Rick's Rules of Successful Blogging

Blog Often
There is a great deal of information "out there" on blogging. Obviously there are millions of people writing blogs for fun and profit. A lot of bloggers update infrequently which to me is one of the fastest ways to lose readers.
If I go to a blog that hasn't been updated in several weeks, chances are slim that I will return even if I think what they have to say is valuable.
If a blogger updates regularly (not necessarily every day), I will stick around and read through several posts to get a feel for what the blog is about. 


Blog About The Things You Love
My favorite blogs are ones where people write about the things they love - fly fishing, photography, gardening, writing, and music.
My least favorite blogs are political blogs at both ends of the spectrum. There are professional pundits out there making a killing writing about politics, but if you are an unknown blogger trying to build a following, you might want to steer clear of politics. If you're conservative, you'll hear a swoshing sound as the liberals blow on by your blog - and visa versa. 
I personally think that Americans have forgotten how to compromise. Each side feels the people on the other side are idiots and are driving the country down the toilet. I think there are smart people on both ends and if they ever found common ground, we could get our country back on track. Will this ever happen - the jury is still out.
I'm sure there are a lot of who would disagree....so take a moment, and re-read the title of this post.


Lose The Automatic Music
I also think it's unwise to have music that automatically plays when you go to a blog. This may be just a personal thang with me, but I rarely even read the first paragraph if music is playing. I simply click NEXT and move on. 
If someone has a player on their blog that contains their favorite songs, or songs they have written, that's another story. If I like what the blogger has to say, I'll often listen to music they create or music they love.


Entertain, Teach, or Make Them Laugh
Other good ways to build a readership is to entertain them with funny stories, jokes (I always keep my "G" rated), or killer photographs.
I routinely return to sites that teach me something or give me hints on how to get better, be more healthy, smarter, taller, be a better father, person, fisherman, or have more hair (just kidding, I'm at peace with not having hair).
And, if you can do the above and make people smile, I can assure you readers will return.


This is just to get the conversation started. If you have things that make you want to return, or run away from a blog, please share.


More to follow.