Making the decision to start a blog can be done after an intense amount of thought, as an option for a side project, or even on a whim. Your reasoning behind beginning a blog doesn’t necessarily correlate to how successful your blog will eventually become. However, your ability to maintain your blog will play a big factor in how well-known your blog becomes, how much time and effort you have to put into your blog on a daily basis, and how much success you’re able to see from your endeavor, be it in a large following or from making a profit.
While people think about what it takes to start a blog, laying out a plan for how to maintain that blog isn’t generally something that comes up as a concern until after the blog has been alive and kicking for a while. By this time, a hiccup can seem like something that will take months and months to figure out.
So, to help you save some time and heartache when working on your blog, here are two tips that will help you in maintaining a successful blog for an indeterminate amount of time.
Always Offer a Unique Perspective
It should come as no surprise that there are thousands and thousands of blogs out there on the Internet. And because there are only so many topics or industries to write about, the chances that someone is blogging within the same niche as you is pretty high. Despite this, there are still things you can do to ensure that you’re always offering a unique perspective to your audience.
The staff at Entrepreneur.com shares that the simple fact that you are your own person and a unique individual should make it easy for your blog to at least have its own voice, personality, and experiences to share with your readers. Even if you get some of your blogging ideas from others in your industry, your content should be vastly different, simply because you’re a different person. Knowing this, try as hard as you can to put your own voice into your content, so your readers have a reason to come to your blog rather than others in the same realm. If you find this too difficult, you could also ensure that you either have more timely or all-around better information to entice readers to your content.
Build A Helpful Online Support Network
During the first few months or years of blogging, it may seem like other bloggers in your field are competitors that you have to do battle with. This can make your blogging efforts lonely if you’re going about your business completely cut off from others within your industry. This way of thinking will also make it difficult for you to stay current if you’re in a frequently changing field of study.
To combat this, Ali Luke, a contributor to SocialMediaExaminer.com, suggests that instead of thinking about other bloggers as your competitors, view them as possible allies that you can use as a support system for your online efforts. You can use them to push you further than you might be able to motivate yourself, as a sounding board for ideas, or even as collaborators for potentially larger projects. Not only will this take some of the pressure off your own blogging, but it will help create a culture in your industry and with your readers that will give everyone involved a better experience.
If you want your blog to stand the test of time, you’ve got to think about your project in a long-term sense. Use the tips mentioned above to set yourself up for ultimate blogging success that will last the lifespan of your online presence.