How successful is your blog?

Hi. I would like this thread to be a place where people can share and explain how their blog became successful. Of course, you cannot reveal too many secrets but some background info and a link to your blog would be nice so beginners and even pros can learn a thing or two from each other. I will start the thread off.

I love technology, computers, and fixing them
I own two blogs so the one in my signature is the second one
It receives over 20k hits everyday

Why is it so successful:
I put 110% effort into every blog article

I connect with the people who comment and they keep coming back because they know someone will answer them

These people I hook up with in return send me tips and suggestions

I actually sit down and think about what appeals to readers instead of blindly posting

And this is the #1 tip of all: Twitter

 

Thanks for this post. I have nothing to ad since I'm a new blogger still in the learning stages. But I will be sitting back taking notes. Do you mind elaborating on Twitter please? I signed up for it and I have feeds, but I don't actively participate because I've been busy visiting blogs and trying to build relationships in my niche.

 

Great tips - thanks!

 

I have a few blogs, but the one I started with is more of my passion, Dance Music (House, Trance, Techno).

I started this blog with nothing but a love and knowledge of the music..my design skills sucked (and still do), and I knew nothing about blogging, Word Press, Marketing, PPC, or Affiliate programs, but I knew i had enough knowledge to do something that wasn't being done yet.

I think a lot of bloggers make the mistake the first time out of trying to make big money..choosing high paying keywords, instead of writing what they know about...and they usually fail.

Biggest tip I can give is blog about what you know, and what you can honestly contribute to. Although I lacked in every other area, I have known Dance Music since the early days of house and Techno in Detroit and Chicago (the 80's), so I knew I would never be at a loss to give commentary, opinions, knowledge and history on the subject..and that is the only reason that it is now successful...the rest I learned as I went along.

Second tip I can give is design is important. It is the second most important thing after the content. After I realized my shortcomings in the design area, I opened up my wallet and paid for a nice theme, which gave me a lot more respect in the industry, and made more producers, artists, and manager want to be a part of it to the point that now, I rarely have to come up with something to post...my email box is full everyday with Press, new Releases, Contests, Festivals, tour schedules, and everything else in the world of dance music and they come from all over the world...sometimes sending 2 or 3 emails to get posted,a nd I frequently get schwag and advanced copies of new releases to review.

Those 2 things gave me the best tools for success I could ever need. Knowledge, and I cared what it looked like.

In the beginning, no one would talk to me but a few managers, (and no one took me seriously on a free hosted blog) and I kissed up to them for bit of information and promoted every artist they had no matter what, even when they sucked...now I am on the top of their list.

I joined every mailing list in the industry, emailed every DJ and artist manager, hung around Dance music forums, and of course I listen to Dance Music radio (online) and podcasts. things I would have never known to do, if I didn't know the niche. You can't fake interest in something, you have to know it, or you will not know what opportunities there are for advancement.

Now it's 2 years later, and that blog has financed 40 other sites, and 25 domains waiting for development, including several in the same niche, including Ebay and Amazon stores selling DJ Equipment, and I branched out into other niches of course.

You can make a website or a landing page about just about anything....affiliate and internet marketing is the same, just change the keyword and adjust the SEO...but truly successful blogs are by people who love the subject matter and have a lot of knowledge in it. You can't just blog about whatever...it shows.
All the blogs that we read and consider the authors experts or knowledgeable are written by people who know what they are talking about, not people who regurgitate information.

Dance Music in the U.S. is a small market, it's much bigger around the world, but I found my spot and made my little corner of the world for myself. I could have chosen a more popular music niche (Rap and Hip Hop, Country Music, or what ever), but I didn't know them as well, nor did I love them as much.

I don't care if it's rebuilding model train engines, if you can't personally contribute from experience and passion, you are in the wrong niche, and you cannot possibly be a successful blogger. If you want to target a niche just because it pays well in adsense, then build a static site or a landing page...don't try and blog everyday about it...it's a waste of time.

By the way I don't use adsense, it pays crap for music...which is another good lesson. Adsense does not work for everyone, every niche and every blog. Affiliate links make more money with less traffic. Adsense is best if you are relying more on your ability to build traffic, not capture a target audience. It is two different things.

Many of you look up what the keyword pays first, and then decide to create a blog based on that because you assume that is the way t make money..that is the stupidest thing a beginner can do. You will eventually be able to do that once you learn the business, with PPC, SEO and Bum marketing, but not with blogging.

Another common practice is to make a bunch of blogs that pay $1 a day. Experienced marketers do that, but beginners will just have a bunch of blogs that aren't making any money.

I can sell to my readers over and over, you generally only sell to adsense clickers once, and then you send them to someone else for the sale. Easier, but less money, especially if you have no traffic. Once you have traffic, and I mean a lot of it, then adsense may do something for you...but a new blog, that space is better used to sell a related product. If you are only going to get a few clicks, better to make $20 on the sale, than $1 on the click.

O.K. I know I am long winded, but maybe it will help someone the way I was helped here on this forum 4,000 posts ago.

Incidentally that blog is in my sig 124 Beats Per Minute, 1st link in my signature.

edited:
I just wanted to add that I look at other peoples blogs all the time to see what people are doing, and sooooo many bloggers copy other bloggers designs, want to use the same theme, and blog about the same subject. You are spinning you wheels doing that. I can't tell one internet marketing blog for the next, they all look exactly alike and they all say the same things. Everybody wants to blog about "blogging". Even new bloggers.

You have to be original or people won't remember you from the next guy. Even though I buy themes that are pretty nice...I always add my own things to them, adjust code, insert options that weren't spec. you have to....unless you get a theme designed specifically for you, someone else has it, and if you are blogging about the web...there are 1000 other blogs that look just like yours. Same 125x125 ads in the sidebar, same color,and most of the time..same articles, just posted on different dates.

@crazlunatic. That is a good example of someone who loves what he is blogging about, and knows the niche. I am sure any monetization came secondary, but you can tell that he wanted to have a great blog first...you'll find a way to make money...there is no shortage of that...but being the best is what will make any monetization efforts successful.

Last thing I want to add:
Autoblogging sucks ! If you don't have the time, or knowledge to blog about anything, then just don't start one. Make a static page, or landing page and do PPC. you will not get anywhere (anymore) feeding content that has already been posted someplace else first
It is a waste of time. If you are feeding your own articles, that's different, but just feeding from around the web ? If that is all you can do, don't blog.

A lot of people want to have a blog first, and then try and come up with something to blog about second...that spells failure and a waste of time and money. A blogging platform is nothing more than a tool to build a website. The blog itself is not the business, the subject and the content is the business, the platform is just how you constructed it.

 

How long did it take that blog to reach 20K per day??

 

Hey... i have gone through "lotusessence".. thats really fantastic. You said, you are new to blogging.... but ur site is looking really great..

 

Some great tips in this thread. It seems like writing about something that interests you really pays off. In my experience it makes it a whole lot easier too, as you won't mind spending a little longer making a good post - because you actually enjoy it!

 

Oh wow! Thank you very much for the compliment.

 

that's some good advice. You really need to think about your posts and really care about your blog for it to be successful.

I have several blog and there is one entertainment blog that I really like. It has PR4 and it gets around 1000 UVs every day. I am always working on making it more popular and I love posting on it.

 

Very nice tips.. Thanks "crazlunatic" and "hmansfield" for sharing your experiences. I am also planning to start a blog related to technology and you both have given good motivation and guidelines to me.

 

My blog, MandM www. mandm. org. nz is a unique blend of Christian Philosophy, Theology, Ethics, Civil Liberties, Politics, Social Commentary, life in general all with a distinctly Kiwi perspective and some dry humour thrown in.

I write it with my husband, he has a PhD in Philosophical Theology and I am completing my law degree with a specialisation in jurisprudence (philosophy of law). We are both adult converts so there is no "christianese" in what we write, we are straight talking, very rational and well argued and we bring our own take on things that are happening in the world.

New Zealand is a secular country yet we were just ranked 12th most read blog in the country so we must be doing something right.

 

One question that I have not seen answered is how long did it take to develop a successful blog?

I've only been blogging since the beginning of January, and I've developed very little traffic. How long has it taken all the successful bloggers to get where they are now?

 

It took me months (8 or 9) before I had any significant traffic to monetize. Mostly because it just wasn't that good, and I was struggling for content.

After my first 3 or 4 weeks of posting up what I knew...I was out of stuff, and decided to take to another way and post current events in the niche.

It's a good thing I was writing about something that I liked, or I may have given up.

I was trying to monetize the wrong programs, and didn't chose my advertisements and banners wisely...I kept trying to make money with adsense and it just wasn't a good fit for the niche, or my blog, but that was all that I knew at the time.

You have to ensure that they fit with the theme and design, or they just stick out like sore thumb and make the blog look like it has no direction. I was cramming stuff in everywhere and it just looked bad.

It took a big change when I put a premium template on it, and started communicating with the industry for content.

I started that blog on free hosted word press, and although I got some good PR right away, no one really took me seriously until I bought a domain, and hosted it myself. It was the best move and the most significant to it's success that I ever made.

I didn't make any money in the beginning, because I didn't know enough. The way I thought it was going to go and the way that is actually goes are completely different.

With your first blog, listen to others who have failed and struggled in the past and came out of the dark to avoid the same mistakes, but you still have to retain your fresh ideas and vision.

 

I'll be honest, I started my blog to make some side money. To say that it has been successful is correct it more than pays for itself. However, maybe I'm greedy for wanting more.

 

it requires some time to get some decent traffic.. and moving and fresh stuff is the key to success.

 

wHoa! 20k! that's big traffic, I can barely get 1000 a day..

 

My main two blogs:

Dean Saliba Dot Com brings in about 35,000 unique hits a month.
I Need Discipline brings in about 25,000 unique hits a month.

I barely do the minimum and earn about $150 a month from them. I have yet to get the urge to really put any effort into them yet.

 

I can barely get 100 a day.

 

i am bit techie and started my blog 3yrs ago and now my blog gets good rankings in google and the traffic is about 15k uniques monthly. i am programmer myself and i blog often regarding that. The reason why i decided to blog is..

1. To help myself
2. To help others

Thats all i only post about 5-10 quality blog posts monthly and not much

 

I am new blogger thank u for information