I was reading over at eMoms and found a reference to an old post of hers where she talks about being a successful blogger. This got me thinking about how I blog and what I’m doing right and wrong.

I must admit, I’m not the most successful blogger around. I think I have a better idea these days as to what my voice is online and I’m becoming more comfortable with expressing myself. I’m even getting better about posting lots and lots whenever I can. But I also know I have a ways to go.

Marketing myself is probably my weakest point. It just isn’t as much fun for me as writing is. I’m always having to remind myself that a blog cannot succeed just on the quality of blog posts. If I don’t have readers, what does it matter what I write or how well I do it?

I told myself a while ago that I was going to dedicate at least part of my evenings to marketing and networking. I really need to get back to that. Just finding blogs that I can comment on more often would help tremendously, I’m sure. I also need to try harder with blog carnivals.

I also have to work at keeping more personality within my articles. It’s easy to slip into more of a college paper voice, where you aren’t supposed to show your personality; you’re supposed to share the facts and your opinion, but not so much personality. It’s an old habit that isn’t appropriate for blogging.

I’ve surprised myself with the passion I have for some of my blogs. I honestly didn’t expect to be quite as enthusiastic as I am about some of my topics. But it’s a very good kind of surprise, I must say. Then again, sometimes I’m surprised at how hard some of the blogs I thought would be more fun to write are.

I know I’m doing some things right, of course. The passion, as I stated above. The fact that I am demanding something of a schedule for myself. I have goals for how often I post on each blog. On some it’s easy to go over that goal even. On others it can be a challenge.

I keep notes on topic ideas. It’s rare for me to not have ideas because I have a nice range of topics, and when I’m not inspired on one, another may be easy to write. I like to think my voice is improving. I certainly hope I offer good value for your reading time.

If I had to offer just one piece of advice, it would be to work hard at your blogging. If you disappear for weeks at a time people are likely to lose interest. Figure out a minimum posting schedule and make sure you stick to it.

I’ve learned through the years I’ve spent blogging that it’s not easy to succeed. My oldest blog was started in March of 2004, and I’m far from a big name in blogging despite that nearly three years of experience. But I think I’ve improved tremendously.

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