Being the year 2008, more and more people are creating their own blogs. May they be photo blogs, personal blogs, tech blogs or art blogs, they’re still blogs non-the less.

I’ve been blogging for about 8 months now, and i’ve learnt a thing or two in the process, that I feel are worth sharing.

Write about something things you’re passionate about.
It’s important that you write about something you not only enjoy, but something you’re knowledgeable in. Don’t write about a topic because it has a big fan-base. Not only will readers become bored of your blog, but you will as well. So, keep the topics to things that you like, and things that you’re motivated to write about.

Post regularly.
I can’t say that I follow this rule religiously, as I sometimes post every 2 days and at other times, I post ever 2 weeks. However, it’s important that you keep a regular posting schedule, especially when you first start out. If your posts are very sparse and unpredictable, your readers will eventually fade away, as they won’t know when they should expect a new post. When you first start your blog, try and post something new two or three times a week. Once you get a loyal fan-base, you can post a little less often, but still keep constant.

Quality, not quantity.
I see more and more blogs that contain over 5 to 10 posts a day, but each of the posts are just links to other peoples blogs or pictures or things of that sort. These blogs rarely have original material, which can become boring. Make sure the work you post is well thought out and is original material. People will come back to your blog if you write informative and descriptive posts. If you can write 5 to 10 posts a day, that are informative, descriptive and original, then hey, more power to ya’.

Pick a good looking theme.
It’s important that you pick a clean, modern, easy-to-use theme. Your readers won’t come back if you’re site looks bad or unprofessional. Also, be sure to make it easy to navigate. The worst thing you can do is have a site that people can’t find their way around in. Lastly, don’t fill your site with ads. You can have a few here and there (as I do), but don’t put ads after each post, and have 10 different ad companies plastered on the side of your home page. This just makes you look like you’re blogging for the wrong reasons.

Get involved in the community.
It’s important that you contribute to other blogs and online communities. This will allow you to meet new people and make online friend. Some of my most loyal readers, are those that i’ve meet online through various sites such as Flickr, DeviantART and Twitter. By commenting on other peoples work, you make yourself a little more known, and eventually, the people you comment on will take an interest in what you have to offer.

Be patient.
When first starting out, you’ll get very little to almost no views on your site. The key is to be patient. Once you’ve posted some quality work, established a regular schedule and become involved in various online communities, you’ll start to get some hits. After a short while, you’ll gain loyal readers that will subscribe to your site or visit regularly and they will tend to leave comments on a majority of the stuff you post. So, like anything, if you give it time, you’ll be sure to see results.

Those are the most useful tips I have to offer. I know a lot of them have been posted by others before, but I figured I would re-post them in my own words, as they are things I have followed for the most part and i’ve seen work first hand. So, if you’re new to the blogging world, welcome, and if follow these tips, you’ll slowly get regular and loyal readers.

Hope that helped!

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