Blog for the long haul, not overnight successes

Steve Rubel hits a home run with his post that you blog for the long term in his post, The Long Tail, the Long Term and Your Blog.

A lot of people starting blogs today are looking for quick results. The definition of ‘results’ really depends on what your motivation is. In this case, I am talking about using a blog as a business tool for marketing and public relations.

Sometimes, this occurs…. However, more often than not, if you’re starting a business blog, just as with stocks, you’re best off taking a Long Tail and a long term approach.

Steve provides some sound tips for the long haul:

• Focus your blog on the segment of the conversation you care passionately about – and stick to it. If your blog gets 100 regular readers a day and it’s the ‘right’ 100, then it’s a success.
• Find online gems that this audience is likely to miss and share your perspective.
• Write compelling op-eds and tutorials.
• Blog for search – people finding you on Google. It can take a year for a blog to build substantial Google juice.
• Start tracking your site traffic as to what readers liked the most, how many users return and how long users spend reading your content.

LexBlog clients focusing on the long haul are succeeding. They focus on their niche. They become an intelligence for their target audience. They network with others who are likely to cite them as an authority. Their blogs are at the top of Google when searching relevant keywords and key phrases.

Others wanting an overnight success who are not interested in learning what it means to blog meet with moderate returns at best. Like everything it takes some effort and time.