Beginner’s Blogging Tips

Blog about Something You’re Passionate About

If you are not passionate about your topic, you are not going to stick to it. The best way to decide
what to blog about is to ask yourself, “Would I do this for free?” If the answer is yes, then you
have found your topic. People who blog only for money seldom succeed.

Get Your Own Domain Name

While it certainly is possible to start a blog for nothing by using a free service like Blogger.com
or Wordpress.com, I recommend every blogger starting out to get their own domain name. The
cost is next to nothing and you can still host it for free if you want (Blogger allows that).

If you do not wish to use the Blogger platform, you’ll have to pony up for web hosting but that’s
pretty damn cheap as well. BlueFur (they host my blog) has hosting solutions starting at $5 per
month and they’ll give you 15% off if you enter JohnChowRocks in the coupon code.

Having your own domain makes you look more professional. While it may not make you a pro-
blogger, the ad networks will take you a lot more seriously. Some ad networks will not accept a
site unless it has its own domain name. If you do it right, having your own domain and web
hosting won’t cost you anything because the income the blog generates will more than offset the
cost.

It’s better to get the domain name at the start than down the road. The last thing you want to do is
build up a blog with Blogspot, get a ton of backlinks, PageRank, Alexa and Technorati rankings,
and then have to move it to its own domain and start over.

Update the Blog Often

A non-updated blog is a dead blog. If you cannot commit to a consistent blogging schedule, then
it’s best not to blog until you can. This is where blogging about your passion comes in. If you’re
passionate about the topic, then chances are you’ll keep blogging about it. Ideally, you should
update the blog everyday.

Get To Know Your Readers

Blogging is a two-way street. You cannot exist without readers (well you can, but what’s the
point?), and readers don’t exist unless they have something to read. Blogging is about forming
relationships. There’s the relationship between you and the readers and relationship between you
and other blogs in your niche. It is up to you to get to know them and form this relationship.
Many readers have stated that when they’re reading my blog, it’s like a one-on-one conversion.
That was not done by accident. It’s all part of relationship blogging.

Monetize the Blog with Multiple Sources

When the time comes to monetize your blog, don’t stick with just Google AdSense. There are
now tons of ways to make money from blogging. Check out my recommended moneymaker list.
If I were to use only Google AdSense, there is no way I would have been able to pull down
nearly $12,000 in April 2007. Google accounted for less than 10% of the blog income. Do not
put all your eggs there.

I use eight different methods to make money online. Only two of them are banner ads. During
the Lab interview, Leo pointed that my blog doesn’t looks it has that much advertising at all.
When he found out how many different advertising models I used, he was shocked. The key to
monetizing a blog is to run as many advertising products as you can get away with while still
providing a good user experience.

10 Blogging Mistakes To Avoid

Not Updating

It never fails. Somebody sets up a new blog and is all excited about it. We see a furry of posts for
the first few days, maybe even a few weeks, and then the number of posts starts to go down until
the blog is hardly updated at all. Nothing kills a blog faster than lack of updates. If you are going
to blog, then pick a posting frequency and stick to it. Whether it’s one post per week or 10 posts
per day, make a commitment to keep your blog updated. A non-updated blog is a dead blog.

Blogging Only For Money

If you’re blogging only for money, then you’re in for a shock. Yes, you can make good money
with a blog, but despite what that National Post story on me said, it takes a lot more than “no
effort.” 99% of blogs on the Web cannot make more than $100 a month. John Chow dot Com
makes money because I don’t blog for money. If the only reason you’re blogging is to get rich,
you will fail.

Rushing a Post

I am sure all bloggers have all been guilty of this - I know I have. A hot story comes up and you
want to get it out ASAP, but in your rush to get the post published, you forget to proofread and
just hit the Publish button. Whenever I’ve done that, there have always been mistakes in the post.
Before you hit Publish, take your time to double/triple check the post to make sure it’s free of
errors. If you spot an error after the post, correct it immediately.

Not Being Personal

A blog is not CNN or News.com. People read your blog to get your opinion and your point of
view. Give it to them.

Being a Copycat

What makes your blog stand out from the millions in the blogshere? Is your blog unique or is it
just another copycat? I am certainly not the first blog to write about making money on the
Internet, so what makes my blog stand out other than me posting pictures of my dinner?

You can write about the same thing as the next blog, but you need to add your own views to
make it unique. Don’t just copy and paste what another blog posted. Give your opinion because
that’s what blogging is all about. The most unique thing about your blog is you.

Not Replying To Comments

A blog is a two-way communication tool, but many bloggers forget that. When readers comment
in your blog, please answer them. If your readers don’t leave comments then try adding these
Two Plugins To Increase Blog Comments.

Not Giving a Full Feed RSS

Unless you make 10+ posts per day, there are really no good reasons for not offering a full feed
RSS. Since turning on my full feed RSS, my RSS subscribers has increased steadily. I expected
traffic to the blog to go down but to my surprise, it kept going up.

Yes, a RSS feed is harder to monetize than a blog, but many RSS readers will unsubscribe to a
feed if it’s not full. Not offering a full feed when you do only a few updates a day (or week) just
makes you look cheap.

Not Reaching Out To Other Bloggers

The best way to get your blog noticed is by saying hi to other blogs in your niche. The easiest
way to do that is to comment on their blogs. I check the comments on my blog all the time and I
visit the commentators' site. I have discovered many great blogs this way. Other ways of
reaching out to other bloggers includes linking to them, sending trackbacks and adding yourself
to their MyBlogLog community. If you’re really creative and have a bit of money to spend, you
can even try sending a Google IM.

Writing For Google Instead Of People

Too many bloggers get too caught up with stuff like key phrases, keyword density, making sure
your content is Google friendly, etc. The only thing I have to say about that is; write for people,
not for Google. You can have the most perfectly written Google optimized page in the world and
still not ranked number 1 because Google follows people. People won’t read a page written for a
search engine because it makes no sense.

Not Reading John Chow dot Com

I think everyone here will agree that this is the biggest mistake any blogger can make.

The Seven Habits of Highly Successful Bloggers

They Blog on a Consistent Basis

Successful bloggers are not on again off again bloggers. They pick a posting frequency and they
stick to it no matter what. If you’re going to do a new blog post everyday, then make sure you do
a new blog post everyday. If you don’t think you can handle that level of posting, then pick a
number that you can handle.

It is better to post once per week on a consistent basis than once per day and then nothing for a
week after. If you’re new to blogging, I recommend you start with one to three posts per week
and work up to a level that you’re comfortable with. You should always work up the post
frequency and never work down. If you do have to work down, then do it very slowly.

They Are Passionate About Their Topic

If you’re not passionate about the topic you’re blogging about, then you’re going to have a really
hard time growing the blog. Blogs attract like-minded people and they will see right through you
if you’re just in it for the money.

Being passionate about what you blog about makes it easier to keep up with the industry - you
want to find out what is happening in your niche because it’s your passion and not because it
may make you money. I started this blog with no intention of making money from it. For the first
eight months of the blog’s life, it made zero and its traffic was just a few hundred readers per
day. Yet, I updated the blog an average of over two posts per day during that period. You cannot
do that unless you are passionate about your topic.

They Interact With Their Readers

A blog is not a one-way street. In addition to providing information, a blog is a communication
tool between the blogger and his readers. Successful bloggers interact with their readers. They
answer reader emails and comments and they ask for feedback.

Interacting with your readers build trust and loyalty. It makes you more approachable. My
biggest fear is some readers would place me so high on a pedestal that they are scare to approach
me. By keeping my blog on a light note and having fun with my postings, I feel I connect with
the readers on a more personal level.

They Give Out Lots of Link Love

Successful bloggers don’t hoard their links. They don’t have a problem with linking to a PR0
blog. They put the concerns of their readers ahead of a Google ranking. If another blog has a
good story or idea on the topics I cover, I don’t care what their PageRank is, I’m going to link to
them.

Too many bloggers are caught up with SEO and link count. They only want high ranking blogs
linking to them and won’t link to low ranking blogs. I’ve linked to hundred of brand new zero
ranked blogs and who knows how many zero ranked blogs have linked to me. My blog is a
PageRank 6. Some SEO guy told me if I would have been more careful about linking, I could
have gotten a PageRank 7. My answer to that is, “People first, Google second.”

They Know How to Brand Themselves

Successful bloggers know how to brand. Branding will separate your blog from the millions out
there. The most unique thing about your blog is not the topic you’re writing about. What makes
your blog stand out? The answer is simple - you! Your ability to promote and brand yourself will
separate your blog from the pack.

Very few blogs have ever gotten big without some kind of tier one level press coverage. This
doesn’t mean you need to hit the front page of the New York Times. You can turn any coverage
into brand building material. Branding is one of the reasons I tell all bloggers to get their own
domain name instead of going with a free service like Blogspot. You want to brand yourself, not
them.

They Are Good Writers

You do not have to be a great writer to have a successful blog but you do need to be good at
getting your ideas across in an understandable manner. Most readers read blogs for information.
They will forgive occasional grammar mistakes as long you can get your point across. If your
readers are having troubling understanding what you’re trying to say then you need to improve
your writing skills.

They Read John Chow dot Com

This is 100% true! Successful bloggers read other successful bloggers' blogs. I check out all the
big name bloggers everyday to see what they are talking about. You are never too big to stop
learning.