With cuddly litters of blogs multiplying daily in the warm and dark corners of the Internet, one thing has become abundantly clear – there’s no magic bullet, secret URL or quick fix for promoting a blog and making it a success.  It comes down to strategy, time and commitment – plus two commonsensical tips I feel are often overlooked in the blogosphere:

• Be consistent
• Fulfill expectations

Making a blog successful starts by understanding your target audience – one post at a time.  If “content is king” then “consistency is queen.”  It doesn’t matter if a blog focuses on music, food, politics or public relations – provide relevant content to your visitors, and chances are they’ll be back. If you’re not working to kindle conversation among your target audience then you’re just talking to yourself.

There are fundamental reasons people search out and return to blog sites – are   their expectations being fulfilled? If your blog regularly discusses the effects of global warming and you decide one day to post a review of the Bonnie Prince Billy record, you may have a hard time building and keeping a steady core of followers. Fill a niche, serve a need and give the people what they want!  It’s common sense, right?

That’s not to say blogs can’t be all over the map topic-wise – there are plenty of them out there.  It just becomes much harder to find and maintain an audience when you’re not filling a specific niche or need. That’s ok, if you don’t want an expansive audience.

When it comes to blog promotion – still a vital component in the success equation – here’s an insightful post from Kevin Geary on ProBlogger offering 10 useful tips on How Not to Promote Your Blog: Top 10 Broken Blog Promotion Strategies.  It’s a good read.

I’ve babbled on enough here and it’s far past my bedtime.

SHP for October: Blitzen Trapper