I knew I was Going to Succeed! Creating a Successful Blog

When I first started Bucket List Publications a year ago, I knew that it was going to be a success! I am driven; I am passionate; I am a dreamer and I do everything in my power to make those dreams come true. Life is worth living, after all, and I’m making it happen. You have to believe that you’ll succeed.

When I started blogging, I heard people say that it would be impossible to break into the field and be successful. Why would I even waste my time? Why would I want to be another “blogger”?

Well… this is what I have to say to all of those skeptics:

10,432,439 page views speak for themselves! 40,111 followers agree! Because of blogging, I’ve been able to skydive, bungee jump, para-glide, pilot an airplane and a helicopter, go whale-watching, fly in a biplane, tour Nevada, California, Mexico, South Carolina, Alaska, North Carolina, and the Grand Canyon, swim with dolphins and beluga whales, and fly a jetpack. Blogging also introduced me to friends from around the globe and allowed me to share my passion for travel and adventure with millions. The more unrealistic I was with my dreams, goals, and imagination, the more I was able to achieve. My results have ignited even more drive from within and not even the sky is the limit from here.

Hard work, determination, and consistent effort will help you achieve your blogging goals, but drive alone doesn’t make a blog successful. There is more to blogging than creating posts and wanting them to be seen.  In my post, 7 Great Ways to Improve Your Alexa Ranking, I shared tips to increase blog rankings. 430 likes and 197 comments told me that other bloggers are searching for ways to improve their rankings as well. Below is the second addition to Improving Your Alexa Ranking, but this time is has a general focus of Creating a Successful Blog. We can all achieve success, but it’s nice to have a few tips along the way.

1. Create a Facebook Fan Page

If you have more than one blog, each of these should have a different Fan Page. This makes it easier for potential readers to find you and discover your site. I utilize the Bucket List Publications Fan Page daily. By adding visuals, quotes, posts, and insight into the blog, it is an additional way to connect with readers. Be careful in naming your fan page because once you have more than 300 followers, the name can’t be changed. I’ve learned my lesson on that one.

2. Start a Trend on Twitter

One of the main highlights of this social media channel is that it offers the most current events, the trendiest topics, and the latest “ins”. This gives you an excuse to be the “talk of the town” by simply using a keyword that relates to your blog. For example, if you are into adventure, you can post tweets with hashtags like #BestSkydivingPhotos, #TheFacesOfAdventure, or #Top5Adventures. Any of these can become a trend, especially if you are using the hot topic that most of your followers are talking about. But remember that adding a hashtag to your tweets is not the basis for a Trending Topic. Instead of the number of tweets, Twitter’s algorithms count the number of people who use the hashtag or the term. This is why starting a “trend” is not as easy as it looks. However, if you are keen on targeting your followers’ interests, then you just might succeed through it.

3. Pinterest

It is currently one of the newest ways to share photos online. Basically, images are pinned to different themed boards which include a link to the original source. If the theme of your blog relies heavily on visual material like fashion, food, travel, arts, and adventure you may have an easier chance of fitting in. Don’t forget to feature a Pinterest plug-in on your pages so that readers can easily “Pin” your content on their boards.

I just started to use Pintesert, but I’m hooked. For an example of a Pinterest page, you can click here.

4. Showcase Social Media Icons

It should not be difficult for your readers to share, like, repost, or tweet about your post. Show these buttons as prominently as possible on the page.

5. Get Your Name Out There

You’re a complete nobody when you first start out.  It’s great having ‘Mom follow along’ but in order to create a successful blog you need a solid readership.  In the initial stages, one of the easiest ways to attract this for your site is to become a fully immersed in the blogging community.  Commenting, tweeting, stumbling, and promoting the work of others is the name of the game.  It’s all about being a ‘team player’ and hoping that others eventually reciprocate.  The blogging community is, for the most part, full of incredible people willing to help one another out.

6. Embed Videos from YouTube

This is an effective way to diversify your posts. Instead of just lengthy texts or the usual horde of images, you can embed one of your YouTube videos into the article. This increases the number of views for that particular media and it will also generate links to your site. That is, if you include a link in the video description.

I included a video in my Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Manta post and it became one of the most popular posts this month.

7. HubSpot Marketing Grader

A free site that grades your blog and offers suggestions for improvement in three categories:

Top of the Funnel: Creating, optimizing, and promoting content are keys to filling the top of your sales and marketing funnel with more website traffic and leads. The good news is that companies who create, optimize and promote their blogs get 55% more traffic and 70% more leads than those who don’t.

Middle of the Funnel: The middle of the funnel is all about converting the traffic you get into prospects and leads and then nurturing your leads and prospects in order to make it more likely that they will become customers. You do this by using landing pages, blogs, conversion forms, email marketing and social media.

Analytics Measuring your successes (and failures) is the only way to know what marketing activities are working for you. If you can’t measure how many visits, leads and customers your different campaigns generate, you need to reevaluate how you’re measuring your activities.
Final Thoughts

Part of your obligation as a blogger is to give your readers compelling posts and to devote time to social media for interactions. These are the stepping stones toward thriving in the blogosphere and standing out as one of the best writers.

***Sites that Measure/Rank Your Blog***
1. http://marketing.grader.com/
2. http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/lesleycarter.wordpress.com#

Social Media Suggestions:
1. http://www.facebook.com/BucketListPublicationsMagazine
2. https://twitter.com/LesleyMCarter
3. http://pinterest.com/bucketlistpub
4. http://instagram.com/bucketlistpublications/ 

Do you have others? Please feel free to share them below.

What tips worked for you? What things helped you remain focused? Are you an authority in the industry? We’d love to read your suggestions. We are a community and we can grow in success together.