Written on November 27th, 2008 at 12:11 am by Darren Rowse

7 Essential Things You Should Be Doing When Your Blog Is Still Young

Miscellaneous Blog Tips 99 comments

This is a guest post from Leo Babauta of Zen Habits and Write To Done.

These days my blog, Zen Habits, no longer has the problems of finding its identity and finding an audience … but there was a time not too long ago when Zen Habits was just a baby going through the inevitable growing pains.

And yes, I remember struggling to find new readers — to just let people know I was even there. The early days of a blog are the toughest, by far.

But they don’t have to be. When a blog is still young, just as in childhood, it can be freer, carefree, and fun. Everything is a learning experience. Best yet, a young blog has endless potential — it can be anything (except perhaps President of the United States).

So if you’re the owner of a young blog, here are seven things I recommend you do, based on my experiences:

  1. Create amazingly useful content. This is the most important thing you can do the first month or two of your blog’s existence. The next item (branding) is also important to think about as you start, but in terms of how you spend your time, writing amazing and useful content should be 95% of what you do. Your design, ads, technical stuff … all that can be worked on later. Right now, write your butt off. Create tip-packed posts that will knock the reader’s socks off. Read more: What Makes Great Blogwriting?
  2. Create a great brand. When you first create your blog, you should think a bit about the brand you’re going to create. When you create a brand, you are sending an unspoken message. What unspoken message do you want to send? Start by defining your target audience, then by figuring out what desires you will tap into. Then craft an unspoken message that will be true to yourself while tapping into those desires. Use that unspoken message to craft your brand (the title of your blog) as well as everything else you do, from blog design to post topics to the tone you write with and more. Read more: Branding 101: How to Promote Your Blog Like the Big Guys Do.
  3. Network with other bloggers. When you first start out, you might not know many other bloggers. Rectify that situation by commenting on other blogs in your niche, and sending friendly emails to other bloggers whose blogs you enjoy. Offer to collaborate with them, to do guest posts for them (see next item) and in general be helpful and friendly. Develop a relationship with other bloggers — it’ll pay off in the long run.
  4. Write guest posts. One of the absolute best ways to promote your blog and your brand, and to find new readers, is to write guest posts on other blogs with readers who are among your target audience. Of course, it’s hard to get a guest post slot on big blogs when you’re just a little guy. So start with blogs that are just a little bigger than you — if you have 10 readers, go for a blog with 100-200 readers. If you have 100 readers, go for a blog with 300-500 readers, and so on. Before you start doing guest posts, however, be sure to have 10-12 solid, powerful, insanely useful posts on your blog. You want your new readers to come to your blog and be struck by a great first impression. Every guest post you write should be as amazingly useful and tip-packed as the ones on your blog (see first item).
  5. Experiment and have fun. Once you’re a blogging powerhouse, you have thousands of readers’ expectations to live up to. You have to put up great content every day, and each word is scrutinized. So take advantage of your youth as a blog — have a blast! Experiment, try out different writing techniques, imitate other blogs, try humor and rants and moving personal essays. Try to write a post that will become popular in the social media. Find your voice as a writer. Seek inspiration and write whatever you’re inspired to write.
  6. Get out there, often. Now is the time to start becoming more visible, and to spread your brand as much as possible. Comment on many other blogs, participate in blog carnivals, send links to other bloggers and see if they’ll share them with their readers, participate in contests. Be visible.
  7. Seek out your potential. You can be anything you want to be when you’re just starting out. Figure out what that will be. Aspire to great heights, and seek to raise your level of blogging each step of the way. Find your path to greatness as a blogger. Try new paths, and find what fits you. Follow your passion, your inspiration, and above all, enjoy the journey!

For more great tips on blogwriting, see my blog for writers and bloggers: Write To Done.

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99 Responses to “7 Essential Things You Should Be Doing When Your Blog Is Still Young” - Add Yours

  • Ganesh

    November 27th, 2008 12:18 am

    I remember the time when I first started blogging. It was fun. Now that I recall those times, I guess I more focused then and wrote pretty interesting content. The most important thing you have to do with your new blog is to experiment and test its potential.

  • Anjay

    November 27th, 2008 12:20 am

    I have just started blogging, so this is really useful information for me. Great site Darren.

  • TwinToddlersDad

    November 27th, 2008 12:21 am

    Great tips Darren. I am a big fan of yours. For a new blogger like me, your advice is simply fantastic.

    The problem I am facing is how to find other bloggers in my niche. I write about Toddler Nutrition, and there doesn’t seem to be a lot out there that is really driven by science.
    Anyway, I am focused on building content right now..so I guess this can wait. If you have any suggestions, I sure would be grateful. Thank you

    http://www.littlestomaks.com/about/

  • Derek Halpern

    November 27th, 2008 12:23 am

    I remember reading Zenhabits back when it was a small blog. All of a sudden, every one of his articles ended up on digg’s front page. Additionally, I started seeing guest posts everywhere (Webworker daily, Problogger, a Leon Ho interview on Lifehack).

    So, I have one question for you Leo: How were you able to have so much to say in so little time?

  • Shanel Yang

    November 27th, 2008 12:42 am

    Hey, Leo! Great to see you here on Problogger! And, thanks for the great beginner blogging tips! : )

  • Bash Bosh

    November 27th, 2008 12:46 am

    Hello!
    I have to say that this is very nice and good article – specially for all beginners in blogging! Good job indeed!

  • Shafar

    November 27th, 2008 12:50 am

    These are really very helpful tips to me, because my blog is still young..! (Me too!!)

  • c wylie

    November 27th, 2008 12:53 am

    thanks.. this is nice. it can be intimidating to come up with new blog ideas.. but it’s good to know that there is a freedom in being young.. very little pressure and expectations.

  • Jamie

    November 27th, 2008 12:56 am

    This was a great post. My blog is about a year old and I’m getting out there pretty well but you can never have enough advice. Thanks!

  • ShriNagesh

    November 27th, 2008 1:00 am

    Great Tips.

    I’d like to add Social media networking. It is awesome how one can build a brand and visibility to their blog by being an active participant on social media like twitter & facebook.

  • How to Blog

    November 27th, 2008 1:02 am

    Great Post, I love how he says enjoy it while you can. Most bloggers have the opinion of this is the hard time, and when your popular that’s when it get’s easier, which isn’t necessarily true.

    I definitely agree with his having several killer posts, before doing too much advertising comment. You need to have something to keep your readers. You also need a really nice archives system, so that they can navigate through your site. Setting up a a top posts thing or most commented should do the trick.

    Guest posting is one of the best ways to get new readers, and advertise your site. And I’ve been surprised how many bloggers are happy for the day off, assuming you can write a good post. I mean you won’t get away with a problogger or john chow on the first month of your blog, but you can try for slightly large sites then yours. What’s the worst that could happen right?

    Great tips, and I’m going to check out your sites now.

    Jonathan Muller

  • Kathy - Virtual Impax

    November 27th, 2008 1:05 am

    Leo –

    Launching a blog is like raising a child – so many people get caught up in the “baby blog blues”. Just like raising human children, it takes time to get your blog from baby to teenager – and just like human children – there are different trials for each stage.

    While the mechanics of blogging are amazingly easy to master, creating a successful blog is actually much HARDER than it looks.

    Thanks for sharing your insider tips from someone who has been there and done it well!

  • Cecily Crout

    November 27th, 2008 1:11 am

    Darren this is great, thank you. I’ve been feeling the urge to start a blog and have been collecting ideas for content. I like the idea of experimenting and having fun, it makes sense to just play with it and find your voice while your blog is young and carefree. The create a brand part I hadn’t considered, so that’s something I’m going to do some homework on now.

  • Matt Gio

    November 27th, 2008 1:11 am

    This is a great post, thanks Leo. I have already started my To-Do list using your suggestions.

  • Hendry Lee

    November 27th, 2008 1:12 am

    I wish someone has told me these tips when I was getting started about five years ago in blogging.

    Your advice is spot on. When getting started, every visitor counts. I like to play the game of doubling my RSS subscribers.

    From 10 to 20, 20 to 40 and so on.

    When reaching about 500 or 1,000, it becomes easier because of the regular followers and readers are already there.

  • Jim Legington

    November 27th, 2008 1:13 am

    Seven Points that I’m sure will help me and anyone else
    that visits our UpperRoom Storage of Great Content as
    this at upperroom’s Bookmarks at delicious. Yea, Darren
    this is a Great Post by Your Guest -Leo Babauta of Zen
    Habits. I’m attempting to grow a Blog with Thoughtful
    Comments Myself. This work is not all about me, just
    sharing my gift from God. Thank You for Solid Tips, that
    we are grateful for when we read Your Blog.

    Be Blessed always…Peace!

  • Peter van Veen

    November 27th, 2008 1:15 am

    As a brand new blogger, I like this posts. Easy to read and understand and quite powerfull stuff!

    I Love it!

  • Erin

    November 27th, 2008 1:15 am

    I have been blogging for several years on a personal blog, but recently started a professional blog that teaches non-technical people how to use social media.

    My professional blog is the one that I need the most help with building into a reputable brand.

    There are so many great ideas on here; many thanks for the blog post Darren and Leo.

    Now, about those guest posts…anyone in need of a guest blogger?

  • Cosmin Ghiu

    November 27th, 2008 1:16 am

    Darren:

    Thanks for the great post. I am in the process of going through a strategy to build my blog as we speak. So I am glad that alot of your tips I have or will implement. One tip that I knew about but yet experiemented with is the Guest blogging.

    I assume that the blog post you place on the guest blog you can post on my blog as well. Is this the protocol?

  • How to Blog

    November 27th, 2008 1:19 am

    I would be interested in a guest poster Erin, check out my site mastersofseo.com to let me know if your interested. The template is a little messed up right now, :) but I’m fixing it lol. Email me at mastersofseo@gmail.com if your interested.

  • Tracy

    November 27th, 2008 1:19 am

    @TwinToddlersDad one suggestion I would have is to start posting at parenting forums. I wouldn’t start by trying to promote your content, but just start making connections with other parents. Not only will you have people who will be the target market for your content, but you’ll also get a good idea of what sorts of topics your audience will be interested in.

    I run a forum that is primarily mothers with children and I do all I can to help promote any bloggers on my site. It’s win/win for all concerned.

  • Frugal Dad

    November 27th, 2008 1:20 am

    A lot of truth in these tips, Leo, thanks! As a one year-old blogger, I have to say, I wish I enjoyed the time as a “young” blogger even more. Now that I’ve attracted a few thousand readers the “scrutinization” of each word certainly becomes a factor is how you write, and what you write about–right or wrong.

    One thing I’ve done personally to offset these feelings is start a new blog in a slightly different niche. This way I can “experiment” there and apply some of the lessons to my primary blog.

  • Tracy

    November 27th, 2008 1:22 am

    Thanks for the great post Leo – my favorite is number 5, experiment and have fun. Being able to write and have fun with it is such a gift! My goal over the next year is to take more chances and if I fail, so what?

  • Jenn

    November 27th, 2008 1:46 am

    Great post! As a fairly new blogger, I really needed this info. I was lost on how to find new readers, but I have been moving towards providing informational posts more often. Guess I was on the right track!

  • Tumblemoose

    November 27th, 2008 1:51 am

    True words, all of it.

    My blog is about 3 months old and instinctively I’ve done most everything you list. It has been very effective and I am as happy as a clam.

    If you are brand new, or if you are considering starting a blog, pay attention and follow this advice. It’s good stuff.

    Cheers

    George

  • Bits and Blogs

    November 27th, 2008 2:06 am

    Great tips! While I have been blogging for a few years now most of that is for client’s blogs. I now have my “baby” up and running and these helpful tips are going to make it much easier to get my blog past its infancy stage. :)

  • CJ

    November 27th, 2008 2:18 am

    AWESOME advice! I’m happy to say, these are exactly the kinds of things I’ve been doing, and I’m having a BLAST!

    I think I’ve found a new favorite author! Thanks for writing this post!

  • Rahul

    November 27th, 2008 2:21 am

    It is always cool to go through Leo’s articles. I’m a great fan of Leo. Thanks for your helpful article, specially for me, since my blog is also at its young stage.

  • mike

    November 27th, 2008 2:31 am

    Great tips. I always try to write good content in every post. People will come back to a well written blog that gives them value.

  • Jerry Jordan

    November 27th, 2008 2:33 am

    Great post and extremely helpful to a newbie blogger like me. And I must say, I’m real fan of lists blogs so this is right up my alley. I’m bookmarking as we speak.

    Thanks again and keep up the great work on Zen Habits.

  • Yanik's Photo School

    November 27th, 2008 2:33 am

    NO one mentioned getting the Problogger book? ;-)

    I got mine 2 weeks ago and ate through it in 2 days. It’s the perfect book for people just starting out! I really recommend it!

  • Glenn Seymour

    November 27th, 2008 2:50 am

    Finding a great Joint Venture partner has been the solution to my blogging. I had a sole blog for a while and found the weight of that coupled with a 10 hour day to be more than I could handle.

    Caused me more stress than I needed. I now share blogging duties with my partner, Deanna. Blog life is great now.

    Kind Regards

    Glenn Seymour

  • Funky Space Monkey

    November 27th, 2008 3:10 am

    found this post “Branding 101: How to Promote Your Blog Like the Big Guys Do.” a couple of days ago…. it is amazing, everybody should read that.

  • Chris Raider

    November 27th, 2008 3:23 am

    I’ just started an new blog and agree that these things are definitly essential.
    The most important: GOOD CONTENT!!!!!
    Networking with other bloggers is sometimes a little bit difficult.
    But the most important thing is: Have fun blogging and everything will work fine and you will have success.

  • The Lion

    November 27th, 2008 3:42 am

    There are many things I should start doing I guess…

  • Ruchir Chawdhry

    November 27th, 2008 4:09 am

    “Of course, it’s hard to get a guest post slot on big blogs when you’re just a little guy. So start with blogs that are just a little bigger than you — if you have 10 readers, go for a blog with 100-200 readers.”

    Honestly, it’s a total waste of time guest posting on a blog with readers below 1000.

    And it’s not hard getting a guest post slot on big blogs when you’re just a little guy. I guest posted on QuickOnlineTips (16k readers), ProBlogger (68k readers), and DumbLittleMan (59k readers) when my blog had only 9 readers…

  • Neil

    November 27th, 2008 4:17 am

    Thanks for the great tips Leo. I think I’m on track, my goal right now is to really get good content out there. Once that’s done I’d like to move to guest posting. The rest will come from there.

  • Clara Mathews

    November 27th, 2008 4:56 am

    This is a great post for me, since I have just started a blog. I am still in the first stages and it is good to know what steps I need to take to get it off the ground.

    I plan to use this 4-day weekend to make changes to the design, but more importantly, my goal is to write at least 3 REALLY good posts.

    I found your blog Write to Done to be very helpful as well and I will sucbribe to the rss.

    Thanks for the advice.

  • Ben Moreno

    November 27th, 2008 5:20 am

    Darren,

    These are great tips. I am still a very blogger and I don’t think I have a good brand. I did not think of this when I first started. What would you recommend for me in this situation?

    Should I start a new blog or should I just keep at it trying to build a brand name. I often feel like my title is stupid and I should start over or change the url and title.

    If you could give me a recommendation it would really help.

  • The Geek Entrepreneur

    November 27th, 2008 5:30 am

    Having a brand new blog, I read your post hoping to find a nugget of useful information. Instead, I found a boulder! (lol) Great post, Leo, and thanks for the advice.

    Wesley
    The Geek Entrepreneur

  • Jeff Fine&Frugal

    November 27th, 2008 5:36 am

    Thanks for the encouragement to write my butt off. I’ve started my blog coming off unemployment. Now doing temp work as a receptionist (not my life calling, but good to have so cash flow for now until something else better comes along), I’ve got all this time sitting here at this computer at work. I.e. they don’t keep me very busy. So while I have the time, I’m working most of the day on my blog, and brainstorming tons ideas to write on. That inclucdes content that will target the audience after the holidays.

    Thanks too for the thoughts on “branding”. Very helpful as I seek to keep my blog focused on something that connects with people’s desires–even in a recession.

  • Neil

    November 27th, 2008 6:08 am

    I have been blogging for a number of months and would enjoy feedback on my sites. I have enjoyed reading the Problogger and have found many of the tips useful and a great encouragement to continue blogging.

    http://whereintheworldandwhy.blogspot.com/

  • Ryan McLean

    November 27th, 2008 6:45 am

    These are great tips. I am still a young blogger but I am starting to come out of the hard times. My blog now has over 300 subscribers and growing. With a few more months I believe I will crack the 1,000 mark.

  • Robby G

    November 27th, 2008 6:52 am

    captivating read. I think most new bloggers forget to do number 4 until later on in their career.

  • Ramses

    November 27th, 2008 6:55 am

    Great tips, but aren’t you branding your blog a bit too much in this post, Leo?

    Hehe, reminds me of this post http://www.problogger.net/archives/2008/11/26/do-you-make-these-mistakes-in-guest-posting/ – Point 5

  • BetaTales

    November 27th, 2008 7:23 am

    Thank you for your great advice. I just started my blog – BetaTales – a couple of weeks ago and is experimenting with different ways to attract readers.

    And as a journalist in my professional life I couldn’t agree with you more that writing great content always must be number one.

  • Chris

    November 27th, 2008 8:09 am

    my blog is still young, only 5 months old. we have been reading up on ways to beef up traffic and definetly appreciate the help. without spending any money we are already between 150-800 hits a day. thanks everyone!

    http://www.gotoguy.com/

  • Chris Casarez

    November 27th, 2008 8:18 am

    Thanks for the great advice! My blog is about a week old, so this insight is extremely helpful…

  • Logan

    November 27th, 2008 8:51 am

    Leo thanks for the good tips. Much appreciated!

  • Man Overboard

    November 27th, 2008 9:46 am

    All good advice. Content Content Content. You can package and promote until you’re red in the face, but if your selling crap you won’t ever get off the ground.

  • Henry

    November 27th, 2008 9:47 am

    Wow nice guide, I am about to start and a post like this helps a lot. It would be great if there where more post like this, like things to do when you first start a site, etc

  • Charles Bohannan

    November 27th, 2008 10:10 am

    Ugh, that’s me: a new blogger with a new blog struggling to find my direction, readers and niche. So many people are doing it nowadays that I sometimes think that the golden age of blogger is over.

    But I’ll keep writing and see what happens.

    Thanks, Leo.

  • Nate

    November 27th, 2008 10:21 am

    Leo, great post. I’m a new blogger, these tips are what I’ve been looking for.

    -Nate

  • Matt Antonino

    November 27th, 2008 12:58 pm

    Thanks for the tips – I am going to implement some of them on my newest blog and see how it goes.

  • Vincent

    November 27th, 2008 2:49 pm

    Thanks Leo. These are some great tips for new bloggers like me.

    Cheers
    Vincent
    Personal Development Blogger

  • العاب

    November 27th, 2008 5:50 pm

    Thank you for these handy tips . that is exactly what i am doing and i’ll keep it .

  • gendut

    November 27th, 2008 6:02 pm

    very basic listing….useful but,need time and discipline to get the great result……thanks for the posting

  • seodoz

    November 28th, 2008 1:07 am

    Hello,

    I agree with you. I believe that participation in relevant forums (by helping others with some good solutions) is also a great way to come into picture. it might take some time to get recognition but it will definitely be very helpful.

    Thanks

    Anshu
    http://www.seodoz.com

  • Studenomics

    November 28th, 2008 3:37 am

    One thing that I have been doing to try to grow my blog is by networking with bloggers in the same niche and have them tear apart my blog. I love honest feedback and if someone just tells me everything they hate about my blog I will be able to greatly improve it.

  • coachben

    November 28th, 2008 5:36 am

    Great tips! I need to start apply this to my new blog http://www.dailyabworkout.com

  • Gavin

    November 28th, 2008 8:47 am

    As per usual some very handy tips there! Im currently in the early stages of a new blog and am finding it quite difficult this time round to bag an audience, so hopefully these tips will help! Thanks

  • Jorge Cunha

    November 28th, 2008 9:57 am

    Very useful tips but some things are common sense but it’s good for guide line.
    Thanks for sharing :)

  • Angel Cuala

    November 28th, 2008 10:48 am

    Another great guest post, Leo. I am trying to do all of them, especially the third one – networking with others.

    But I suppose inspiring others the best tip ever, and Darren agrees with me.

    This is why I think he choose my tip as the best blogging tip, which I won his Problogger book via the contest from Kevin of Blogging Tips.

    Thank you very much Darren!

    You, Leo and Kevin are among my inspiration. You guys are never selfish in any point. That’s why I am doing my best to inspire others too.

  • Dee Langdon - BloggerNewbie

    November 28th, 2008 2:56 pm

    My blog is 6 months old and to me, still new, I am trying to do all the above but my number one task is having fun. I learn so much on a daily basis it’s impossible not to be positive about the blogosphere. I find it difficult to stay organized or on task. Any tips for that?

  • wisdom

    November 28th, 2008 5:07 pm

    Good tips, thanks for the share.

  • Peter

    November 28th, 2008 5:43 pm

    Great post! My guitar blog is still only a few months old and I’ve had a few little successes in terms of networking and publicity, and now I’m trying to figure out how to take it to the next level. I’m lucky that I can use a lot of the content that I write for guitar magazines, and expand upon them, and I’ve had good results with sending links not only to other bloggers but also to more news-based guitar and music sites.

  • Wild East News

    November 28th, 2008 6:44 pm

    When a blog is young it’s a great time to go in and tweak the code. When we make mistakes we learn a lot so by the time the blog has matured, the blogger has too. You don’t want to be making those same mistakes when you have a large readership.

  • Gareth

    November 28th, 2008 7:04 pm

    Thank you, these are great tips for someone just starting out with their Blog like me.

  • Hemamth Kumar

    November 28th, 2008 7:38 pm

    Thanks for the great tips Leo. I started my blog at Digitel Steps 8 months back. But Just now am doing well. This is because I just started blog with out knowing any thing other than blog. We have to know about everything before starting blog, then the blog will rock.

  • dev

    November 28th, 2008 11:48 pm

    Great tips from Leo, thank you

  • Tracy

    November 29th, 2008 1:20 am

    Thanks for the tips.
    I’m a little blog just starting out so I’ll experiment with these tips!

  • BloggerSavvy

    November 29th, 2008 3:02 am

    One point I think is essential (and so many of us overlook it), is to ensure that we are using reliable web hosting services. Not only does this effect us directly (if visitors cannot access the site properly), but it seems there is an SEO spin to this aspect.

    In March of 2005 Google was issued a patent of interesting note is the nameservers (DNS) handling the server on which your blog is hosted:

    One statement of Google’s treatment of nameserver information is:

    “…the age, or other information, regarding a name server associated with a domain may be used to predict the legitimacy of the domain. A “good” name server may have a mix of different domains from different registrars and have a history of hosting those domains, while a “bad” name server might host mainly pornography or doorway domains, domains with commercial words (a common indicator of spam), or primarily bulk domains from a single registrar, or might be brand new. The newness of a name server might not automatically be a negative factor in determining the legitimacy of the associated domain, but in combination with other factors, such as ones described herein, it could be.”

  • Monika

    November 29th, 2008 4:48 am

    Thank you for the info. I am enjoying this learning process and rediscovering who I am. Now it’s time to find new connections!

  • Royal Blogger

    November 29th, 2008 5:55 am

    For a young blog all the above ideas are great ! But are they enough ? Well , I will like to add another point to it . The eighth point (8) Always blogs about the topics that you are passionate about. Few day back I was blogging about the things that were maximum searched over the internet but later I learned that the traffic , keywords doesn’t matter, what matters is “Blogging about those topic in which we have experience, eagerness and expertise.”

  • J. D. Ebberly

    November 29th, 2008 12:45 pm

    Great article Darren! I’ll keep these useful tips in mind as I blog!

  • Tony New Way Of Wealth

    November 29th, 2008 1:43 pm

    Leo thank you for the great blog of yours as well as the post. I have a relatively new blog myself and although for only a few months I’m already getting 1600 hits a month. I, like you said, am finding my blogs voice and having a blast doing it.

    One of the things I’ve started to do per Eban Pagan’s suggestion is reading Comedy writing to give your writing more character and flair. I’ve noticed a more fun and relaxed writing style that is coming much easier these days.

    With your suggestion I’m just going to push the envelope of writing valuable content that is fun! Thank you!

  • Angela

    November 30th, 2008 12:09 am

    I have really enjoyed reading your posts! They have opened my eyes to the art of blogging. As a virgin blogger, I am so glad to have found your site to help “show me how”.
    Kudo’s!

    All the Best,
    Angela

  • francis suarez

    November 30th, 2008 1:43 am

    I bought your book Darren this weekend at Barnes and Noble. I love it, specially the way it’s written as it’s very down to earth and simple. Seems like your talking directly to me in your writing. I had a blog for a whole year which I named clueQ. I’m a computer System Administrator myself and I wanted to create a place where I could share my experience and solutions I had found over so many years of work; by the way, the best thing I could give others is my Knowledge. Sometimes this simple written solutions I saved and wrote on a notepad took me days to figure them out and not even books gave me the correct path. Thanks for the book and inspiring me to continue my technology blog journey.

  • mcdamas

    November 30th, 2008 3:09 am

    It’s such a great article that I learn a lot from it. I understand that I must do what the article demands me to. Thank you to you

  • Vijay

    November 30th, 2008 4:19 am

    Hi,

    Thanks for your richy post .My blog is just born 1 week ago . May be your words praise my blog for its nearer success ..

  • Dean Holland

    November 30th, 2008 6:06 am

    Great !! ;)

    Thankyou very much for this detail, I myself just started my blog 5 weeks ago..

    Things have been moving fast for me, Im now hitting 140-340 visits to my blog every day

    I just made my first online earnings too !!

    Its amazing what can be achieved, Ive made over $1700 in just 8 days with my 5 week old blog !!

    This type of info is inspiring for my own development.. Keep it coming :)

    Many thanks

    Dean
    http://www.DeanHolland.com

  • westpenninewoman

    November 30th, 2008 6:52 am

    Essential advice here. I agree 100% with the branding and visual effects needed.

    I’m a trained journalist so if anyone wants to interview me on new media or whatever I’m available :)

  • Richael Neet

    December 1st, 2008 10:54 am

    This is indeed a very useful article for me, as I have just started off raw in the blogging arena. Yes, I am finding difficulty in attracting traffic and comments and I greatly believe in one point you raised; “Start off with Creating amazingly useful content”.

    If you write blockbuster posts right from the word go, your readers would be more appreciative than putting all flashy modifications and writing useless contents. Overtime, redesign your blog, ask for design feedback and continue with your content writing. Yes, it takes time, but the end results are always sweet :)

  • Luca Di Nicola

    December 2nd, 2008 10:47 am

    Excellent list. I’ve printed it and will keep by my desk as a reminder. There are so many things to learn about blogging. I’m afraid to make mistakes and that slows me down so the tip on experimenting is timely.
    Thanks again

  • Eugene

    December 2nd, 2008 6:14 pm

    Darren, I have to thank you for these posts. I’ve tried to blog commercially before, but I never made it past the first big humps. I’m hoping that with your advice and a little wherewithal, I’ll have something to show for my work this time.

  • sam

    December 2nd, 2008 6:47 pm

    Thanks for all the tips very helpful. I really need to do all of these but it’s very time consuming yet that’s how you create traffic so I guess I have to put some time into it.

    http://shopontheinternet.blogspot.com/

  • Takumi86

    December 3rd, 2008 12:37 am

    wow hey, thanks a lot for all of this, i couldn’t agree with you more when i saw point no 1 – 4. I actually have done that several time before i saw this post and it does give me more reader.

  • Bryan

    December 3rd, 2008 11:36 am

    Thanks for these great tips. I’m a newbie blogger and I am eager to learn.

  • Roman

    December 4th, 2008 6:29 am

    I have a new blog too. Great article!

  • Carmen

    December 5th, 2008 12:42 am

    This are great and surprisingly simple suggestions (but that tends to be true about the best and most useful advice given). I think my main struggle with blogging tends to come from too many diverse interests and wanting to keep them all separate (e.g. a different blog for every interest…like music, DIY stuff, NYC blog, etc.) and the pressures of keeping up with so many at once…any suggestions on whether it’s better to keep juggling several distinct blogs updated less frequently or to narrow my focus with daily content?

  • Anne Louise Bannon

    December 5th, 2008 12:25 pm

    I liked the post, but I’m having a lot of trouble following and posting on other blogs. I have a six-month-old blog on family television and media, and most of my time is spent sorting through press releases to find potential programs to highlight, getting the screeners for those programs, watching the programs, finding and downloading the art for the posts. Plus I do have to stay on top of what’s happening in the industry (Showtime just announced it’ll have the Twilight films – parents want to know about stuff like that). Oh, and make a living until the blog pays off.

    Secondly, I get having a few killer posts in the bank is a good thing before trying to get a guest blogging shot. My problem is that my material is mostly time-sensitive. I can’t run my killer post on saying no to your kids if the big thing on TV that day is A Charlie Brown Christmas.

    Any ideas on how to handle these two situations?

    http://WWW.yourfamilyviewer.com

  • bigdadgib

    December 7th, 2008 1:12 pm

    We are never too old to learn more.
    These are all great tips. Thanks
    Gib

  • rollizalove

    December 10th, 2008 9:49 am

    I am just starting a blogging habit and follow tons of advice here. Thanks for helping. I am still trying to figure out my blog’s personality so I am letting it feel its way by writing and experimenting with several styles initially. I have a feeling it will have a voice of its own. keep up the good tips

  • Mendoza Studios

    December 14th, 2008 1:48 am

    Great way to brush up on some old basics.. great post :)

    I read your blog every day and always find in the archives something useful for the day.

    Thanks

  • john

    December 21st, 2008 2:16 pm

    Thanks for the great tips. I am a new blogger so any tips like these are of great help indeed. I will certainly be keeping an eye out on this site, incase of other great gems like this.

    God bless

  • Heather Hapeta

    January 4th, 2009 5:01 am

    Great piece and have picked up some tips I intend to do from now on … starting with commenting on this blog.

    ok other newbies, now please click on my url and comment on mine! lets get cracking by supporting each others bogs,

    cheers, from down-under in New Zealand.

  • Geoserv

    January 26th, 2009 1:33 pm

    Good post Darren, but let’s not forget that these 7 things are just that, 7.

    There are a number of things that need to be done.

    The trick is finding out what works for you not ProBlogger or anyone else.

    Hard to believe that ProBlogger actually struggled.

  • Believe Design

    April 30th, 2009 7:47 pm

    Does anybody have any tips on approaching other blog owners with an offer of writing a guest post? I’ve seen a number of these on blogs like this that I follow regularly, but hae never known how to ‘get my foot in the door’…

  • iW2K

    May 11th, 2009 11:49 pm

    Nice post.
    Would like to share a similar post iW2K recently published.
    Here’s the link:

    http://www.iwrite2know.com/2009/05/monetize-your-blog.html

    Thanks.


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