1. Regularly add new content to your site. When I say regular I mean regular at the pace that you have set for your blog and for yourself. If the frequency is two posts a day try to maintain that. If it is two posts a week then try to keep up with it. If your frequency is one a day, posting three on one day and nothing for the next three days is not wise. In fact I myself need to implement this better. My blogging frequency is varying these days! Regular updating shows that your blog is alive.

2. Keep the layout of your blog simple, clean and professional.

3. Put photos of yourself and the people involved with the blog. I can’t think of a blog without at least a short sketch of the owner if not a photo on the blog. Even if a blog achieved success I would not respect it if it did not reveal the identity of the blogger and a little about his background. For example the blog johncow.com (johnchow’s look alike) does not say a word about who is behind the blog. It’s strange. The blog no doubt is a success in a short span of 3 months and boasts of an impressive 470 rss readership. Hats off to its success – but I couldn’t figure out who is behind John Cow! I am suspicious about blogs that don’t tell anything about the owner. Such blogs give a feeling of being fictitious and don’t add to credibility.

4. Don’t lie or brag about money matters, products or services. The most common way is to write an overly positive report about a product or service to earn affiliate revenues. It is wrong to lie to visitors to sell them rubbish just to make some money. Your visitors will not come back or, worse still, they’ll actively condemn your site on their blogs or forums.

5. Give some thought about the advertisements you display on your site. Make sure they gel well with your subject or audience. And don’t make your blog an advertising bill board.

6. Don’t make silly grammar or spelling mistakes in your posts. It does not look professional and the reader is likely to look down upon you for the sloppy way you presented the matter. I personally don’t miss even a single blooper in an article that I read.

7. Don’t look for quick short term success. Build long term reputation. It takes years to build a name for yourself and a day to lose it.

8. Be aware that reciprocal links should go well with the theme of your blog. For example, it is not a good idea to trade links with a site that sells alternative medicine if your blog is about technology.

9. Don’t go overboard on pay-to-post writings. Normally I don’t have a high regard for a post that is a paid one. I think the concept itself is not great and is gradually corrupting the web itself. If at all you do it, be transparent about it and state it clearly in the post.

10. When you write do so for people – for human beings and not for search engines!

11. I read somewhere about the HEART rule of creating online content. HEART stands for Honest, Exclusive, Accurate, Relevant and Timely.

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