Blogging Effectively and with Purpose

 Blogging Effectively and with Purpose

 Blogging is one of the most effective tools to market and brand yourself as an established authority in your particular niche and chosen field. Moreover, blogging is one of the fastest vehicles to joining the ever growing online community and create a following.

Below are some tips from my own experience on Active Rain, years of reading successful Active Rain blogs and researching the best ways to position your blog for success. Whether you’re just starting out or are a veteran blogger, we can all hone and improve our blogging skills.

Target Your Audience

Decide exactly what your blogging goals are and implement them in your posts. For example, as a NJ home stager I want to continually brand myself as an authority on home staging. One effective way I do this is teach the general public and Realtors the value of home staging by sharing home staging tips, advice and  before/after photos to engage Realtors, Sellers and likeminded home stagers. Sharing information is the fastest way to gain new subscribers.

Build Relationships

Spend time joining groups with likeminded people. Active Rain has a group for just about anything from hiking to dog lovers, photos, inspiration and everything in between.  The point is all your posts don’t have to be about real estate, home staging, home inspections, ect..……..which brings me to my next suggestion.

Let people know who you are.

If all your posts are business related people won’t get to know you. Write about your passions, share photos, write about your area and share your experiences; it’s okay to talk about yourself on AR. After all, networking is the exchange of information between people. Try to maintain a balance between business, personal, localism and information sharing.  

Stay Motivated

Blogging is about the long haul and consistency is critical. The most successful Active Rain bloggers write posts almost daily. Every blog doesn’t have to brilliant, but if you’re not consistent you’ll have less chance of growing your network and keeping the subscribers you have.

Be Engaging

The sign of an effective blogger is knowing how to engage your readers and start a conversation. Ask for opinions, write about a good or bad experience that others can relate to and identify with. Everyone loves to share their own experience, and questions are the best way to engage your readers.

Be an Authority on Your Topic

If you're writing a post on a particular topic, do your research and link it to other credible sources with additional information, especially if it's helpful or insightful such as statics. The more you know about your topic, the more you will be viewed as topic authority. Don't give out statistics unless you can site the source. Again, this lends itself to credibility. 

Take a Stand

Everyone isn’t always going to agree with you. However, most people respect someone who is willing to take a stand without wavering when people don't agree with them. I’ve written a few of what I call, “Blog Gone Wild” with hundreds of comments and some not so nice. Let’s face it, we all like a little controversy and this is a surefire way to get you noticed!     

Increase Your Visibility

One of the great tools Active Rain affords us are those buttons at the top of our blog: Google+, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter for more visibility. This is another great tool to promote your blog. And yes, this  means you need to spend some time on these other social media sites, however, if you're looking to increase your visibilitly, subcribers and networking circle it's worth the effort.     

Reciprocity

Effective blogging is about building a relationship with your readers. Spend time reading other’s blogs and commenting. You will get to know fellow bloggers, learn valuable information and increase your network. Moreover, you will meet interesting, wonderful people and connect with some of the smartest, most amazing bloggers on Active Rain while learning a thing or two!