Damien at the Speed of Life

There is a lot of advice out there on how to blog.  I’ve read just about all of it.  I’ve been on the “noob” end and also had the opportunity to mentor new bloggers.  After over two years at this, I’ve developed my own criteria of blog success and how to get there.  First, let me describe the criteria I live by for blog success.  I’ve categorized them into a three letter word acronym: C.A.N.

C: Circulation.  This is the number of external blog or website links back to your blog.  For example, if a site says: “I read a great article on acronyms at Damien Riley’s site today. They have bestowed upon me a “backlink.”  This should show up on Google when you do a search with this typed in the box  site:http://www.damienriley.com
Circulation is not as important as traffic in my model but it relates to traffic as well as rank.  Advertisers like good rank and more circulation shows “authority” for your blog.  It’s also clearly an indicator that your site has value.

A: Analytics is the data your site produces in the way of visitor numbers.  I record mine through Google Analytics.  Each month I hope to increase my analytics.  It is very obvious why this is important.  The more people that visit, the more exposure your advertisements and your articles will get.  A successful blogger is always looking out for higher analytics.  BUT … I should say that low analytics that are actual readers are better overall for blogging success than simple “click-through” traffic.  Take this into consideration both when analytics drop or rise.

N: Net is the name I give to money earned by a blog.  I keep track on a spreadsheet where I record each job I turn in.  They usually don’t pay out for 30 days so the numbers are a bit “predicted.”  Usually however, they are right on.  I make money through sponsored posts, text-link ads, Adsense advertisements, and freelance writing on my blog.  I’ve written in the past on these specific sources.

OKAY, so now for the topic at hand: Blog Sucess in 3 Steps

To achieve “CAN” results, I use what I call the CHI blog strategy (in case you haven’t noticed, I’m really into acronyms):

C stands for CONTENT: This is the single most important thing in my blogging business model.  I started out valuing this #1.  Content should never exceed 60% paid content 40% my articles.  By paid content I simply mean a link or topic that I have been paid to write about on my blog.  I note this in the disclosure page of all my blogs.  If I am not creating and innovating engaging content, I need to get away from blogging because that is the lifeblood that brings circulation and analytics.  “First things first,” well, the first thing is to develop content.

H stands for HOUSEKEEPING: Depending on how much you have worked online with blogging, you know there are chores that must be done.  There is never a point at which this stops.  Time must be spent reworking things like templates, widgets, checking stats, etc …

I stands for INTERACT: This is by far for me the most laborious and time consuming.  On the other hand, it may be as valuable as CONTENT because without a network of readers and friends online, you are just a feather in the wind out there.  You must take time to “till the field” so-to-speak through reading other blogs, commenting, spending time interacting through social media and helping spread good links around through social bookmarking sites.

I hope these acronyms help you in your blogging goals.  Please feel free to leave a comment or any questions you might have.

My earlier explanation of CAN is found here.