You check your traffic every day but all you find are tumbleweeds blowing across the landscape of your blog. Well, there’s a reason you’re not building readership. Your blog sucks. Most do, and all for the same reasons. The same 7 reasons.

1. Your writing is boring – Ever come across writing that are both educative and entertaining? The simplest way to add life into your articles is by writing your post the same way you talk. It adds personality in your post.

2. Your blog revolves around you – Stop talking about yourself already. I don’t know you personally, and I couldn’t care less about your ramblings. Tell me something I can use in my own life. Facts, stories, not boring personal stuff. Read the rest of this entry »

One popular post can bring your more traffic and links than a month’s worth of your usual content. In this post, I want to set you a challenge with the potential to launch your blog into the stratosphere. So make sure to use these tips and make the next post you write your most popular post ever.

1. Time is more important than talent – Work on something for eight hours and you can bet it will be good. Spending more time on an article means you can refine, format and fill your post with more values. My advice is, take the time to really craft your content. It will show in the finished product.

2. Use your best idea – I’ll be honest here. I use to have a tendency to keep my best idea for later use. I won’t recommend this to anyone. The whole point is to try writing your best post one after another. Here’s the rule of thumb. The more your post help people solve their problems, the better it will do. Read the rest of this entry »

We all tend to forget things. Bloggers are no exceptions. I hope this list will serve as a good reminder to complete tasks that are important, and should not be left forgotten.

1. Backup your blog regularly – I don’t think I can stress this enough. If there is one thing you should take from the tips listed here, it’s this one. And I speak from experience. Waking up early in the morning only to find your blog crashed and you have no backup data, is like having your soul mate killed right in front of you, and there is nothing you could do about it.

2. Link to older posts – There several benefits from linking to your older posts that you don’t want to miss. Apart from increasing your traffic, search engine rankings and providing more information for your readers to go deeper into certain subjects, it also increase visitors’ time spent, which in turn will increase your chances of gaining subscriptions. Read the rest of this entry »

Indeed blogging is a great way to make money online. Ever since it took off in 2004, many have jumped on the bandwagon in hope to taste financial success that they have envisioned. However, there are a couple of things one should keep in mind before they start blogging. Below is the list of things you should keep in mind before starting your own blog.

1. Be realistic – Yes, there are many people who blog for a living. But, you must be realistic when you start to write and know that you cannot expect such stupendous success, at least not for a few years. If you’re hoping to make huge amounts of money right from the word go, then you’re in for disappointment.

2. Don’t quit your regular job – Because blogs make money randomly or not at all, especially when they’re new, it’s not wise to quit your regular job and sit at home in front of your computer hoping to strike the mother lode instantly. Instead, set aside some time every day to work on your blog and popularize it. Read the rest of this entry »

All of us need reminders now and then about how to keep our writing fresh and sharp. Blogs are still an evolving medium, and we each come to blogging with past experiences in writing, some of which will work in the blogsphere, and some of which will not. Here are a few tips on how to improve your blog copy:

1. The headline is the most important thing – You have about 6 seconds to attract attention from an Internet user before he clicks off your site and look somewhere else. This is about the same attention span of a two year old child, so you need a headline that is going to pull them in immediately, and capture their interest long enough to get them reading the rest.

2. Dont take a too-formal tone – Blogging is a more informal medium than print, and your writing style should reflect that. Blogging allows you to write in a casual, face-to-face tone, as if you were sitting down for a cup of coffee with your readers. One way to begin to develop your blog “voice” is to read blogs that resonate with you and study the ways in which those bloggers choose words that maintain a professional tone while still being warm and accessible. Read the rest of this entry »

Your About page is a page that explains who you are, what your blog is about, and how to contact you. If someone is new to your blog, they’ll most likely click on your About page to find out more information. Likewise, if you’re passing out business cards at an event or conference, when people return home and check out your blog, they’ll likely click on your About page first just to get a feel for who you are. These days a blogger can’t ignore her About page. It’s your online resume of sorts; your virtual “How do you do?” Whether you’re using your blog as a way to attract PR and marketers, a resource for your new book, a way to attract publishers, or just as a hello to new visitors, you need to put some time and effort into this page.

What should a basic About page include?

1. Your picture – Having a picture of yourself in the “About” page is important. It helps you readers connect with you better. Read the rest of this entry »

If you have a well established blog, you may well want to earn money from your hard work. Advertising is one of those methods that can generate lucrative income, of course depending on how big your blog is. Follow these simple tips to attract more ad buyers to your blog.

1. Throw up a free bonus ad – By putting a free advertisement on your site, you may not only encourage similar ads or competitors to that product, but the company you added for free may decide to advertise with you. Ask for full disclosure of the performance of the campaign in return. (Total clicks, total purchases etc. ) Key points. Put the free bonus up with a direct URL without tracking tags or affiliate tags.

2. Don’t use Google AdSense on your site – OK, this could be the most painful one for most people especially if you are generating a few hundred bucks a month from it already. But Google ad sense devalues your site and makes it look unprofessional. You have to ask yourself, “Do I want some real revenue from my site or Google’s table scraps.” Read the rest of this entry »

When it comes to blog design, most new bloggers only aim to being unique. While having a unique design is certainly advantages to differentiate your blog with the others, there are some basic tips and mistakes you should avoid. Follow these 6 tips and mistakes to make the most out of your design today.

1. Make your purpose clear – Your blog banner should have a title and subtitle that make it clear who you are and what you write about. First-time visitors to your blog will leave in a hurry if they can’t quickly determine what you’re about.

2. Avoid complex URL structures – A simple, keyword-based URL structure will not only improve your search engine rankings, but it will also make it easier for the reader to identify the content of your pages before visiting them. Read the rest of this entry »

I think all bloggers make a few mistakes here and there when starting their blog. Here I list some of the mistakes that I did or learn from others, so you might be able to avoid them.

1. Choosing a topic you have no interest in – For your blog to be successful you’ll need to blog regularly on your topic for years – if you want to sustain it choose something you have an interest in or love for or you’ll run out of steam.

2. Putting off starting a blog – When it comes to blogging, I firmly believe in a shotgun approach. Instead of worrying too much on finding the right moment, it’s better to take action straight away, and plan later. Read the rest of this entry »