According to the many statistics on the Internet about blogging, somewhere between 75,000 and 175,000 new blogs are created each and every day.  But only a few of these blogs will last more than a month.  An interesting graph, on a post by Nate Whitehill called “Top 5 Reasons Most Blogs Don’t Last”, shows how the number of new blogs are growing, but the number of active blogs stays about the same.  (The results were from 2006 but I think are still very relevant today.)

The fact of the matter is that blogging isn’t easy!  I came to find this out when I first started this blog two months ago.  In this time I have gone through many ups and downs as a blogger; the roller coaster ride of emotions that come as all your expectations seem to be challenged each and every day.  Through statistics galore that brighten and darken your outlook with each passing glance.  In 8 weeks I’ve been through peaks and valleys that have taught me a lot and I’ve only grown more determined because of it.

But out of all the things I’ve learned, the one fact that seems to be shared by all new bloggers is that of ‘getting over the hump’.  There seems to be an invisible barrier that divides the rookies from the veterans.  A defining moment or series of moments that transform ‘that person that decided to start a blog’ into a true blogger.

Now let me start by saying that I am far from an authority on this subject.  I am merely another desert wanderer who is trying to show others where I have found food and water.  From 8 weeks of good and bad experiences as well as intense searching and scavenging I have learned the information I will share with you today.  I’ll be the first to admit that much of this information has been shared with me by more experienced bloggers.  It is not my intention to try and convey myself as any more than just a messenger with a perspective as unique as any other.  And it’s not just by doing things right, but making mistakes that has given me just a little bit of worthwhile experience to share.

So here are some of the things that I’ve learned thus far that have helped me not only ‘keep going’, but become more passionate about this wonderful form of communication and community.  I’m not re-inventing the wheel here, but instead I am just compiling what I would consider a valuable recourse for those interested in breaking through this barrier and joining the ranks of those who have stuck it out and succeeded in this unique and challenging medium.

1:  First and foremost:  JOIN THE COMMUNITY!

It’s easy when you first start blogging to see it as you against the Internet.  You think your number one goal should be to promote your blog and get as many subscribers as possible.  This certainly is an important factor in building a successful blog, but early on it shouldn’t be your focus.

Once you start reading other people’s blogs, placing some comments and learning the ins and outs of social media, you will start to better understand the large organism that is the blogging community.  And if you’re like most of us, you will be blown away by the amazing relationships and connections that are to be had if you are receptive.

What I found when I really started to interact with other bloggers was that most of us are very interested in helping each other out.  We all live in our little houses (blogs), in our neighborhoods (niches) where we spend much of our time , inside a HUGE city (the Internet) where we are free to explore and build new foundations outside our initial scope of things.  At least that’s how I see it.

So if your goal is to start a successful blog, let everyone know you’re new and that you’re looking forward to building relationships.  If you need help, ask for it. You’ll be amazed at who will be there, ready and willing to give a helping hand.  Just be careful and don’t fall into the trap of trying to come across as a ‘pro’ when you’re not.  The only people you might fool are other newbies and that’s not going to do you any good anyway.  So just be who you are; a new blogger who is excited about joining this wonderful community and growing a successful blog.

2: Manage your expectations with a slant for success

It’s hard to control your expectations from the start of your blogging ‘career’.  You don’t know what to expect so you just make some assumptions and hope for the best.

After a while, though, reality happens and you start to either become excited or disappointed based on the results.  But don’t worry about this. Just use this new information as a way to accurately gauge what your expectations should be.

Now take these newly formed expectations and give them a positive slant.  You want to exceed your expectations, not meet them.  So if you find that X is the number of new visitors you are getting each week, do what you need to do to make the number X + 50 or 100 or whatever is ‘just a little more’ to push you to excel.  The idea is to push yourself just enough to succeed, not SO much that you become discouraged.

3:  Be in it for the long haul

Continuing with the topic of expectations, confirm in your mind that you are in this for the long haul.  Don’t just start and then consider quitting because after a month you don’t have any subscribers.  In blogging you’ll find that most people don’t just EXPLODE onto the scene.  It’s more like a growing plant.  If you stare at it all day it will feel like nothing is happening.  But with nurturing, care and patience you will slowly see it grow and blossom into a healthy, beautiful creation.

I’ve talked to a number of successful bloggers who say that their blogs didn’t see noticeable growth for 6-9-12 months or more.  I’m finding that it’s not poor writing that is the common cause of failure in blogging, but instead it’s the lack of patience and persistence that is the culprit.

4:  Promote your blog with honesty, depth and humility

I’m not going to talk about the techniques of blog promotion, but instead I want to share the best way to introduce yourself when presenting yourself and your blog to other’s in the community.

-Honesty: Be yourself.  Say what you mean and mean what you say.

-Depth: Put some real thought into your comments on other’s posts.  Try not to leave the “Great post” comments.  Actually talk to the blogger.  I find that a lot of new bloggers, myself included, fall into the habit of ‘preaching’ the comment instead of ‘communicating’ it.  We might throw in a ‘one-liner’ as a comment.  I think we are trying to show that we have the same depth of insight, but this often comes across in a sort of arrogance.  It’s also very hard to reply to such comments.  So try to add to the conversation and leave room for a ‘back and forth’ between you and the blogger and/or the other readers.  (If you want a perfect example of this, head over to Barbara Swafford’s blog, bloggingwithoutablog.com, and see how depth of communication can create a healthy atmosphere for discussion after a blog post.)

-Humility: Some new bloggers think that they need to come across as an ‘expert’ in everything.  But in blogging, as in anything else, you should always be humble and never speak down to anyone.  Show respect and you will be respected.  Show an arrogance and you will be ignored.

5:  Take time and put forth the effort required to present your readers with original ideas

I think that one of the hardest things to do as a blogger is to consistently put out original ideas.  But if you want to create a successful blog that attracts readers and grows on it’s own, you have to provide your readers with real value in your writing.

We see it more and more everyday.  These ‘same old, same old’ posts that litter many thousands of blogs throughout the Internet.  If you read blogs on a daily basis you will start to tire of these duplicated ideas.  So before you publish your next post, make sure that you’ve put forth the effort and added your own flavor to give your readers the value they desire.

6:  How often should you post?

Early on it seems to be wise to post as much as you can (at least every day) so you can quickly grow a decent archive and so you can show visitors that your serious about blogging (this is just my opinion).  But after a while it is a good idea to re-assess the amount of posts you are putting out.  You might be able to crank one out twice a day, but are they all solid posts or do you find yourself forcing it a little too much?

After about 5 weeks or so, I found myself in this position.  I was posting every day and it was starting to feel like a few too many posts a week.  I started to feel like I was forcing myself to write instead of being inspired to put out quality content.  So I made the decision to post 4 to 5 times a week instead of 7.  Now I can take a little more time on my posts, spend more time communicating with other bloggers/readers and still have some time for other, more important things, like my family.

I know this subject has been talked about in length on other blogs so if you need specifics you will find a plethora of opinions though your favorite search engine.

7:  Put just as much focus on helping other bloggers succeed

There’s two advantages to this:

1:  The more you help others, the more they will help you. And by creating these mutual relationships you will be able to enjoy the wonderful benefits of social networking.  The broader your reach in connecting with other bloggers, the more effective this network will become.

2:  It’s the right thing to do and you’ll meet some amazing people. A couple of weeks ago I was having a bad day.  I had recently made a connection with a fellow up-and-coming blogger and technology consultant, Matt R. over at YFNCG.com.  We were emailing back and forth and I decided to do a little venting in one of my emails.  Within a short time I was sent back a positive, encouraging reply that completely changed my mindset for the rest of the day.  It was in that moment that I realized the value in building relationships with fellow bloggers.  Without those positive connections I would think that most of us would never make it more than a couple of months.

8:  Learn from the pros

There are so many ways to make your blog more successful so it is very important that you have solid resources to learn from.  Just to name two (there are MANY more than this):

-problogger.net This was the first blog that I went to for blogging advice and, as many already know, it is one of the best.  Darren, by the way, is one of the nicest bloggers I’ve ever met.  Truly an example to follow.

-skelliewag.org This is another great place to learn about growing your blog.  I find the content to be amazingly fresh and original in a bloated niche like problogging.

But don’t just go to the ‘Big Names’.  Find some of the lesser known jewels that are creating their own great content and helping their readers grow into successful bloggers.  You will also find these bloggers to be a little more accessible if you want to try to directly connect to them.

9:  Stay true to yourself and/or the original intent of your blog

It’s easy to stray if you’re not careful.  Even after the short period of time that I’ve been blogging I already find myself forgetting the core purpose/intent of my blog.  Sometimes our blogs slowly morph into something else that is even better.  But I am afraid that others just lose focus and risk losing their readers.

A few things I’ve found helpful:

-Re-read your about page: Most of us have an about page that was written in the very beginning.  This fact make its content a perfect reminder of why you started your blog in the first place.

-Go through your archives and read through some of your original posts. I did this the other day and was blown away at how quickly I had forgotten what I had written.  I guess if you write enough, you start to push out the old with the new.  It was as if I were reading someone else’s post.  (By the way, this was good because it allowed me to see my writing from a different perspective.)  By doing this you will be reminded of ‘how it was in the beginning’.  Then you can decide if you’ve strayed, made positive changes or are still heading in the same direction.

10:  HAVE FUN!

The fact of the matter is, blogging can be a lot of fun!  Before I started I had no idea what I was getting into.  From the site design, to the ins and outs of advertising, to the tweeting, stumbling, digging, plurking, etc…, to meeting all of these wonderful people, to events and contests and so on.  If you aren’t having any fun in your blogging world, you need to seriously re-evaluate the way your going about it.  The writing and possibility of magnetization can be alluring, but your ability to enjoy it all will be what carries you through.

I hope that at least some of these tips will be useful in your blogging endeavors.  I hope to be as helpful to other bloggers as anybody else.  I want to see those around me succeed so we may grow together.  So here’s a few things that I want to layout for anyone interested:

-I have recently added shortcuts to my twitter and StumblUpon profiles to the top of my sidebar. Feel free to follow me on twitter and friend me on StumbleUpon.  These are great ways to grow a network and help each other promote our blogs to the world.

-You may already know that I’ve recently added a community page to this blog. Since then, there have only been a few submissions.  I would love to see this grow and become a place where we can visually share ourselves and our experiences with others in our community.  It’s quite simple to make a submission.  Basically, you just go to the submission page, upload your photos, pick some ‘tags’ from a list provided and include a brief description of each photo that I will include when I add it to the page.  I know that the more pictures we can add, the more people will be willing to add them.  So if I could find some readers to ‘break the ice’ I would greatly appreciate the effort!

-If you have any questions about ANYTHING, please don’t hesitate to ask. You can do it with a comment (if it’s  relevant to the post) or you can contact me through my contact page.

Calling all veterans!

Any of you more experienced bloggers feel free to chime in with some of your own findings for lasting blogging success.  This list doesn’t have to be stuck at 10.

I hope these tips help if you are a blogger or considering starting a blog.

ALSO, read our Teaching Sells Review on The Blueprint and learn how to monetize your teaching skills.