Blogging is no more a mere time pass or hobby activity. Those who think this are perhaps living under a rock! Seriously mate. Today, blogging has created many successful entrepreneurial personalities on the internet. But to have a successful career in blogging, you need to have certain core skill sets. Sure, opening up a blog is pretty easy. Even a 10-year-old kid can do this. Thousands of blogs are opened everyday, but only a fraction of them manage to steal the spotlight. Have you ever wondered what differentiates a successful blogger from a just-another-blogger? The answer is: Skill sets and qualities! Though it may be too early for me to call myself a successful blogger today, I believe that my 5+ year-long blogging experience has definitely taught me the importance of having these skills sets. Here they are:
1. Writing skills
Obviously, having fabulous writing skills is paramount to achieve success here. I believe that it’s not just about writing grammatically correct and coherent sentences. There’s something more into it. It’s about creative writing – writing that’s magical, writing that’s spellbinding, writing that compels your readers wanting to read more and more!
Bonus: Have a look at these 99 essential writing tips compiled by David in a recent blog-post! He says that – If you follow most of these, you have a great chance of being successful. But remember, there are no rules, only guidelines. No two blogs are the same (please!), no two bloggers are the same, and no two readers are the same!
2. Reading skills
Very important: Good orators are good listeners first. Similarly, You can’t be a good writer unless you’re a good reader first. One should be a voracious reader. Now that doesn’t mean that one should go about consuming every piece of writing that he comes across. Develop a habit of reading, at-least out of curiosity, things that interest you.
3. Networking Skills
Gary Dek of StartABlog123.com stresses more on networking skills. Here’s what he said to me in a recent interview –
[su_quote]I’ve learned that many amateur bloggers focus on developing enormous amounts of content with expectations of ranking on quality text alone. Unfortunately, content alone is not a winning strategy. I would recommend focusing on content 25% of the time, and networking for links the other 75%. If you already have a treasure trove of content, then you should focus even more on networking with bloggers and an outreach campaign to bring attention to your existing content. In the end, the most successful bloggers have been in the game for at least 3 to 4 years, so if you just started or your blog is relatively young, keep at it and you may end up with a full-time income from your blog too![/su_quote]
4. Organisation & Humor
Cherry Kwan from techwyse.com says that proper organisation of thoughts, ideas, and editorial calendar is just as important as any other skill set mentioned above. Here’s what she said –
[su_quote]When it comes to blogging, I think organization is rather important. It’s best to keep your thoughts, ideas, and writing organized because it helps you convey your messages. I like to organize my thoughts based on specific categories or points, which allows me to go back to them and know what I’m talking about.[/su_quote]
[su_quote]In addition, humor is extremely important in my opinion. Of course, if you’re a humorous person and love a little laugh, it’s best to include humor to add personality into your content. Sometimes, reading a long blog can be boring and a touch of humor, whether it be a picture or sentence, can keep your readers motivated to read.[/su_quote]
5. Creativity
If great writing is skeleton of a blog, then creativity has to be its flesh and soul! Being creative helps a lot. It helps you structure and create your content and graphics that not only look neat and amazing, but also unique!
Your thoughts?
What additional skills do you believe are essential for a successful blogging career? Please share your thoughts in the comments below 🙂
and consistency 🙂
You’re right Anindya 🙂