Blog better by interviewing a better blogger

In yesterday’s post Blog better by imitating a blogger who does it well (in hindsight “emulate” would have been a better word choice) I explained how helpful Lisa Irby’s site has been to me since I’ve been blogging and as promised, today I present the responses to a recent interview.

Who or what motivated you to start blogging?

I started blogging because I wanted to drive additional traffic to my main website.

What obstacles have you had to overcome?

My biggest obstacle was driving traffic to my blog. When I started blogging I didn’t have a clear strategy for what I wanted to do with my blog other than use it to drive traffic to my main site. So I made the mistake of re-writing/paraphrasing articles on my site and publishing them to my blog. I also had no strategy for how often I was going to publish content to my blog. Sometimes I would write three posts per week, other times I would write twice per month. So I never really established a rhythm.

What strategies or steps did you take to reach your goals?

Once I discovered Darren Rowse of ProBlogger.net, I realized I was doing a lot of things wrong. If I was going to build a following I needed to start writing more frequently and putting more effort into topic selection. So instead of just paraphrasing articles on my site, I began to write about current/newsworthy topics in regards to my niche. In addition, I began to add a lot of my own personal experiences in my posts.

I also established a rhythm of 1-2 posts per week instead of letting too much time go between my posts. Once I started doing this, my traffic and comments began to increase.

How do you structure your time for blogging activities throughout the day?

I don’t really spend a lot of time blogging. I actually have more static websites than I have blogs. So since I only publish to my blog once a week now, I typically begin planning for my next post a few days before I launch it. I start by drafting my post in WordPress and polishing it until I set it to launch the night before.

What is/are the most important lesson(s) you’ve learned or want to share about blogging?

Establish a rhythm. You may have to experiment and see what works best. For example, if you find 4 posts per week is hard and your quality suffers, try scaling it back to two or three.

Know what your audience likes. Once you discover what those “hot topics” are, take advantage of them and create posts with different angles. For example, AdSense is a hot topic for my audience. These posts tend to get the most comments, so I try to write about AdSense as often as I can.

Ask For Opinions. If you can’t think of something to write, let your audience do it for you. Every now and then post an opinion post. This gives your readers a chance to chime in, and it gives you a break from writing.

What opportunities have opened up for you solely as a result of blogging?

Since I started blogging, I’ve gotten a lot of requests for interviews. I’m not sure why, but I never got this many requests through my website. The interviews have helped me gain even more exposure throughout the blogging community. I’ve been featured on numerous blogs and participated in a few joint ventures here and there.

How did you make your blogging breakthrough – as far as acquiring traffic and developing your blog’s community?

The formula was simple. I just kept writing and became very selective about what I wrote about. I began to realize what my audience wants to read (based on comments and lack of comments) and I give them what they want. Staying engaged with your audience is key!

What are your blogging essentials that you believe every successful blogger needs?

A true passion for the topic so your content stays fresh and current

A basic understanding of CSS and HTML so you are free to update your blog without relying on someone else

Flexibility. You need to be willing to adjust if something is not working. Just because you have an idea for a blog, doesn’t mean it’s the best idea. So instead of quitting if things aren’t working out, you have to be ready to look for other alternatives to make it work.

What qualities do you admire in your favorite blogs?

All the blogs I read….

Do a great job of taking popular topics and giving them a fresh perspective

Have good writing and delivery

Inject personality into the posts

Respect their readers

If you could only choose one, which would it be: High-quality fresh Content that’s not fully Search engine optimized or fully optimized mediocre content? And why?

I would choose high-quality fresh content that’s not fully search engine optimized.

Search engine optimization is important, but your writing and delivery are what keep people coming back to your site. Not to mention, you can always learn to better optimize your content from an SEO perspective.

Any miscellaneous tidbits you’d like to add?

Becoming a good blogger is an ongoing process. I learn a lot from following other successful blogs like ProBlogger.net and Copyblogger.net. So I would highly recommend following respected bloggers in your niche because you can learn a lot from them.

Also, make sure your CONTENT is the focus of your blog. It’s easy to get caught up in the coolest sidebar widgets or to flood your blog with ads. However, the content is what builds loyalty. Don’t distract people with things that take away from your writing.

The surprising irony is that Lisa doesn’t really consider herself a blogger, yet she does it so eloquently. I also find it inspiring that she admits to not really having direction in the beginning. I’m glad she’s so willing to share how she worked through her challenges. That just goes to show that with a little determination, you really can turn any blog around and make it successful.