When I launched my first blog, I thought it would be easy. I read a bit about it on the Internet and saw some of the successful blogs that had been launched. Because I had a strong technical background and access to top-notch graphic professional, I assumed I was in for an easy ride to popularity and riches. After reality hit, I realized it's not that easy, I worked without a plan or any concrete guidance, which was my first mistake. What were my others? Read on and learn. Find out how you can plan your next blog for an exceptional launch, or improve your existing blog to be more successful. 1) Create an Action Plan Much in the same way we create business plans, we should also do the same for successful blog launches. Among the more obvious, some things you'll need to pay extra attention to are: Domain name. Is it easy to remember. Does it describe the blog? Measurable goals. Does your plan include tangible goals that you can measure and evaluate? Does it include contingencies. Budgeting. Have you evaluated and included all foreseeable expenses? What about a financial buffer - What happens when an unexpected expense occurs? 2) Use Reliable Hosting Make sure ...

One question I often field is how to encourage more visitors to comment on your blog. In particular it seems, many of the people I've spoken to seem demotivated because "...nobody ever sends feed back... there's no response..." Does this sound like you? If so, the following six tips are just for you. 1) Ask for Comments. I can't make the statement any simpler. I'll say it again, if you want something, ask for it. In my opinion, the best place to ask is right at the end of you post. If your visitor has read this far (if the content is good quality, they will), you're more likely to garner a response. Most importantly, indicate that you respect their opinions, make sure you respond. This is commonly referred to as a "Call to Action". Once you're blog post is finished, empower your readers to add to or improve the content. Empower them to ask questions. Also, enable them to easily follow up by using the Subscribe To Comments Wordpress plugin. This plugin allows readers to receive notifications of new comments that are posted to an entry. 2) Remove the Barriers. Nothing is more annoying then spending extra time writing a quality comment, and ...

In our last post "Which Social Media Tool is Best for You?" one reader asked "About how long does it take for traffic to start picking up?" Honestly, that's a tough question to answer. It's possible to take a blog from 500 visitors per month to 80, 000 per month; and do that in two months. I've done that on a previous blog. It was a full time job! However in hindsight, I wish I would have properly planned for that blog, as the traffic would have been more focused. Don't get me wrong, I retained a lot of the readers, but I could have used my time wiser, and in a more productive manner. As such, I hope this post will help other "newer" blog owners out there; those who are trying their best to build traffic. Before I go into the details below, I'd just like to point out a caveat. Most new blogs struggle to gain exposure, they need to be found by readers. Subsequently the issue of long term, sustained growth versus sudden spurts of short term growth (as new reader communities discover a blog), becomes the fulcrum (so to speak). In my opinion, the best approach ...

From time to time, I receive messages or talk to a blog owner who is unhappy with low traffic. They often lament how their new blog does not provide much traffic improvement and provides no value to their business. As such, some of them even go so far as to explain the above is the primary reason why they no longer spend time developing content. But wait, how do things get so bad that your blog has become a rusty tool? What happened that has demotivated the blog owner? Firstly, successful blog owners have a positive attitude, they try to be constructive, cooperative and well informed. They work with the community, not for the community. They understand that the benefits a blog can offer are bestowed by the community, as they are earned. Again, it's about good attitude. If you're going to burst on the blog scene all wild eyed, posting reams of comments on every forum or blog in sight - regardless of the subject matter, all tough and authoritative, posting low quality content on your own blog whilst sucking honey out of a bees arse... You're not going to get far. You need to find the golden middle way. Don't ...

I just got of the phone with a client who asked me how he can effectively respond to readers of his blog who keep asking for free help. In this case it was an issue of readers who were asking for personal assistance, which would cause extra work for my client - Work for which he'd not earn money. Additionally, he indicated that sometimes he just does not have the time to respond properly (or at all). How do you diplomatically say "no"? How do you turn such requests into revenue generators? How do you manage numerous requests as your blog grows? One obvious approach is to ignore requests from your blog readers. That's a 100% solution to saving time and improving productivity. However, in my opinion it's not an effective approach for several reasons. Notwithstanding this approach will almost certainly damage the reputation of you and your blog. It would also reduce traffic as there'd be no valuable communication with your community. And to be blunt, that's just plain stupid. If you're not going to listen and communicate with your community, why even have a blog? For blogs that are more established (having greater readership) one good way to respond to ...