1. Wach ur Spelink & Gramma – Your Twitter content represents your blog and if you’re illiterate in your tweets then the reader can expect more of the same in your blog. Even though you only have 140 characters to work with, abbreviations are generally frowned upon, so it’s best to state what you have to say very concisely but in perfect English.

2. Ice your head first – The CEO of the leading company in your field has done something so profoundly cretinous that they’re making Steve Ballmer look like Albert Einstein, so your first temptation is to fire off a tweet calling him a moron and a bozo. You shouldn’t insult anyone on Twitter ever as it can come back to haunt you and will alienate many of your followers. You’re best off to criticize the factual policies, without engaging in ad hominem attacks.

3. Thicken your skin – One of the most frustrating things about being on Twitter is how many of your followers will not hesitate for a moment to call you a moron and a bozo. Just like you shouldn’t engage in vulgar tweeting about industry figures you have to restrain yourself from engaging in an exchange of expletives with instigators. Just ignore them and they’ll go find some other playground to engage in their silly games.

4. Just the facts ma’am – Twitter is a factual communications medium, so you’re best off to reserve your editorial ruminations to your blog and provide information and links which are both relevant and valuable to your reader. They read your blog to obtain the latest happenings in your industry, whether it be the specs on the latest 128GB SSD or what Lindsay Lohan has done now. “Just had a great Mocha Frappuccino #starbucks” is not really either relevant or valuable to anyone and it verges on…

5. Shill Shill Hurray (Not) – The great dirty non-secret of Twitter is that influential tweeters can cash in bigtime. When a major celebrity movie or sports star makes an offhanded remark about how great their shoe/car/watch/whatever is you can bet that their motivation is not altruistic sharing of a great customer experience but a real big check.

As a blogger you have a responsibility to remain unbiased and balanced, so ranting on about how fantastic a specific product is will communicate to your readers that you’ve succumbed to payola and your opinions can no longer be trusted to be your own.

6. Politickmeoff – Are you writing a political blog? Then feel free to engage in all the political wagging your heart desires. If your blog is not related to politics in any way then your tweets should never broach the subjects. If your readers are seeking information on your industry’s latest news, they really couldn’t care less if you’re voting for or against Obama. You can make an exception when political maneuvering affects your industry, such as the Keystone XL pipeline being momentous for the oil business or the Stop Online Piracy Act shaking up internet providers.

7. No laughs for gaffes – We all laugh uproariously when a major twitter makes a boneheaded mistake, such as Ashton Kutcher railing against Penn State Coach Joe Paterno’s firing before learning it was due to a molestation scandal, Kenneth Cole connecting the violent Egyptian uprising to his new spring fashion collection, or Gilbert Gottfried making jokes out of the Japanese Tsunami.

So… what have learned, Dorothy? Don’t repeat their mistakes! You should be lighthearted in your tweets but not ever broach the limits of insensitivity or make factual errors. The wrong 140 characters can wipe out years of work building up your blog!

Hal Licino is a successful author, award-winning freelance writer, and frequent contributor to a blog hosted by Benchmark Email, an email marketing service for small businesses. He also writes a weekly column for Daily Blog Tips.

Last winter, I went into a big seasonal slump with my blog. I lost all motivation and felt tired and draggy all the time. I could barely think of anything to write, and what I could think of seemed crabby and self-centered. This year, I’m determined to use this low-energy time to make my blog better. You can, too. Here’s how.

Use the low-energy times for mindless stuff

We all have maintenance tasks we’ve been procrastinating. It feels great to get those checked off the to-do list, and there’s no better time for this kind of task than when you’re low on creativity. If you’ve been meaning to install security or monitoring plug-ins, update software, set up automatic backups, or clean up broken links, now is a great time. You may even be so proud of yourself for conquering these dread-magnets that you feel inspired to write!

Brush up on your knowledge and skills

Sometimes a great way to get energized is to learn something new. Do you wish you knew more about writing well, marketing, generating traffic, SEO, running a business, or social media? Check out some of the many free resources other bloggers are offering, revisit information products you may have lying around your hard drive, or go to the library.

Get inspiration

Break out of your routine–seek out experiences that are different from what you usually do. You might try going to an art museum, watching the sun set, or taking a day off for a road trip. Even reading a genre you usually wouldn’t read can help. Talking to other people and bouncing ideas around is even better.

Spruce up

Step back and take an objective look at your blog. What’s missing? What do you want to change? Do you still like the design? Is there anything you want to add or take away to make it look its best?

Consider the number one action you want your readers to take–is it share your posts, comment, subscribe, buy something? Whatever it is, make sure it’s prominent and easy to do. It’s also a good idea to get rid of any clutter that might be distracting for readers.

Reassess

Sometimes the lack of energy or creativity can come from a lack of direction. How long has it been since you thought about your goals for your blog? Where do you want it to be in six months or a year? What do you need to do to get there? Making a plan may kickstart you into action.

Optimize for impact

When your energy is low, it’s more important than ever to prioritize. What tasks have the most impact? What will make the most difference in getting you closer to your goals? Do those first. Making visible progress toward your goal can be very energizing and inspiring.

Grow

There’s nothing like an influx of traffic to give you a lift.

We all want to be read–otherwise why write a blog? But the things that will get us more readers often get pushed aside by more urgent tasks. Since this is traditionally a down season for many bloggers, it’s a great time for your writing to stand out! Two of the most effective ways to get more traffic are guest posting and writing content to go viral. You can also get good mileage from hosting a webinar on a topic in your niche or publishing a free report and getting others to help you promote it.

Celebrate

It doesn’t take much energy to throw a party on your blog–just break out the goodies! People love fee stuff. Contests and giveaways are a great way to get attention and to give back to your readers. The cheer you spread can’t help but come back to you.

Connect

Other bloggers can be a great source of inspiration, support, ideas, and solace, but it’s easy to fall out of touch as we’re all busy with our various projects. Make a point to drop a short note to your blogger friends and other people who have helped and inspired you. Ask what they’re up to and thank them for being there for you. By surrounding yourself with others who are working toward the same goals and keeping in touch, you can feel included and supported. You might even start a mastermind or other accountability group to help you stay motivated.

Take care of yourself

Most bloggers have a lot of responsibilities, projects, and deadlines all the time. The faster your want your blog to grow and the more projects you have, the more you risk exhaustion and burnout. It’s crucial to take time for yourself. Exercise, eat right, and get enough sleep. It sometimes feels like there’s not enough time for these things, but taking care of yourself pays off in more energy, better focus, higher quality work, and enjoying life more. And really, what’s this all about if not enjoying life?

It’s easy to get stuck during the holiday season slump, but you can turn it around and make this this most wonderful time of the year for your blog. What will you do to stay inpired to do great work?

Cara Stein writes at 17000-Days.com about remembering that life is short and making your best days a common occurrence. Her new book, Getting Unstuck, came out Dec. 15.

How long has it been since you have had another (good) look at it, checking for discrepancies in design, content and layout?

Has it been a while? It is good because now when you do, it will almost seem like laying eyes on it for the first time. You can see it from the eye of a first time visitor and see if it is time to make some changes.

Let’s spruce things a bit – it’s time to give your blog a makeover. Let’s look at it with a critical eye.

1. Clean up your Design

When you open your blog homepage, what kind of first impression does it leave?

Do you get a feeling that it’s a very busy blog, with lots of things going on all at once? Too many ads perhaps? Videos? Sliding bar? Photos?

Do you get an uncluttered feeling so that your eyes are immediately drawn to the content?
Make sure the design conveys what is intended. See that it is professional and not amateurish. This will go a long way in creating trust in your readership.

2. Answer Important Questions Fast

New visitors are a precious and a rare commodity. They come to your blog and they are almost always in a hurry.

In the first five seconds of them landing on your blog, you should quickly answer these questions.

• Who are you

• What is your blog about

• What you offer your reader, preferably something that is unique to your blog

In other words, you need to convince the new people to give your blog a chance, and you have to do it fast.

3. Reassess your Brand

The easiest way to understand your brand is to think about what people say about your blog when you are not there.

You can start with the blog title and tag line. Perhaps your tag line could use another look? It’s really good to be sure that you are doing things right from the ground up.

If you haven’t gotten your own domain name by now, now is the time to rethink that decision. Nothing says more ‘unserious’ than having a wordpress or blogspot extension in your url.

4. Write a Profile of your Ideal Reader

Imagine somebody reading your blog.

• What sort of a person are they?

• How old?

• What might they do for a living?

• Their interests and hobbies?

• What are their problems?

• What keeps them up at night?

• What are they looking for when they come to read your blog?

Keep them in mind when you are writing your posts.

Do a reader survey if you have a large enough audience. Do not assume your ideal reader is you. They might have more varied interests that you.

When you write for a specific type of reader, it helps you to see if your style suits this type of audiences. If you are marketing blog; an inspirational, soothing type of writing style might not be appropriate for your readers. On the other hand, if you are mommy blog, writing in a snarky way might push your readership (mothers) away.

Always present your content in such a manner that is easy to understand and you are not using too much jargon or technical language.

5. Add your Author Bio on the Sidebar

Put up a confident, friendly picture of yourself on the about me page, and on the sidebar as a bonus. You want to present a professional image of yourself that shows you being approachable – a smile works wonders for your image!

6. Update your ‘About me’ Page

Did you think your about me page is about ‘you’ . Hmm, funny, that’s what I thought too, turns out I was wrong, at least in the way I perceived it.
Your about me page is where you tell people how you can help them. Turns out your ‘About me’ page is about your reader.

Some things to keep in mind while writing your ‘About me’ page.

• How you can help them?

• What makes you qualified to do so?

• Why did you start this blog – tell them your story.

Use a clear, friendly, approachable picture of yourself and not a logo. Most people prefer to interact with a person.

7. Have One Clear Call to Action

What do you want your readers to do when they visit your blog? If you want them to subscribe, then ask clearly and without hesitation. Know you are a blog worth subscribing to and people will get the idea.

Offering something free like a report or an ebook is a great way to encourage people to sign up. It is not a bribe, plus if your ebook or blog content was not worth subscribing for, you will be left with many unhappy readers and eventually lot will unsubscribe.

Keep your opt-tin easy and in a place that is easy to spot. Usually, the top of your side bar works well for most people.

8. Display Social Media Buttons

Make your posts easy to share but don’t go overboard with this one.

If you give your readers too many choices, chances are they won’t use any.

Plus, it is good to show some social proof on your blog. Show people that it is a place worth coming to.

9. Show Popular Posts

A lot of new bloggers don’t do this initially simple because it never occurs to them.
Use plug-ins or manual links under a link category.

It helps new visitors to your blog to see your best stuff quickly and decide if they want to stay and explore. Don’t worry if they don’t, they probably don’t fit your ideal reader profile anyway.

10. Rethink your Categories

When you started your blog, you might have a different purpose then. If things have changed a bit, or if you are writing about other things than originally intended, it’s time to shuffle your categories.

Don’t go overboard and list a dozen categories. 5-6 work well, some posts can go in more than one. Keep them simple and use titles that are self explanatory.

11. Look at your Latest Headline

People literally spend hours trying to craft the perfect headline – I actually don’t.
Headlines need to serve 3 purposes

• They clue your reader in about what is coming in the article;

• They make a promise of delivering something that will essentially help your audience out

• They make your reader curious enough to look

I often write a basic headline first, even before I write my post. It is simple, plain and looks like an ordinary sentence. By doing this, the purpose of the post becomes crystal clear in my mind so while I am writing it, I can identify when I am going off on a tangent. I am able to follow my one train of thought and prevent over-thinking leading up to wastage of hours.
It helps give cohesiveness to the posts so all bits and pieces of information in the post are nicely tied to each other.

Later you can tweak and play with your headline to your heart’s content. As long as you can answer this question ‘why should I read this post?’ you are fine.

12. Create Screen Friendly Content

People tend to scan content on the web. The easier it is to read, the more it will be read. Use subheads, bullet points and numbered lists within your body of text.
One sentences and small paragraphs are immensely useful for breaking up large chunks of text. Keep the flow of information going or people will get confused or annoyed and leave your piece.

Give people bite sized, easy digestible content and they will always come back for more.

13. Write for Your Reader

Look at your blog from the eye of a stranger. Who seems to be the most important person on the blog? Is it the author of the blog or is the reader?
Make sure everything you do on your blog has a single purpose – how you can help your readers. Do everything you can to show how important your readers are and be genuine. You will gain much love and respect.

What are you going to change on your blog today?

Marya is a communicator of ideas – writing for bloggers, writers and content creators. Catch more of her posts at Writing Happiness. Grab her FREE 29 page ebook How to Write Blog Content that Works – Get Noticed Online (and elsewhere!). Follow her on twitter @WritingH, she is very friendly.

Back in year 2006, a few reliable sources reported that more than 150,000 thousand new blogs were created on daily basis. This comes out to about 2 blogs in every second or approximately one-fifth of the number of new babies born everyday.

You would wonder, after five years, what happens to this plethora of blogs? Yes, like you, I am wondering how many of them survive.

Nonetheless, it won’t take an Einstein to figure out the possibilities. They are either; alive and kicking (and have grown into a reputable blogs with large followers); barely active (with one update every six months or so); alive but in dormant mode (no updates at all); or completely extinct.

This leads to the next perennial questions: How can one start a blog and continues blogging even after half a decade has gone by? What’s the secret to blog longevity? How do you sustain the momentum of ploughing through the highs and lows of the world of blogging?

Perhaps the following three ideas can help shed some light into solving the puzzle.

Passion first, money later

I think we have heard this too often. But then, many conveniently ignored this advice and instead chase primarily for the latter. With money in mind, some went to conceive blogs based on the so-called high-paying keywords such as “Chicago attorney” and “mesothelioma” despite absence of any decent interest and knowledge about the said topics.

Extremely successful bloggers like Darren Rowse started blogging about topic he is most passionate about: photography. The web was never commercialized until he came into realization that the traffic generated from his blogging was more than enough to create a considerable income. He next moved to another niche, which is to blog about blogging. More income ensued.

So, find your passion first. Soon, money will follow.

Create close and ever-lasting access to your niche

You are what you (read, watch, etc.). What comes out of our mouth or fingers are the result of our exposure to world. Without the appropriate inputs, the outputs are destined for disaster. Every one knows that these days, knowledge is power.

It is always wise to blog about something we consistently have access for updates on the latest happenings. For example, a discerning fitness blogger keeps stacks of Men’s Health magazines, subscribes to fitness web updates, renews his gym membership yearly and tries out new whey powder brands so that he or she is ever ready to share newly-acquired knowledge.

Be ambitious, but play it smart

Starting a blog about BMW sports cars is probably a smarter move than blogging about cars in general. It tells that we are ambitious yet focused in our own niche. The power of “small” should never be underestimated.

The best-selling book, The Millionaire Next Door tells us the importance of zeroing into our own niche. About half of the self-made millionaires studied by the author are in very small business niches. They have smaller size of prospect, but the bulls-eye targeting helps create non-stop revenues.

Zooming into a specific area gives us the ammunition to blog what really matters, and when it matters. This in turns cultivate quality blogging principle.

Also, that way, we are not pressured into blogging just about anything from the daily overwhelming updates on a certain general field. And we know what happens when we can’t handle too much thing. We stay out of it.

So, next time you are starting a blog that would last for many years, do seriously consider the above points.

About the author: Zul has been actively blogging since 2005 and is the founder of SKOR Career, an Asia-based career news and development blog.

Isn’t the definition of blogging kind of general?

Not really the word itself, rather the definition of the profession.

There are many individual parts that fit together to form a successful blogging venture.

What exactly do I mean by this?

It’s simple really…

A blog is not just a collection of words.

Its doesn’t depend solely upon a good design.

Connecting on social media is only a portion of success.

Other than providing beneficial value, blogs also need to get people sticking around in order to grow…

In order to be a masterful blogger

mastering as many of these various skills as possible is important.

But, I’m not here to tell you of the importance of mastering skills. That’s a basic understanding…

The important message here are the few skills to actually master. They are crucial if you desire to build your blog hands on and grow it effectively. I understand a lot of people prefer to outsource.

That’s why this is the art of mastering skills.

As with other forms of art, it’s only pursued by those who are interested in being skilled.

As a self proclaimed chronic do-it-yourselfer, I prefer to master the skills first and if I don’t thoroughly enjoy them over time, then I outsource.

When you find skills that you enjoy learning and doing, that make this process worth it.

Not only does this allow you to gain a specialized skill (or a few!) for your profession, it becomes an enjoyable craft as well.

3 Skills All Bloggers Should Adopt for Proficient Blogging Habits

These are three skills to have as a “well rounded” blogger. All are learned through practice and concentrated effort.

Of course, each skill has other parts to it. I’ve got the “sub skills” shown here as well so that you can relate the main skill towards blogging in a way that’s beneficial to your venture:

1. Experimentation
Sub skills: being creative, patient, and learning how to test.

Experimentation is: learning how to run with new ideas and adapt yourself along the way for improvement.

Being creative transforms almost any venture you undertake into one of enjoyment. Just as painters enjoy painting and poets enjoy reading/writing poetry, bloggers enjoy their craft as well.

But it’s only enjoyable if viewed from a creative standpoint rather than a business or work standpoint.

People don’t like the idea of work… it plagues them.

But when your job becomes a place that you can extend your skills creatively it gains a certain luster. Having that spark and applying the desire to make something better than before leads you towards the cultivating of grand ideas.

Experiment using patience, always apply creativity, and learn how to test your ideas for results. If you can do these things you’ll expand your knowledge into new areas and maximize your benefits from doing so.

What kind of experiments should you do?

Well you can branch out into other forms of media. If you aren’t making videos and sharing them online, start doing it. If you aren’t putting out guest posts, start doing that too.

The key is to start doing new things you aren’t currently doing. That’s an experiment because your taking a problem and attempting to overcome it using this “new thing” as the solution.

Then you analyze your results from doing that “new thing” and improve accordingly…. it sounds like a lot, but it’s really a no brainer for getting better at what you want to do.

2. Persuasion
Sub skills: building rapport, understanding benefits vs audience problems, psychological triggers.

I’ve been talking a lot about this topic over at my blog recently. There’s a good reason for this.

Persuasion will help you get what you want in life. It’s a tool you should carry with you in all areas.

Understand though, I’m not talking about manipulating people. What I’m talking about is natural persuasion. Being attractive enough so that people will join your cause willingly.

How can you get someone join what you’re doing… without trying so hard to influence them?

It isn’t how hard you try to persuade them that makes influence work…

It’s how much benefit they perceive to get out of you, followed by a simple “triggering” of an emotional chord inside of them to get an action.

This works for blogging in very powerful ways.

Your web design, brand (going in depth on this one below), and overall impression you make on your incoming audience establishes a sense of rapport.

Rapport is a form of trust in case you were wondering. It’s when you have something in common and are seen as genuine to someone. Rapport is an inner connection with a stranger.

You need to establish a connection with your audience, understand what problems they are having, present to them benefits through your value, and use psychological triggers to help direct their attention for growing your blog.

3. Branding
Sub skills: web & graphic design, developing your personal story, developing your unique voice

Your online brand represents your identity across the internet. It’s not so much what people believe about your brand that matters.

It only acts as a trigger.

What matters is the basic image you give off to others. They will build a perception of you and your business and through branding you can trigger them to recall associated emotions from that perception.

You create your identity slowly over time through your actions. It’s important that you build a reputation. The entire time you are building a reputation and fleshing out your personal story, you should be doing so in a uniform way.

This is why I put web and graphic design in the sub skills list.

It isn’t necessary that you become a Photoshop expert overnight… the actual web design skill itself isn’t super crucial to have.

Understanding the motive which drives this skill in the background is crucial.

When creating your brand… color scheme, slogans, logos, and all of that are a part of it and must be tied together appropriately for your cause.

As you create value and solve your audience’s problems, you should also be sharing your own personal story. It’s unique to you and is what gravitates people to listen to you. Others will find you interesting only according to your personal story… otherwise we’d all be the same, right?

Information is all out there; it’s my belief that people are looking for unique style.

Together, your personal story and creativity will help you to develop your own unique voice. As you present this story and unique voice across the internet in various ways (experimenting), doing so with a uniform appearance will “brand” your persona to your cause.

That’s how you create your own unique style and tie everything together.

Eventually they will become one and the same to a point that someone merely needs to mention your name or your brand’s name and others immediately feel a certain emotion or thought about you.

Now I want to know…

A lot of successful bloggers use these methods to help them grow their businesses. I know I’ve mentioned a few important skills to master, but there are more. It’s because of this reason that I’m running a long term series teaching every important skill I can think of for those who wanna really learn to blog.

What other skills are important for us bloggers to master in order to really gain an understanding of this wide reaching profession?

If you have any examples of these skills in action, care to share your thoughts?

About the Author: My name is Chris Kahler and I work as a copywriter and blog about strategies I learn through experimenting and improving myself. If you want to master these skills plus many more to become a Grand Master blogger, check out my Learn to Blog Series at BloggerITUS.com