Writing a Better Blog

There are ways to improve your blog, become a blogebrity and maybe make the Technorati 100.

With Web 2.0 there are few black and white rules. Some observers have referred to the web as having a wild west attitude with no rules. Although it may seem that way at times, the reality is that some rules or guidelines do exist. Knowing these rules can ahlp you navigate the blogosphere with confidence.

One of the few rules is to not make the social network you are trying to be a part of look bad.

Another rule is do not digg and stumble your own material. Yes, I know that some people do it. It may help you at first, but in the long run it looks bad within the social networks.

Although it is not a rule, but rather a code of the wild west, is to use manners. Handling situations in a respectful way can often prevent bad relationships from developing.

· Post Regularly. Even if you do not post daily, do it regularly. Successful bloggers often make several posts each day. In writing your posts, pay attention to what you gravitate towards. Are you a tagger, a flamer, a linker, personal storyteller? Once you find your preferred style, stick with it on a regular basis. Although people like what is

· Link, Link, Link. When you cite specific articles, link to it. When you are complaining or rebutting, link to what you are rebutting. Linking to these other items is a matter of social network courtesy. It has become a type of protocol on the net. If you hope to improve your rankings, one of the things that helps you accomplish that are the number and quality of links you have going in and going out. Some social network sites have tools that allows you to identify who has linked to you.

· Stick with what you know. When you speak on topics you have strong feelings about or are knowledgeable about, people know it. When you are posting just to take up space and grab links, people know that too. Posting on topics that are within your expertise will make your blog stronger. Find the issues and topics that are your hot buttons and stick with them. By sticking with those items, you will prevent burnout for yourself as well.

· Honesty is still the best policy. People are shying away from alter personas. Leave alters personas and avatars to the role playing games. If you are serious about blogging, be who you truly are.

· Practice, practice, practice. The more you write, the better you will become. The more easily material and thoughts will flow. If you vlog (video blog), podcast or use other medium, keep doing it until you perfect it and then do is some more.

· Consider signing up with Technorati. Since Technorati is Grand Central Station for blogging, it is imperative that you make sure that you are on their network. As part of joining their network, embed the codes that generate automatic pings. By adding those codes, it insures that Technorati and the world will know when your blog is updated.

· Install RSS and Atom feed. Having RSS feeds on your blog makes it easier for people to subscribe to them. If your blog contains interesting material readers will want to be updated on your postings.

· Install the Google Analytics code. This will allow you to track the amount and source of traffic going to your blog. Knowing who is visiting and what they are looking at will help you improve the material on your blog and your blogging skills in general.

· Tag, Tag, Tag Tags make it easier for you and others to find what your blog is about. The more specific the tags, the better.

· Claim your blog and put in blog tags. Claiming your blog requires you sign up with Blogfinder. The more you use tags on the blog you claimed the more authority will be attributed to you. In the blogosphere, it is not just a matter of having an opinion, it is a matter of being the expert on the area you have an opinion about.

· Bookmark, Bookmark, Bookmark. Adding bookmarks to your blog makes it easier for the reader to post them to the services of digg, reddit, facebook, sphere or others.

These are 11 basic steps that will improve any blog and help generate more traffic to your site. Even if you are into microblogging with networks like Twitter, following these guidelines will improve your readership and rankings within the blogging community.

If you really become ambitious then you can venture onto the site, Dane Carlson's "How much is your blog worth?". By entering your URL, you can discover what some people may pay for your blog or to advertise on it. The results can sometimes be surprising. By following the steps above, you will likely see improvements in what your blog is worth.