100 Blogging Tips

To commemorate my 100th post at The Red Stapler Chronicles, I would like to share with you 100 blogging tips that I have already learned during by blogging journey.

1. Blogging is truly hard work.
2. Blogging is not for everyone.
3. You will not get rich quick blogging.
4. Or even slowly.
5. Most blogs will cease to exist after a month.
6. You should blog about what you love to talk about.
7. Your need to connect with your readers.
8. Always respond to your comments.
9. Don’t be afraid to talk about yourself.
10. Good content is the only way that your blog will attract readers.
11. Understand who is reading your blog and cater your posts to them.
12. Don’t immediately try to monetize your blog.
13. Or over-monetize it.
14. Blog Carnivals are the best way to gain exposure.
15. But only submit your best articles to these carnivals.
16. Add pictures to your blog.
17. Follow up on topics that you have previously discussed.
18. Submit your posts to social bookmarking sites.
19. But NOT every post.
20. And NOT every social bookmarking site.
21. Learn as much as you can from other bloggers.
22. Make some friends in the blogging world–its all about networking!
23. If you read a great post on another blog, talk about it.

24. Strongly consider changing you blog to a Do-Follow format.
25. Prepare your blog for a big traffic day by preparing a welcome post.
26. Publish you best posts on your highest traffic days (hint–it probably is not the weekend).
27. WordPress is really the way to go as far as a blogging platform.
28. Invest in your own domain name and host–the sooner the better.
29. Don’t be afraid to experiment different traffic generating techniques.
30. Learn from your mistakes.
31. But don’t be afraid to make more in the name of changing the status quo.
32. In the beginning stages of blogging, ALL traffic is good traffic.
33. As your blog matures, you can start filter out “untargeted” traffic sources.
34. Google search results can disappear in a second.
35. Then reappear. . .
36. Only to disappear again.
37. Use your Google sandbox time wisely to build backlinks and produce quality content.
38. Keep a pen and paper near you bed to jot down ideas for a post.
39. Do this near your couch.

40. And even the bathroom.
41. Use a spell checker and a thesaurus when writing posts..
42. Proofread, Proofread, Proofread.
43. Your permalink structure should not have any dates or numbers–just the post name.
44. Don’t be afraid to take a break from blogging.
45. As long as you keep your readers informed about it.
46. Guest posting at a more established blog is a great way to get exposure.
47. Having a contest can help you get subscribers, backlinks, and traffic.
48. Join blogging communities like blog catalog, digital point, and bloggeries to exchange ideas.
49. It is okay to solicit your readers to become subscribers.
50. It is okay to blog about something off topic.
51. But too many off topic posts can alienate your core readership.
52. You NEED to have a google sitemap.
53. You NEED to have a properly formatted robots.txt file.
54. Tracking where and when your visitors are coming from is also a must.
55. Remain open to criticism.
56. Thank people who help you out.

57. You are not “selling out” by monetizing you blog.
58. Just avoid excessive ‘sponsored posts.”
59. Have a good About Me page.
60. Optimize your blog with plugins.
61. Like All in One SEO pack.
62. And Comment Luv.
63. And Enforce www preference.
64. And Increase Sociability.
65. And Random, Popular, and Related Posts.
66. Carefully moderate your comments.
67. Comment on other blogs on a regular basis.
68. Use Tags and Categories to organize your posts.
69. And to make your blog “more sticky.
70. Use browsershots.org to test your blogs format in various browsers.
71. The title of your blog should be the same as your domain.
72. Protect your blog by constantly backing it up.
73. It is acceptable for your blog to have more than one niche.
74. Especially if you can relate these niches to each other.
75. Invite comments with a closing line in your post.

76. Pay attention to your Google Page Rank, Technorati and Alexa rankings.
77. But don’t obsess over them.
78. Make sure your blog does not take too long to load.
79. Don’t be afraid to take a controversial stance.
80. But if you over use this linkbaiting tactic you will quickly lose credibility.
81. Even if you are almost done with a post, don’t be afraid to trash it if it just not coming out right.
82. The great posts will require some research.
83. And maybe more than one draft.
84. Your blog should not have a Meta login link.
85. Your blog does not need to display a badge from every social bookmarking site you belong to.
86. Analyze your ads closely and if they are not producing don’t hesitate to yank them.

87. Top Ten and Lists are a potent weapon in blogging.
88. But humor is probably the most potent.
89. Feature your most popular posts.
90. Again and Again.
91. Write the majority of your posts for humans, not search engines.
92. Treat newbies with respect and hide your frustrating with silly questions.
93. Always be yourself not what you think people want you to be.
94. Ask your readers questions.
95. Treat all your readers with respect, especially those that disagree with you.
96. Make the titles of your post intriguing (look ad newspaper headlines for inspiration).
97. Avoid using too many acronyms or technical terms.
98. Ask a non blogger to critique your blog.
99. Top 100 lists take a lot of time to compose.
100. And most importantly, remember to have fun blogging.