There is no single path to success, nor is there a single concept of success, however, there are principles or attitudes that are repeated and that are worth keeping in mind for our own context. In this sense, I would like to highlight 10 of these principles / attitudes that are perceived from successful bloggers and blogs.
Principles of successful blogs
Warmth
Every human relationship is enriched when it is developed with cordiality, kindness and attention, and blog relationships are not exempt from this. One should think more than “visitors” in people, who are directly affected by the treatment they receive and the tone of the conversations. A great example of how warm relationships make a blog successful is gem@’s blog, a must-visit for Blogger users. Both in articles and comments, people receive attention and good treatment, which results in articles that are always commented on and satisfactory statistics.
Creativity
Creativity is a virtue of successful projects. In blogs it can be used in any of its elements or activities, creativity to select a topic, to develop and discuss it; creativity in design, usability and accessibility; creativity to complement, improve or correct it. Undoubtedly, we all have this quality, but it needs to be developed and cultivated to become a factor that plays in our favor. An example of a creative evolution is Maestros del Web, which has managed not only to remain in force but also to innovate and complete its space with new ideas or adaptations of them to a context, a very similar case of Microsiervos, which could not be left out of this list.
Utility
Most people who enter a blog are looking to cover a need or solve a problem. Thus, providing solutions and practical data make a blog a must to visit and generate a deep appreciation. An example of this is anieto2k, a place where you can find proposals and solutions for programmers, designers and bloggers on a daily basis.
News
A characteristic of the Internet is the speed with which it is updated and we can receive information. Providing regularly updated information on a particular topic makes your blog a reference on the subject. This is perhaps the strong point of sites in a blog network, since they base their scheme on generating as much information as possible, as quickly as possible with the latest news. A good example of this is Genbeta.
Analysis
There is a lot of information on the Internet and when you have a blog it is very tempting to reproduce it or simply paraphrase it (make your own version of the same information), which finally represents “one more version” of the same thing. Something very different happens when, in addition to reproducing information, it is analyzed, either by transferring an opinion, own experience, giving it context or providing new data. kabytes, Loogic and Denken Über base much of their success in showing what is read at first glance in the happenings of the Internet.
Opportunity
A characteristic of valuable information is that it is timely, i.e. available when it is needed. In Webadictos they exploit this quality well and generate content according to the season, whatever it is, thus taking advantage of the increase in traffic to temporarily attractive searches, a very effective scheme and curiously very little exploited on the web.
Knowledge
In order to talk about a topic and generate interest, it is essential to have a certain mastery of it. Mastering a topic allows you to go into it in depth, share experience, offer solutions and recommendations to those who start and give an informed opinion or analysis. It seems a logical aspect, however practice does not always say the same, many people base the theme of their blog on other factors such as economic performance or repeat the model of an existing site without considering the time it will take to immerse themselves in the subject and achieve a certain mastery. Several blogs denote well the mastery of a certain topic, but the case of Alejandro Suarez, CEO of the network Ocio Networks SL, illustrates it perfectly with the degree of discussion and interest generated and the arrival on the front page of social aggregators as a daily occurrence.
Sociable
It is becoming easier and easier to communicate with our readers and with other bloggers. Rich and intelligent communication with our readers and other bloggers brings with it a lot of benefits: richer discussions, feedback, invitations to new projects, etc. I can’t find a better representative than Blog en Serio by Victor Esparza and former Blog and Web contributor, in less than a year he has become one of the most recognized bloggers in the blogosphere and is involved in several web projects.
Aesthetics
I am also one of those who believe that on the Internet “content is king”, but if this is not lost sight of and the information is offered in an aesthetic and usable way the result is a satisfactory experience for the visitor. Blogs like Infected FX and Carlos Leopoldo’s illustrate this combination well.
Discipline
Perhaps of the 10 principles/qualities this is the most present when talking about success. This includes constancy, order and the establishment of habits that allow blogging with quality. There is no doubt that all the blogs mentioned in this list comply in one way or another with this characteristic, but to continue with the idea of giving an example, Fernando Tellado shows to have a lot of discipline to achieve a number of articles on topics that impresses anyone.
Conclusion
Behind every successful blog or blogger there are behind, not only principles or qualities that we can recognize as positive, but a whole context and experience with mistakes and successes that have made them reach public recognition by their own paths. In this way, for each person there is a different context and each one with their own skills and deficiencies; we cannot speak of following a path to success, but we can take note of those who have achieved it and motivate ourselves in the process.
Finally, by the way I have left out the definition of“Success of a blog” because this will be very different according to the objectives of each person, so for you what is a successful blog? What parameter would you use to measure it? Number of comments, visits, income, personal satisfaction, “influence”?
