The Skills of a Blogger

Anyone can be a blogger, but some people are better skilled at this than others. These skills can be obtained by anyone, but if you are lucky enough to be skilled in these areas you will be on the quick track to a successful blog!

Essential Blogging Skills

Writing

You have to be at least a coherent writer. I know I’m not the greatest writer so I’ve taken english classes to help move me in the right direction. If you have a tough time with grammar or sentence structure than taking a class or two at the local Junior College can be greatly beneficial. There are also web sites available to help you in this area:

• Grammar Girl
• Lousy Writer

Being an engaging and competent writer is probably the most important skill you can have as a blogger.

Passion

If you don’t have passion for your blogging niche or topic than you are going to struggle to find the inspiration to write posts and make your blog the best it can possibly be. A lot of people start blogs just to make money and this is a mistake. While making money can be one of the reasons to start a blog, it shouldn’t be the only reason. Blog about something you love, or something you are interested in. Don’t just blog about a topic because you think it has the potential to make you money.

Learn what else you need to be a successful blogger!

Basic HTML Knowledge

You need to at the very least know some HTML. Header tags, pargraph tags, basic formatting is all hugely beneficial even with the WSIWYG editors. This knowledge is easily learned throughout the internet. Here’s a couple of resources:

• W3schools HTML Tutorials
• Social Missive’s HTML for Bloggers Tutorial

Time Management

Most bloggers are part time bloggers. This means you probably are at a full time job, a full time school, or have a full time life. Managing your time around these tasks is essential. A blog is only as good as the time you put in it. If you want your blog to succeed you need to be posting on a daily or every other day basis. This either means you are writing daily or scheduling posts out throughout the week. Either way you are going to have to manage your time wisely.

Knowledgeable About Your Niche

When you are choosing your niche make sure it is one that you are either very knowledgable of or are an expert in. People need to have a reason to come to your site, and if you are not providing expert knowledge than why are they visiting your site?

Beneficial Skills

These are skills that will help you be the best blogger you can be, but aren’t essential to success.

Search Engine Optimization

SEO will benefit any blogger looking to become successful. You can use SEO to position your blog on google for target keywords and receive major traffic gains. What most people don’t realize ia that seo is less about in site work and more about link building.

Image Manipulation

You would be surprised how many times you’ll need to crop and manipulate imagery during your time as a blogger. Basic know how is a major help and should not be overlooked.

Heavy Coding

If you are capable of heavy coding such as: PHP, Javascript, and advanced CSS with JQuery than you will. e leaps and bounds ahead of the curve. These skills give you access to customization that a lot of bloggers only dream of.

Networking/Marketing

These are skills that are not only helpful for blogging but go a long way in helping you in real life. The ability to make contacts and put yourself in a beneficial position in terms of marketing will only help you succeed.