are willing to create a successful blog then, you must be aware of its purpose. Purposeful writing will let you connect to the audience in a better way. You will be able to write better posts and change people’s minds. Before you even start learning the blogging process, making plans, and coming up with strategies ask yourself why do you want to start a blog. Even if you are putting 3 to 4 hours a day on it, you must know why.

Try answering the following questions to get a clear image of your goals and find the motivation that will keep you charged up throughout the blogging journey-

• Why are you starting a blog?
• What information do you want to share with the world?
• What skills do you have or you can develop to make it a success?
• What do you want from the blog?

2. Spend more time on the value you can bring to the world

As it is always said that ‘content is King’. The most important part of your blog is your content. Hence, spend much time bringing up great content for the readers, which would add value to their life. For that, you need to explore your passions and find a niche. Keep these things in mind while looking for a niche or a topic for your blog-

• Your hobbies and talents
• Things that you enjoy doing whole day
• How your talents can bring value to the readers?

In this way, you will be able to reflect your soul into your blog posts easily and build up an automatic connection with the audience. Find the topic that is not only relevant to you but to the whole world and dive deep into it. Even if you are not sure about what to blog, do not worry, as you can always iterate and explore what attracts an audience to your blog. Remember that passion takes up over everything! Do not choose a topic that is trending but doesn't appeal much to you.

3. It is not as easy as you think

Blogging requires time, talent, passion, skills, and it might seem an overwhelming job in the beginning. Remember that you cannot own everything in just a few days. Blogging is more of a process that evolves gradually. You cannot master the art of words by writing a few posts. Many successful bloggers say that it takes almost 100 posts to decide what their audience loves and what exactly their niche is. You cannot learn about your audience in a few comments or likes.

Not only writing, but you need to understand the technical aspects of blogging also, and mastering software takes time. You need to work on different graphics software, learn SEO, and understand how plugins would work, build email lists, and whatnot. Remember that patience is the key that will open doors to success. Learn and evolve gradually.

4. Do not enter into blogging with false expectations

Many blogs shut down within a few months only because bloggers are expecting big results. There is no doubt that one can earn a living with blogging but, success is not an overnight process. Blogging requires building strategies and working on them. Almost every big blogger was an unknown name in the beginning. Hence, focus more and more on improving the quality of your blog.

Keep your hopes way-way up and do not think that you are less enough if you are not getting any results in your early blogging journey. Learn from the things that did not work well. Work hard on each and every aspect before you consider abandoning your blog. Stay away from unrealistic expectations like these:

• Coming up with new content is easy.
• Attracting readers is easy.
• Only writing good content will be enough to get an audience.
• The money would just flow in through blogging.

Try looking at the other side of the coin:

• Read more books to gain more knowledge and ideas to blog.
• Work on presenting your content well to attract readers.
• Reach out to your audience by promoting your blog.
• Learn SEO and enhance your writing skills.
• The money may flow if you make appropriate strategies and work on them.

5. Keep your content original and presentable

Have you heard about the ‘me-too’ posts? Many times, bloggers just follow other bloggers and post content similar to them only because it is trending.  Such posts will bring no value to your blog.  Rather, bringing up original and unique content will always gather much attention. Even if you are taking ideas from other blogs make sure that you put forward something that is totally yours.  It would not only add up to your reputation but will also make you stand out from other bloggers.

Publishing content consistently is important but, its presentation can take it to heights.

With the increase of media and graphics over the internet, people are more inclined towards what looks good and attractive. Hence, the design of your blog and your blog posts also plays a major role in attracting readers. Work on these things to turn your blog into a brand:

• Find a great LOGO for your blog
• Include media such as images, infographics, video content more often
• Use appropriate colors and typography for your blog
• Make your content presentable and readable by including headings, sub-headings

6. Promote as much as you can

Find the right audience for your blog as no content is valuable without readers. There are many ways to promote your blog like guest posting, blog commenting, blog community, paid advertisements, SEO, and social media marketing. Marketing can determine the true value of your blog. Even if you think that your content is the best, promoting it is important.

Social media marketing and SEO are the most crucial aspects of promotion. They can bring organic traffic to your blog and help you in establishing your own identity. Optimize your blog to achieve better rankings in the search engines. Develop strategies according to every social media you want to target. Social media can be a great place to connect with the audience and know them better. The more you network and build a community, the more you will succeed.

Blogging is no more limited to a personal weblog. Nowadays blogs are a big source of information in every field. Blogging has been turned into a business. Entrepreneurs are using blogs to establish and promote their brands. It has become so easy to reach your audience and customers through blogs.

How much are you expanding?

Are you committing yourself to learn new and relevant blogging skills?

Evaluate your blogging process today!