How Long have you been blogging?

**Steven** · 10 May, 2009, 05:23 AM

So, the question is, how long have you been blogging? How successful are you? Got any tips for us newbies?

I am considering starting a blog again, a good one about Making Money online and would love to hear from the experiences of my fellow bloggers.

**Farrhad A** · 10 May, 2009, 05:42 AM

I have been blogging for quite some time.

Success, I really cannot judge myself, but I sure am doing better than most bloggers out there.

Tips:

Content is King. Design in Queen.
Seo your site well.
Stick to your niche.
Do not over-monetize.

Cheers!

**Steven** · 10 May, 2009, 05:49 AM

Can you explain over-monitizing to me? What does it mean?
And does a custom made design make a real difference or can I just get an already made design and go with it?

**Farrhad A** · 10 May, 2009, 06:01 AM

Over monetizing- You have a month old blog, with not much traffic and you put something like eight 125x125 banners, load it with all other stuff that does not work- basically i do not think anyone will buy ads on your site. And it does not leave a too good impression too.
So basically do not go over board and try to extract money from your blog.

A custom made design surely adds a lot of value, but it is the content that matters more. If you use a free/premium theme try and used a lesser used one.

**Steven** · 10 May, 2009, 06:11 AM

Ahh, I see what you mean. Yeah the most I would have is 2 adsense banners that are blended nicely and probably text only. Some blogs have WAY to many ads on them.

**Brandon** · 10 May, 2009, 07:40 AM

I will be starting my blog next week

**gloson** · 10 May, 2009, 09:32 AM

More tips!

1. Read www.problogger.net and www.copyblogger.com
2. Put your readers first, not Google.
3. Write killer content
4. Be patient. If you've noticed, most successful blogs are over a year old.
5. Network with friends.
6. Give and you shall receive
7. Drive traffic using www.twitter.com and www.stumbleupon.com
8. Use threaded comments
9. Make sure your blog loads quickly
10. Guest post
11. Be consistent in posting
12. Don't give up!

**CoreyFreeman** · 10 May, 2009, 12:34 PM

To start, you should read the following posts:

http://outstandingwriter.com/2009/03...ing-sucks-ass/
http://outstandingwriter.com/2009/03...uential-posts/
http://outstandingwriter.com/2009/02...personal-tone/

This may seem a little self-serving but content is king and those are my best posts on content writing, because in the ever-growing blog market, you definitely need an edge, and what better edge than fantastic content?

Also, grammar matters. Just sayin.

On the custom design thing, a custom design is something that will put you ahead of others. It's really nearly impossible to find an attractive free design that isn't used by at least 100 other people. So if you do go for a free template, customize it to fit YOU. Colors, images, all of it. Make sure you know what you're doing.

Another route is to learn some design skills. You wouldn't believe the simple things people waste money fixing (link colors, background images) and CSS takes MAYBE an hour to learn, tops. If you want to save some cash, DIY. And then you can make cash from it down the road building other people's blogs!

CONSIDER YOUR TOPIC CAREFULLY! It's very tempting to say "I'll blog about blogging!" I've had a make money online blog, and to be honest, it's really really boring. Everyone talks about the same thing and unless you're just a fascinating person, it becomes hard to find a reason for readers to go to you and not John Chow or Problogger or something. Pick a topic that you love, know a lot about, and will continue to learn about. That's why I picked writing.

Finally, get ready for people to hate you. Not because you're a bad person or anything, but because with blogs comes trolls. I get people getting mad at me because I like to do things my way, on my own terms, and I'm a particularly honest (sometimes overly honest) person with a strong head and insane ambition. Some people will not like people who think they can do everything, but that shouldn't stop you from trying. And don't get defensive or cynical, ever!

**Steven** · 10 May, 2009, 14:55 PM

I have a trouble with idiots lol. I ran an RPG once (That I coded) and had to deal with a lot of them. I sooner or later just retreated and updated the game and left the community to moderators and such. I guess I can do the same with my blog. (Within reason)