… and maybe I should take my own advice! 
)
Like most bloggers, I have a hit glass ceiling with regards to growing the blog reader count here, nothing wrong with that as we expect to hit one sometime, after all we can’t do it all alone and we only have a certain reach.
Also like most bloggers I keep an aye on my stats and where they can be improved if possible to do so, which is most areas if we are honest, and the reason we test things ourselves. YOUR stats are the most accurate for your blog after all.
We can all read the top blogs like problogger, to learn of how things we need to learn but we still have to test things for ourselves so never take what any one blogger says as gospel … yes, take this post with a pinch of salt too. ;o)
I can only share what I’ve learnt from my blogging experience and these 5 tips are what I think will improve things and it’s what I will work on, things I should already be doing better!
1. Better content always wins.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, (last post) there is no other bigger priority when it comes to blogging, look at any of the top blogs online and the one main thing they have in common is better content.
That is better than the rest, else they wouldn’t be the top blogs ;o)
What other reason do you read any blog for?
None, the content is the most important thing on any blog, website.
Good content is good … better content is best and one of the best ways of making better content is to make evergreen content as the people like Darren Rowse and Steve Pavlina do, they consistently create content that will be as relevant in two years as it is now which also makes more likely to be shared by others too.
My action : To improve all post as much as possible because the main thing is to improve your experience of reading it and one thing I have noticed is the post(s) I write from a more personal point tend to get bigger traffic which leads me onto …
2. Being authentic matters.
There is no-one else like you … likewise nor is there anyone like me. )
Have you noticed how some blogs, and it’s of course more so with corporate style ones, seem to lack any personality?
They are so … boring at times they cry out for a bit of personality to be added.
It’s all very well being professional about things but drawing the mine somewhere is sensible if you ask me, most people relate to people better when they are authentic.
Being ourselves is one of our biggest pluses so don’t hide the real you as you only take away from yourself and your readers.
My action : I think I am pretty authentic on here, at least I try my best to be. Telling it like it is helps. ) More than that …
3. Honesty pays.
No-one likes a liar, the truth always outs as we always hear as kids, so it is in reality.
Telling lies of any sort nearly always bite you on the arse somewhere down the line and it can be worse online with it there for all to see, save, share etc.
This also ties into one of the areas I feel people really shoot themselves in the feet … or come damn close to it and by the skin of their teeth survive.
I am talking about the “fake it till you make it” types.
You know the ones, they say one thing but the reality is quite another!
These people lack point number 2 badly.
There is no need to fake things and lie, being honest and upfront with your readers shows them the respect they deserve.
If you start playing with small exaggerations they soon grow into a monster you can’t stop.
I have seen bloggers post about traffic stats and such which others have shown up to be false by a bit of detective work doing due diligence.
It all comes back in the end, never worth staking any reputation on lies or silly claims etc to try and make your reality appear better than it is.
My action : I hate lies, nothing to change there, why hide what’s best to share and honesty is worth sharing, more so when you consider …
4 Learning is the only real progress.
Not one of us knows it all and that goes for the pros out there too as they would certainly be the first to admit. The day we stop learning is the day we stop growing.
With every day we blog we learn a little more about it, we have that extra stat to consider within the bigger picture. Each day brings change which means you cannot afford to sit still, you have to learn as the changes happen, online change is more rapid than ever but getting these simple core basics down mean everything else is in a sense secondary.
So much time is wasted (and yes I am guilty of it) learning about things we simply don’t need to learn as it doesn’t help things directly effecting whatever it is we are doing.
Doesn’t mean we should not learn things, just that we ought spend our time learning only what we need to learn so that we can benefit from it.
My action : Cut out trying to learn what I don’t need to learn, and I have done this too often! At least I learnt …<5. Being consistent is important.
Whatever you set out to do, be consistent at it and you will get there, people get used to you being consistent, enough to be consistent themselves in reading your blog! ;o)
As we all know people like routine, it’s easy to maintain, easy to stick to, easy to follow, being consistent in the right areas is what makes the difference, in my view.
Most of all, being consistent in the above 5 tips has to be of benefit to every blogger.
Be consistent in improving everything as you go, learn, grow and maybe that glass ceiling will shatter. )
My action : To consistently improve all of the five above points as well as I can and stop worrying over the things I cannot control.
Will these 5 tips help you?
Do you have 5 tips of your own?
Grab the button.
