I don’t write many blogging tips articles anymore because I really don’t see the point. However, I do have some things to say which are more about blogging philosophy rather than actual pointers. This is the first in a series and I’ll be turning out an E-book from it and many of my past articles. I dedicate this series to my good friend, Brown Baron, who recommended my doing this. He came up with the title a while back and it will also be the title of my E-book.

Social Networking Sites Do Not Beat Hard Work

There are so many social networking sites and new widgets that arise, it can drive a person to the edge of insanity. I get really bored with most of them and can’t seem to gain a real interest. The first thing I ever joined was MySpace and I no longer use it. I like Facebook more but I just can’t keep up with the thousands of participatory requests I get. I am just too lazy! They don’t really help your blog anyway but can be fun sometimes (they are good for specialized areas such as podcasting or video).

We often forget that it is the act of blogging itself that defines social networking!

Reading and commenting on many blogs and doing this type of basic hard work will take most blogs higher than anything else. This depends on why you blog. If you are blogging only for money, then you have much different goals than I do (making money is about getting, not giving).

If you are writing a lot of assorted subject matter like me or have more of a personal site, then working hard is the key! Working hard is the answer for any blog’s success but you must have some focus. I’ll get into all this in future installments of this series.

Joining every new thing is not going to help you that much. I know we want a quick solution to gaining some degree of success but building on excellence and quality comes from effort and perseverance. I recommend to forget shortcuts and just put in the hours.

Question: I write stuff I believe is important and I really need to get my information out there. I’m not interested in money, but more in getting my hard work read. How can I grow my blog in that way?

Answer: There is no single, easy answer. There are some things you must do to grow your blog:

1. Read lots of blogs – especially those with related information. You want and need varied readers – so don’t limit yourself to just one niche. You get tunnel vision and miss out on lots of new people. Become their real friends and stick by them.
2. Comment on all the blogs you read. Subscribe to all comment feeds and make sure you read every reply. Go back and comment again when called for. Conversational commenting is a powerful tool and no extra widget or social site can replace it. This builds friendships and dedicated readership.
3. For crying out loud…reply to your comments. When you leave a comment and the author just ignores it; it makes many people not want to leave any. However, I know many people who don’t reply and it usually doesn’t bother me; nor does it keep me from commenting. Many people do take it personally though.

I could write a thousand tips, but the above three are the most important!

My favorite Way to build Steady Traffic

To be perfectly honest, I do absolutely nothing for my own traffic. Actually, I purposefully reduced it as I had trouble giving all my readers lots of personal attention. I prefer to keep a manageable pace as I like to really get to know people. That in itself has it’s pitfalls and I have lost readers, but I cannot dwell on negativity and neither should you.

There are two sites that have provided me with most of my traffic: MyBlogLog and BlogCatalog. These two blog networking sites are by far the most powerful tools and nothing comes close in my opinion – especially for people just starting out. Work these two sites and you’ll build a base of readers. It is up to you to go seek them out and make it happen. I’m really just starting to get into BlogCatalog and it is truly fantastic. So get off your rear and do some real work!

Link Chains Provide The Worst Kind of Traffic

Participating in link chains are really a poor way to go (I used to think differently…it may be alright if you are suffering from no traffic at all). It may temporarily pump your Technorati authority up, but in the end, it’ll drop down to where it is naturally supposed to be. Besides, there are much better ways to make friends. Personally, I don’t want hundreds of readers hellbent on their own stats. I’ll be writing a scathing article about link chains soon and it should offend lots of people. Having said that, I am still not above it and may participate in one if I feel the need to.

That’s all I do for my blog…nothing more. I feel like I’m publishing redundant material in this article; however, when I go out and read, I see so many sites that don’t do these things. I’ve come to the point where I don’t think about expanding or gaining traffic. It is just a byproduct of my blogging efforts and community involvement.

The point is, blogging itself and community participation are the strongest tools available. This is why I largely ignore most new gimmicks and shortcuts. In blogging, the simplest methods are always the best.

Tags: article marketing, blogging, social networking