Blogging Success for 2012

The following post is from James of Google+ Tutorials:

We are now well into 2012, the Christmas music has stopped playing; the Christmas tree is a distant memory; we have already broken our new year’s resolutions, and the stores are now selling Easter eggs.

One thing that I wish for all of you this year is huge success with your blogs. I truly believe that success is much less of a science than many would make you believe, and I am confident that whatever your blogging goals are for this year, you can most certainly reach them!

Here are some thoughts that I have about being successful this year with your blog:

Define Success

Every one of us are going to have different goals this year when it comes to our blogs. For some, it will simply be about increasing the number of readers we have.  For others, it might be to make a few extra dollars every month to treat ourselves with, and for others it could be the more serious goal of earning a full time income from our blogs by the end of the year.

Let’s not go at this year blind and confused.  Whether you blog for fun, profit or both, define success for your blog this year. Write it down and reflect upon it. This will give you something to work towards and might help you make some important decisions when certain situations arise surrounding your blog throughout the year.

Be Consistent

Do what you do and do it consistently. Anyone is capable of creating awesome content that they are passionate about, but most people haven’t got the self control and organizational skills to put that content out consistently. This is such an important factor when it comes to the success of your blog.

Be realistic about how often you can put out a quality blog post and stick to that posting schedule. Then everyone knows what to expect. If you are sloppy and posting 10 posts one week and none the next, readers won’t feel secure and may not stick around. You need to build a brand that people can rely on and feel secure associating with.

Engage With Your Community

Don’t just see replying to a couple of comments on your blog as quality engagement with your community. Make an effort to interact with the people who make your blog what it is, and who are going to continue to make your blog a success. Tweet with them, hangout with them on Google+ from time to time, seek them out! Guest post on their blogs, offer them the opportunity to guest post on yours. Build valuable relations.

Don’t Give Up

Though this may sound like a huge generalization, I do believe that the main reason that a few win and most fall by the waste side is that most give up.

Building a successful blog isn’t always easy, and there will be times you will feel like giving up. Whether through lack of readers, lack of inspiration, or lack of income, don’t give up. The winners never give up, even when it feels rough.

I wish all of you the best with your blogs this year. It is going to be an exciting year for those who are ready to take up the challenge and “keep on keeping on”.

Here at Blogging Your Way we want to do everything we can to help you have success with your blog in 2012. Therefore I want to leave you with one question at the end of this post:

What topics can we cover here at Blogging Your Way this year to support you in your blogging efforts? 

	James Brooks is a professional blogger and social media consultant based on the South West coast of England. As well as being a co-founder of Google+ Tutorials James also enjoys blogging about tea, food, and technology.