As I have more and more people following my blog, a question that I get often is how did you get to this point and how do you know how to start. So here is everything you need to know about blogging (I was kidding – it’s not everything)

Creating a blog is easy, but creating a successful blog takes real talent and real work.

Anyone can make a blog these days, so it’s even harder to separate yourself from the crowd. Let’s discusses some of the ways that can help you become the owner of a successful blog.

Make sure you proofread your work carefully. Despite what some like to believe, grammar and spelling are important in blogging. Be especially careful to avoid common mistakes like using the wrong form of homophones like you’re/your and there/they’re/their, as a spell-check will not detect such errors.

Keep in mind that a blog is a much more informal medium than certain other types of websites. This is why your style of writing should come out so your reader gets to know YOU.

A blog contains your personal writings and should not be an infomercial.

Treat the blog as an entertaining social media vehicle. This is vital to your success as a blogger. Writing in an informal style will help you to engage your audience and convince them to return.  What I have found it that I write like I talk – now some like it and some don’t but it’s me.

Highlight your best and most popular articles through the use of tabbed zones. The area just above your sidebars is a valuable piece of blog real estate, too. Tailor your tabbed zones so that they include the most relevant or popular articles in your best categories. That will allow everyone to see the things that are available, which can boost click rates on specific articles.  What I like doing is adding other related blog posts below each – make it easy for someone as they are on a time schedule and you want them to be able to get around your blog with ease.

Include graphics in your blog post.

You are asking why is this important – well in my opinion – it breaks up all the words and pictures are great eye-catchers.  They are also important for when others share your blog post to the social sites like Facebook, Digg, or Pin it on Pinterest – when you have a picture – thumbnails show up on these social sites.  Believe it or not, there are times that I know the picture that was showing made people click and read my post vs the title.   The picture of the baby is the one that I am referring to if you are wondering why I inserted it lol.

Include polls and surveys within your blog.

This is one of the easiest ways to find out about your readers.  This can help you attract more traffic to your blog, and also provides an entertaining way for your audience to interact with you. Post results with comments about your analysis of the outcome. The results of certain polls can also help you tune your blog’s content to your readers’ interests.

Be sure that your blog has search engine optimization techniques built into it.

The more you understand SEO, the higher you rank in searches, and the more you can increase traffic to your blog. Get the most readers by using the most important keywords as part of your title and all through each article on your website.  Do you ever learn the perfect formula for SEO – the answer is no because it keeps changing – what worked last week and got you on page one of Google – may get you on page ten this week.

Posting regularly is key to having a good blog.

New blogs are popping up every day, and if you aren’t consistent with regard to your posting schedule, readers may just look elsewhere. There are exceptions, such as holidays, where there is some forgiveness, but there is no substitute for regular, consistent posting.  Use the scheduling in your dashboard, when you are in the frame of mind to write, then write.  Add them and schedule them to come out every 3 – 4 days – this is also great time management.

Enjoy your blog, but don’t let it take over your life.

If you don’t take time to step away from your computer once in a while, you are likely to burn out. Schedule time with friends, a walk or a 5 minute break into your day. Taking some time off will let you return to your blog refreshed and ready to write.  This I have learned the hard way – and don’t beat yourself up if you can’t write one day – leave it and come back on a day that the words flow easily.

Current events about your industry or a related industry can be a great way to generate content for your blog.

Find stories which are complementary or relevant to your blog. One example would be if you your blog is about snowboarding, you can post the news about a major competition or about the one that was held in your area. It is likely that if someone is reading about what you write, they will be interested in new stories related to it.  Don’t know what is happening or what people are looking for – go to Yahoo Answers and I like using Apsense and see what kind of questions people have.

Any blog that wants a close relation with its readers needs a contact form.

Doing this will allow visitors to come to you with any concerns, questions, or comments they may have. You don’t know who might read your blog – celebrities you admire and well-respected people in your field might stop by. Allowing readers to contact you puts you in touch with people who can help you improve your blog or even help your career.

Consistently using the tips outlined in this article will help you achieve a large readership for your blog over time. Apply the tips that you’ve just learned, and you may soon have the following you desire.  Believe me this does not happen overnight but don’t give up – keep writing and it does happen.  My final advice is to visit other blogs and when you find a blog that you like or that is getting lots of comments or has a high page rank – study that person/blog for things to try on yours.

Good luck everyone – Now you know everything you need to know about blogging.