by Y Tian

Created on: March 16, 2011   Last Updated: March 20, 2011

Blogs are a popular online platform for people from around the world to share the latest news, discuss their favorite hobbies, voice out personal opinions or just tell the online population what they have been up to lately. Not only are blogs a fun way to shout out to the world, it can also be a very profitable venture. For some, like Perez Hilton, it could even be the route to fame. However, for every successful blog ranked on page one of Google searches, there are thousands of unsuccessful blogs. Beginner bloggers should be mindful of a couple of potential pitfalls. Here are 10 tips that should help prospective bloggers on their way to establishing a solid and successful blog.

1. Establish the purpose of the blog

You can start a blog on any topic you like. From online diaries to travel logs to online tutorials to sharing recipes, the online world is truly your virtual oyster. However, this may be as much of a curse as a blessing. The endless possibilities can be almost paralyzing at times. What’s more, once you’ve started a blog, you may find it difficult to stick to one topic and not stray to other subject matters. So before starting a blog, it is important to figure out what the blog will be about, what is its purpose and what are your goals for the blog.

2. Find a suitable platform

Once you’ve settled on a topic and purpose for the blog, it is important to consider where you would like to host your blog. There are many websites such as Blogger, LiveJournal and WordPress that offer to host your blog for free. Most of these websites have a large well-established community of fellow bloggers with whom you can communicate with and learn from. Each website has their benefits and drawbacks. Blogger, for example, give its users options to monetize their blogs with Google Adsense and Amazon Associates. LiveJournal, on the other hand, focuses very much communities and connecting with friends. You can also self host your blog. It’s important to look at each option and decide which one suits you the best.

3. Consistently produce content

Rome wasn’t built in a day and blogs rarely become an Internet sensation based on just one post. Don’t be discouraged if after a couple of posts, nobody is visiting your blog. It takes persistence as well as consistent production of quality content to attract readers to your blog and persuade them to stick around.

4. Short sweet posts are the best

Overwhelmed with excitement of starting a brand

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