1. Blogs that disguise affiliate products as posts all the time.

2. Blogs that always talk about what to do, but provide very little information on how to do it.

3. Blogs that churn out very basic content again and again.

4. Blogs that talk all sorts of topics without any focus.

5. Blogs where the blogger does not engage with you in discussion.

6. Blogs that primarily publishes guest posts.

7. Blogs that attack other bloggers, just to gain attention.

8. Blogs where the blogger pretends to be the “expert” on the field.

9. Blogs that just rehash what others say without giving a unique perspective.

10. Blogs that are not updated consistently.

Click here to read Part 2 of this article

Part 3 – Habits 41 to 60

41. Eliminate bottlenecks

If you closely examine your blogging activities you will identify areas that slow down your productivity. For example, your bottleneck might be slower typing speed or lack of technical knowledge. By identifying and eliminating bottlenecks you will become more productive. Learning to touch type quickly and seeking the help of a technical person are ways to eliminate the bottleneck examples mentioned above.

42. Willingness to experiment

There are many websites and blogs (including techthinker.com) that teach you how to become a better blogger. Most of the materials in these websites are generic guidelines. They do not always apply to your blog. Effective bloggers are willing to experiment with new ideas and opportunities. Experimentation is the best way to find out what works for you and what does not work well.

43. Never treats the blog as a dumping ground

Your blog is not a dumping ground. Do not put any material in your blog unless you believe what you have written will add value to your readers. If you do not have faith in your own work, how can you expect your readers to appreciate your work?

44. Does not spend too much time on little things

Effective bloggers spend less time on little things and devote more time for things that really matter.

45. Revives posts

The life of a blog post does not end after being published. Good bloggers re-visit previous posts. They write follow up posts referring the original post, fix any errors found in the original post (without altering the core message of the post).

46. Not shy to ask questions

Effective bloggers never feel shy to ask questions. It is impossible for a blogger to know everything. Trying to pretend that you know everything might work in the short term, but in the long run your readers will notice your weakness. Asking questions is a great way to learn.

47. Transparent

Being transparent in what you do allows a blogger build trust with the readers. It is often a good idea to tell your readers about any conflicts of interest. For example, if you are promoting a product in your blog and you are getting a commission from the vendor, for each sale of that product, let your readers know about your relationship with the product vendor.

48. Has a sense of humor

One of the great qualities of an effective blogger is to look at things on a lighter side. Good bloggers do not get too serious or defensive about them all the time. They are open to criticism.

49. Problem Solver

Why do people read your blog? They read because they want to find solutions to issues. Your blog posts should provide solutions to real issues. Not a rehash of what has been said by many others in the past.

50. Articulate

An effective blogger has the ability to explain complex things in simple terms.

51. Tough enough to take the heat

As your blog matures you will face more scrutiny by your audience. You will come across both negative and positive criticism. An effective blogger is tough enough to face negative criticisms. This includes both honest and unfair criticisms.

52. Good note taker

A blogger’s job is not a 9 to 5 job. A blogger gets new ideas throughout the day. An effective blogger quickly writes down these ideas so that they do not slip away. A major complain among new bloggers is that they run out of ideas. By taking notes you can keep your ideas and imaginations intact.

53. Organized

In part 2 of this series we saw that effective bloggers have the ability to multitask. To multitask well one has to be organized.

54. Learns from Web Analytics

Web Analytics software such as Google Analytics show the behavior of your website users. This behavioral information provides valuable insight to your reader base allowing you to cater for their needs better.

55. Goes beyond Google

Good bloggers do not only depend on the internet as the only source of information. They learn by reading books, white papers, attending workshops and seminars, socializing with other bloggers etc.

56. Does not only stick to text

Traditionally blogging has been a writing task. Effective bloggers also use other medium such as video, audio and multimedia to present information.

57. Prevents information overload

Successful bloggers do not overload their readers with more information. Your blog readers are not only reading your blog. They might read a dozen blogs everyday. So if you write too much on a daily basis there is a good possibility that your reader would not have enough time to read your lengthy post. Large posts can drive visitors off your blog. Therefore it is important that you give readers the right amount of information they can digest on a daily basis.

58. Converts reader communications into to posts

Replying to user questions via emails is not an effective way to utilize your time. This is because your time is exclusively spent to help out one person. Why not try to change that question into a generic post. Many readers can now benefit from this post. This technique also avoids multiple users asking the same question again and again.

59. Promotes the blog offline

Effective bloggers not only promote their blog online but also promote it offline. Examples of promoting your blog offline include using business cards, writing a column in the local newspaper, word of mouth, attending blogger conferences etc.

60. Writes article excerpts

Writing article excerpts is a good way to provide a concise description about your post that grabs the reader’s attention in the first place. Excerpts are also useful when submitting your content to social media sites, as many of them require a short description about your content.

Part 4 of this article will be published in a weeks time. If you have any good points to share please comment. I’ll will try include your points in my list as well.

Click here to read Part 1 of this article

Part 2 – Habits 21 to 40

21. Writes timely content

In this point, timely content refers to new and latest information that is much sought after during a specific time period. For example, during the launch of a product there will be a great demand for the latest reviews on that product. Writing timely content is hard, but if you can do it well you will attract a large number of readers.

22. Writes seasonal content

A clever blogger looks for seasonal trends and patterns to write relevant posts. For example, if you blog about Cooking Tips, you can write about Cake Recipes during Christmas time and Barbecuing Tips during summer time.

23. Writes timeless content

Timeless content refers to information that is considered valuable regardless of its age. Writing timeless content has the advantage of attracting readers to a post long after it has been published. Good timeless content attracts readers even months or years after the inception of the post.

24. Keeps a calendar

An effective blogger keeps a calendar on the blog topic. The calendar will indicate important dates on special events, anniversaries, holidays etc. Using the calendar one can write relevant posts on those special dates and well as hold competitions, give ways etc.

25. Great story tellers

Almost all bloggers write on topics that have been written by others in the past. But only some are successful in attracting readers. Effective bloggers are great story tellers. Have you ever heard the same joke from two people, and thought that Person A was funnier than Person B. This is because Person A is a great story teller and knows how to deliver the joke. Similarly successful bloggers know how to deliver a post.

26. Disciplined

To become a successful blogger one has to be disciplined. You have to devote exclusive time for your blogging activities. Set your own deadline for every task and try to meet it often as you can.

27. Ability to multitask

Blogging is not all about writing posts on a regular basis. It has a number of overheads such as reading and researching, replying to reader emails, upgrading and maintaining various software, social networking etc. Therefore in order to be an effective blogger you should have the ability to multitask.

28. Participates as guest bloggers

Doing guest posts on popular blogs is a good way to build up your image and reputation. You will also get valuable inbound links to your blog.

29. Fact check

Before starting to write on a topic, especially an unfamiliar topic, conduct a good background study. You do not want to loose your credibility by writing something that is factually incorrect.

30. Good knowledge of subject matter

To become successful in blogging you should have reasonably good knowledge on the subject matter.

31. Strives for quality, but not a perfectionist

Great bloggers strive for quality but they are not perfectionists. There are lots of negative consequences in trying to be too perfect. For example, you spent the whole weekend writing a great post, but didn’t publish the post because you could not find the most suitable picture to go with your post. So you delayed your post by a day or two until you found the best picture for your post. The time spent on searching for the right picture could have been spent on writing another post.

32. Writes for passion, not pay

A successful blogger writes for passion, not pay. Bloggers who make lots of money from their blogs are successful because they are passionate about their work. Do you think a pro-blogger would accept a 9 to 5 job for double the pay of their current income? I doubt it.

33. Works hard

This is a very obvious point, but often overlooked by many. Good bloggers are successful because they work hard!

34. Optimize for SEO

Good bloggers optimize their blogs for search engines.

35. But, not SEO obsessed

At the same time good bloggers are not obsessed with SEO and will not compromise on the quality of the content to gain few short term benefits from SEO.

36. Does not count the chickens before they hatch

Good bloggers focus on what has to be done right now, rather than dreaming about the future.

37. Actively moderates user comments

An effective blogger is an active comment moderator. By keeping user comments within scope will allow one to add value to the post. It also prevents comments hijacking where one or more readers writes comments that are not relevant to the post.

38. Writes on niche topic

Successful bloggers have a niche topic and deliver content in a unique way.

39. In for the long haul

Successful bloggers consider blogging as a long term commitment.

40. Attention seekers

With millions of blogs on the Internet it is very hard to get noticed. Successful bloggers are great attention seekers. They use various ways to grab attention, let it be the catchy post title or the really well designed blog template.

Click here to read part 3 of this article

In this 5 part series, I look at 101 habits of highly effective bloggers. I crafted this list based on my observation of successful bloggers and their blogs. I do not intend to elaborate too much on each point. I want to keep each point as short as possible, so that you can reflect upon them. I hope you enjoy reading the list. This article is published in 5 parts, so please check back soon for the next part. You may not agree with all 101 points as some of the habits in this list are debatable. If you agree or disagree with a habit, please note the point number in your comments and give your opinion about that habit from your own experience. Thank you.

Part 1 – Habits 1 to 20

1. Has a plan

A successful blogger not only has good objectives but also has a plan to reach the objectives.

2. Believes in own abilities

In order to become a successful blogger you have to first believe in your own abilities.

3. Consistent message

A successful blog voices a consistent message. Flip flopping on issues will reduce the credibility of your blog.

4. Actively comments

A good blogger actively comments on other blogs. Since comments on other blogs are going stay to permanent, it is important that you provide valuable comments to build a good reputation among the readers of various blogs.

5. Replies to user comments

In order to build a good rapport with your readers, you have to reply to user questions and comments.

6. Responds quickly to damaging information

If someone intentionally or unintentionally publishes any information that can damage your reputation, you have to respond quickly.

A classic example of this is when Darren Rowse of Prologger.net responded quickly to some April fools jokes that had the potential to damage Darren’s reputation.

7. Posts regularly

A good blogger posts regularly. Ideally one should post every day, if you are unable to post daily, you can post less frequently, may be once every 3 days or once a week. But at least keep the posting interval consistent.

8. Creative

In order to compete with millions of other blogs on the Internet, you have to make your blog unique. Creativity plays a vital role in making your blog unique.

9. Has a unique template

As your blog matures, start thinking about developing your own custom template to differentiate the look and feel of your blog from the rest of the crowd.

10. Uses graphics in posts

Images are a great way to grab attention to a post. They can illustrate a point very effectively. Images can increase reader curiosity and interest; this is especially true with abstract or metaphor images.

11. Helps other bloggers

People always remember those who help them. Help out other bloggers and webmasters. They might return the favor in future.

12. Socializes

Socialize with other bloggers, participate on social networks. Traffic from social networking sites plays a vital part in the success of your blog.

13. Backups blog regularly

To be on the safe side you should always backup your blog files and database. Most of the web hosting companies perform weekly backups. Backing your blogs manually has 3 benefits.

• If you accidentally delete some files or folders you can quickly restore from your own backup.
• If the fault is yours, some web hosting companies may charge you to restore backups.
• Some web hosting companies overwrite the weekly backup data, so if you lose some data, and didn’t notice it for a week or two, the backup may be overwritten with the corrupted data.

14. Learns from mistakes

Effective bloggers learn from mistakes. They seldom repeat the same mistake twice.

15. Does it right the first time

If you have to venture into an unknown project, see how others have implemented similar projects successfully. You may not avoid all mistakes in the first place. But the fundamental direction of your project will still be correct.

16. Good Writer, Better Reader

If you eat well you will have the energy to work hard. Similarly if you read well you will have a great variety of things to write about. Therefore a good blogger is one step ahead on reading than writing.

17. Never underestimates the value of any information

Have you ever worked hard on an article and end up not publishing it, because you thought what you have written is obvious and everyone else would know about it? A good blogger never underestimates the value of information and knowledge. Not everyone know what you know, this applies to even very simple things.

18. Concentrates on few things

Effective bloggers concentrates well on the few most important things that determine the success of their blogs.

19. Uses a successful blog as a spring board

An effective blogger uses a successful blog to spring board into new blogs and business ventures.

20. Good learner

An effective blogger is a continuous learner with a thirst for knowledge.

Do you agree with all of the above points? Please comment.

Click here to read part 2 of this article

Today, in a post titled “The Choice of Associating Your Name with Your Blog”, Darren Rowse of problogger.net, identified the following 4 categories of blogging.

1. Blog under your personal name and promote it prominently on your blog
2. Blog under your personal name but don’t really promote yourself
3. Blog under an alias and promote that name
4. Blog without any name on your blog at all

Darren also requested readers to comment on what are the pros and cons of the type of blog they have chosen.

This is a compilation of my own views (and some reader comments from Darren’s original Post)

1. Blog under your personal name and promote it prominently on your blog

Pros

• More credible, people know that you really exist!
• Ideal for video posts
• Present information with a personal tone. This is a very important point since blogs were initially created for this purpose (i.e. allowing individuals to quickly share their thoughts and views)
• If you are really good in your subject matter, you will be noticed within your industry, bringing new business or career opportunities
• If you have good qualifications, experience and expertise why not show it off? Because readers look for reliable and credible information
• Good for social networking

Cons

• Hard to sell your website, because you have created a brand around you and without your presence your website is less valuable
• Loss of privacy

2. Blog under your personal name but don’t really promote yourself

Pros

• Better privacy

Cons

• I can not think of any, if you know one please feel free to share.

I am not getting many points for this category. Feel free to help me out here.

3. Blog under an alias and promote that name

Pros

• Your privacy is protected
• Can build a brand around your alias
• Good for controversial topics
• Safer (for example: writing about gang violence in your area!)
• A good choice if your real name is hard to remember

Cons

• May not be suitable for all topics, for example consider a medical blog, your readers first want to know about you and your background

4. Blog without any name on your blog at all

Pros

• Easier to sell your blog
• Better privacy, safety

Cons

• Hard to create a unique voice (with a personal tone) , since your readers have no clue about yourself
• Readers will be less tolerant for any mistakes, because they consider your website as a news source and not as a blog that is driven by a single person

Know more pros and cons for each type? Please feel free to share. As the comments come in I will update my list of pros and cons.

I am a Canadian following the 2008 US presidential nominations with great interest. Out of the many candidates I find Illinois Senator Barack Obama to be inspiring and motivational.

I personally believe that everyone can learn something from Obama and his speeches, including bloggers. In this post I explain how new bloggers can use some of Obama’s inspiring quotes as way to understand good blogging practices. This is not a political post, so please read on …

“I’m asking you to believe not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington… I’m asking you to believe in yours.”

Key lesson: believe in your abilities

To become a successful blogger you have to first believe in your ability to create good content for your readers. It is said that every second, 2 blogs are created on the Internet. There are countless blogs on the same subject matter! This means you will have to compete very hard, for your blog to be noticed by a wider audience. The best way to compete is to differentiate your blog from the rest of the pack by developing your own unique style of presentation.

Some bloggers employ guest bloggers to create content. While guest posting is good way to expand your blog, you should not primarily depend on others to create content for your blog. Guest bloggers have their own reasons for writing guest posts. Therefore guest posts are not effective as your own posts when it comes to making your blog unique. You are the only person who can make your blog unique.

“If you’re walking down the right path and you’re willing to keep walking, eventually you’ll make progress.”

Key lesson: continuing to do the right thing on a regular basis will lead to success

In order to become a successful blogger you should have a clear vision about your goals and objectives. Knowing your destination makes a long journey a little bit easier than having no clue about where we are headed. Clear goals and objectives allow you to keep your blog on track.

Your goals and objectives should be set for the long haul. Some people expect quick returns from a blog. But, building a successful blog can take years. You should have good perseverance, patience and determination.

Blogging needs a lot of discipline. You have to commit time for it everyday. Learning, researching and posting blog entries should become more than a habit, they should become part of your life style!

“This union [racial union] may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected.”

Key lesson: no blogger is perfect, but a good blogger strives to get better over time

Your blog posts will never be perfect. But as you continue blogging you can and should perfect it. A good blogger strives hard to get better over time. To become a better blogger you need be a voracious learner, learning through research, experience, successes and failures. A good appetite for learning will make you a better blogger and eventually an expert in your subject matter.

“Money is not the only answer, but it makes a difference.”

Key lesson: do not get carried a way with the concept of making money online

Many people are interested in making money from their blogs. There is nothing wrong in trying to generate revenue from your blog using various money making programs. But some get carried away with the concept of making money online. In trying to monetize their blogs they loose focus on the content. Having good content is what attracts a large number of readers to your blog. When the quality of your content is compromised, your reader base will shrink. A shrinking reader base will have a cascading effect on your website traffic and revenue. Therefore it is important to have the right balance between the efforts you put on content creation and revenue generation.

“This campaign can’t only be about me…It must be about what we can do together.”

Key lesson: do not become self-centric

You are the driving force behind your blog. But that does not mean you have to be self-centric. Good bloggers collaborate with others. They invite guest bloggers to write for their blogs. They participate in social networking. They help new bloggers to get up to speed with blogging. By sharing their knowledge and expertise they build valuable relationships. Building relationships lead to new opportunities.

“Making your mark on the world is hard. If it were easy, everybody would do it. But it’s not. It takes patience, it takes commitment, and it comes with plenty of failure along the way. The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won’t. It’s whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere.”

Key lesson: learn from failures

Finally I want to leave you with the above quote that holds true for any successful blogging experience. This quote encompasses many key points we have discussed up to now and emphasizes the need to learn from failures.

As your blog matures it will face more scrutiny and critique by a wider audience. You will come across both constructive and negative criticism. While positive comments can make you feel happy and motivated, negative comments can halt your progress. To become a successful blogger you should become seasoned enough to face challenges and learn from failures.

Your comments are welcome.

Post Update (2 May 2008)

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Please checkout the following article at DoshDosh.com where the author explains the importance of empowering your audience with a powerful message.

It’s Not Just Words: The Importance of Empowering Your Audience.