First off, you need to be sure that what you do as a matter of routine doesn’t become a useless chore that leads you nowhere. Yes, I’m referring to your blogging practice. How effective is your blogging? The answer to that question invariably depends on your Blogging Goals. What do you want to achieve blogging? What are you blogging for? These are basic questions that may sometimes have been taken for granted that these questions are perhaps never visited again in the blogger’s life. So habitual does the practice of blogging become that blogging becomes a goal in itself, rather than it being a medium to achieve a larger goal.

I’m not talking of lofty ideas here that you should be aiming at with your blog. But blogging is no longer just a time pass or to announce to the world what you did last summer. Blogging is serious business and, when pursued with care and devotion, can be serious money too! So, are you letting go of an opportunity that could become a good secondary source of income or, perhaps, lead you into a new career altogether? Getting back to the question again, how effective is your blogging?

There are things that can be done with your blog. So, if you are not doing a thing with your blog, you are wasting an opportunity. Let’s see what those things are that would make your blog “Effective”.

Have a Blogging Goal: It can be anything. But have a goal. You may want to educate consumers in your industry. You may want to review products that you are interested in. You may want to criticise some unhealthy practices in your field of operation and provide a solution to them. And you may do all of these and make money blogging. When you have a blogging goal, your mind starts thinking in line with what you want.

For instance, you may become an affiliate marketer to a product and you may put a link to that product in your blog. Then, all you have to do is to review products in the industry or review the industry itself and provide a casual link to the product in your posts. Well, who knows when your post starts getting you returns? But the best way to start off is by having a blogging goal.

Write Useful Content with “How to” ideas: If you have been in your industry for a while now, you would definitely know some of the nuances in the trade. And there are a lot of people who are looking for information about your very industry. If you have been blogging just for the sake of blogging, publishing information that may not make much sense or be of any benefit to readers, it’s time for you to rethink your blog contents. If you have the expertise, you can spread knowledge – and hence, draw traffic and leave your visitor satisfied. Successful bloggers are not born – they make themselves successful by applying thought. If you are an expert in your own field, it’s time to monetise your expertise.

Provide Updates on Latest Developments: Here, you have to be in the know of things to make a difference. Get your sources of information ready so that you remain updated of the developments in your area of specialisation. And remember to choose that field of action that you are familiar and comfortable with – you wouldn’t want to end up learning new stuff to blog about that (though there is nothing wrong with learning something new, it’s always better to bank of your expertise when you have just ventured into serious blogging).

Comment on what interests you: If you like movies, comment on them. If you like politics, criticise politicians. If you are spiritually oriented, spread the halo (though I don’t see how many spiritually-oriented bloggers would want to monetise their blogs anyway). If you are a sports fan, blow the wind hard. You are the source here. And you have the chance to live your passion and make a living. Be a passionate blogger – that definitely helps, no matter what you blog about.

Indulge in Linkbaits: Linkbaits are posts that are meant to or aimed at getting viral. If you are familiar with YouTube, you would have seen a lot of videos spiralling out of control to draw in visitors in tens of thousands. Linkbaits are posts that get the popular attention. In other words, Linkbaits are “playing to the gallery”. When you do that, you get featured in search results and you get visitors, who in turn link to your posts. When your post gets linked to in social media sites, you get traffic big time. When you get traffic, you get featured in search results . . . you see, this is a cycle that you would definitely want to get into, if you want to get serious about your blogging business.

If you thought blogging was just another hobby that means nothing to the world outside you, think again. With a few deliberate tactics, you could score big in blogosphere.