Becoming a top blogger is one of those topics that attract a massive amount of experts, advice and information, but it is still relatively starved of any real strategy or authority. With the huge army of self-proclaimed blogging experts out there, it can be difficult to know who to trust, what path to take, and how to effectively market your blog to turn it into a popular and profitable online enterprise.

In order to become a top blogger, you need to maximize your audience and personal exposure. While it’s possible to do this by endlessly blogging for other people, taking part in interviews, and jumping through all kinds of PR hoops, the most effective method is to build a massive subscriber list. As with many types of business, the conventional advice and method isn’t always the most profitable, and a small amount of research into alternate routes to a massive subscriber count can yield massive success further down the line. These three tips and strategies are designed to do two things: cause a massive increase in your subscription count, and create subscribers that will stay with you long-term, rather than leaving to the next big thing that comes along. Long-term appeal always wins out in the blogging world, and those subscriptions are the most valuable and lucrative of all.

Tip #1 – Find your optimum update times, and stick to them ruthlessly.
This is a tip from Tim Ferriss, one of the most popular and successful bloggers on the internet. With over 50,000 Twitter followers, Tim is a powerhouse in the internet marketing world, and is renowned for his highly time-optimized strategies and blogging advice. One of his most useful strategies for bloggers is to experiment with different posting times and focus on the times that give the maximum in terms of subscriber benefits. This process is as simple as micro-testing 12 different blog posts to determine which hour of the day is best for subscription increases.

Tip #2 – Give your readers reasons to subscribe.
This one is a simple psychological exercise more than it is a blog optimization. Would you join a club if it had no benefits? No, of course not. But you’d definitely join one that allowed you to access exclusive offers, content and resources that nobody else could access. You need to put yourself in this mindset when you design resources for your subscribers. Offer something exclusive and valuable for your subscribers and they’ll reciprocate your generosity by subscribing and sharing your blog with friends.

Tip #3 – Partner with other bloggers to create cross-subscriber traffic.
This one is a slightly more advanced strategy that requires a larger time commitment to blogging. Once you’ve built a decent audience, build relationships with other bloggers. Once you’ve built a friendly relationship, send them a quick email offering to guest blog for them, and in exchange offer them the same opportunity on your blog. You’ll be surprised at how many bloggers will eagerly accept the offer. This strategy brings multiple benefits — you increase your subscription count, expose your blog to a new audience, and build valuable back links to your blog page. All for free, and all because you understood blogging strategy.

To learn more about blogging, get this free Bloggers Starter Kit at http://bit.ly/bw3t4Y.

Guest Post – Teena Damron

Image, Susan Coffey

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