Guest Blogger: Brian Knight "You Have a Blog...Now What?"

Good day, my name is Brian Knight and I am the creator of the New Author. Before I begin I want to thank Cicily for inviting me to guest blog today. When talking to Cicily about today's topic she suggested I write about blogging and how to develop a following for your blog. As I am not a professional at this I do have some knowledge and experience to share so let's jump in and have some fun.

You've spent hours maybe days generating a great looking blog. You have all the widgets, subscriber links, and even a nice looking photo of yourself neatly organized around that big empty spot in the middle of your blog. With that done there is only one thing left to do...write your first blog post. This is the moment of truth where many will freeze as they wonder what to write. Does this sound familiar? Don't worry, you are not alone if it does.

A blog can be a great tool for networking, building a platform and/or getting your voice heard. However, it takes work and effort to achieve these things. Remember the old saying "Rome wasn't built in a day"? The same thing holds true to blogs and websites. How do you create an attractive, fun, informative blog? These are a few things to keep in mind:

Pick a topic you are passionate about.
Allow your imagination to run free and have fun with your blog.
Engage the reader.

Okay, that makes sense and they are easy enough to do. Are they really? I think we should look at these a little closer.

All three are very important but it all starts with a topic you are passionate about. Your readers will see and feel your passion within your words when you are truly passionate about that topic. However, your passion will also pull you through on those tough days when you really don't feel the words flowing and you can't seem to get an idea for a post. There have been days when I could not get an idea even if my life depended on it but it is at these times when my passion for writing kicks in and before I know it there is a 600 word article before my eyes ready to post. This is why passion is important in more ways then one.

Readers want to be entertained and mentally stimulated. Yes, your blog presentation will gain their attention for a brief moment it will be your words that bring them back. Allow your imagination to run free and have fun with both your set-up and your posts. Your imagination will keep your blog fresh and energized. Don't be afraid to try new things like a contest, workshop, guest bloggers, or whatever you think would be fun to do. Once you establish a fun and energetic atmosphere around your blog it will take on a life of it's own. People will be drawn to it because they will want to read it.

As true as it is that readers want fun, informative posts it is also true that they don't want to be lectured or read posts from a person who presents themselves as a know-it-all. I believe a good blog is one that resembles a community whereas everyone shares success stories, failures, frustrations and lends support. As creator of the blog it is your job to facilitate that by writing articles about your own success, failure, frustrations and call/lend support. These aspects can be blended into informative posts as you show what that particular information means to everyone (including you) reading it.

One final thing, when your blog is up and running you want to draw attention to it until the buzz spreads on it's own. How do you do that? Visit other blogs and leave comments, add comments in forums similar to your blog topic, join other networking sites such as LinkedIn and/or Twitter (remember to subscribe to your blog so your posts will also be seen on these sites) and include the address to your blog in your e-mails you send out.

If you would like more information about blogging and promoting your blog check out this article.

Brian Knight
The New Author
http://the-new-author.blogspot.com
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Everyone go check out what Brian has to say on his blog, The New Author. Named one of the very best and most actually useful writer's resources on the web by predators and editors polls, he's got information you need to know. Thanks Brian for being a part of my blog.

~Cicily