Nothing gets me down more than to see a new blog and blogger come out of the gate all excited and posting great stuff; and than see them fade into the sunset. I know those that do just that, start out with the best of intentions. And there is the other ones. The ones who started a new blog because someone told them it was the greatest thing since sliced bread.

The simple fact these bloggers fail to follow through with their best intentions is due to several factors. Those being usually lack of time, a self-imposed problem at best. Lack of commitment, usually cause by not being completely sold on the concept of marketing their business or professional service firm with a blog. And a good strategy to keep the process going. These blogs fail and end up appearing as abandoned on the Web. Remember, what you put on the Web last forever. And an abandoned blog can leave a bad taste in a prospects mouth and set a negative impression of the company too.

Lets not let this happen to you. A new blog and your best intentions are something we should strive to not let go by the way side. You need to have a plan in place to make sure your new blog does not get stale. And a plan to help kick your stale blog in the butt.

Here are four (4) things you must do right now to make sure this does not happen to you.

Write at least 3 Post a Week.

I tell all the people I talk to about blogging they should write a minimum of 3 blog post a week when they first start their blog. Not 1, not 2, but 3. Why, because one of the huge benefits of blogging is the fact you are (or should be) putting up new relevant content. Google likes new relevant content and so do your readers.

Blog post don’t need to be written as if you are writing a college paper. They don’t have to be long. In fact, they can be varying in length and styles. Numbered lists are good. How-to and even reviews make great blog post.

And don’t overlook the importance of making sure your post titles have relevant keywords in them. And put some of those same relevant keywords in the body of the post.

Don’t expect your post to be perfect right off the start. And getting those right keywords takes some practice and research. Do you own searching with Google to see what the keywords are for your particular niche or target market.

Leave comments on other blogs.

Another element of blogging is the conversations you will be implementing with your blog post. But, don’t stop there. While you are looking for your readers to comment on your blog as part of your desire to keep the conversation going. You should be commenting on other blogs in your niche or target market.

You should be reading other blogs in your niche and you should leave a minimum of 3 comments a week on other blogs. I try to leave 3 comments a day. Why, communicating with other bloggers in your niche will get you noticed. And getting noticed is a key to having a successful blog. And getting noticed will help keep you motivated so you don’t have that stale blog that dies on the vine.

And all those comments you are leaving will also include a link back to your own blog. Most if not all blogs include a place to put your own domain when you leave a comment. Don’t overlook this great benefit of commenting. I get traffic daily from comments I leave on other blogs. Other commenters will click on that link to see what my site looks like. Why do I know this? Because I do the same thing when I comment on other blogs. I want to know what my fellow commenters’ blogs look like. I just might want to add them to my RSS reader.

Oh, and don’t forget to send an email to those who comment on your blog thanking them for commenting and for reading your blog. That just might keep them coming back.

Blog popular search terms and keywords.

You can find these popular search terms and keywords by visiting a blog search engine like Technorati. If you try to work a popular topic into a blog post, you just might get your blog noticed. However, if there is one warning I can make here it is to make sure your blog post is relevant to your target and/or niche. Don’t put up a post just to get that popular search term in the post in hopes of getting noticed. You will get noticed, but it won’t be the kind of notice you were hoping for. Your target audience just may see through your thin attempt at getting noticed, and see it as baiting them for traffic.

So don’t trade a quick fix for a long term relationship with your readers.

Don’t hide the opportunity for your readers to subscribe to your blog.

If II have to hunt for a way to subscribe to a blog, I usually quit reading the blog. Keep in mind that most browsers now have a RSS button in the address bar of the browser. But not everyone uses RSS to subscribe to blogs. Some use email. Give your readers the option of which they want to use and put the darn thing at the top or as close to the top as you can. And give them multiple places to find your subscription options.

I put it in every post, at the top of my blog and at the bottom of every post’s permalink. Don’t overlook the importance of giving your readers an easy to find option to subscribe. Subscribers become regular readers. Regular readers become either clients/customers or get you that click through income you are looking for.

Finally

Having a stale blog can have a negative impact on your business. A 3 time a week updated, focused blog with relevant content is a great way to get search engines, prospective clients and even reporters to notice you.

If you will take these four methods and kick your blog in the butt, you will see the return on your investment increase over time. And, you will see your business grow.

Drop me an EMAIL if you would like to discuss this further. Or, leave a comment with your questions and I will give you an answer in my comeback comment.