Being a professional footballer is not just a matter of wish, it comprises practices and habits performed over a course of time. Similarly, blogging is a profession that requires unique habits over a certain period that will enable you to become a professional blogger. Quite a big number of upcoming bloggers try to become professional bloggers because they know the benefits that they will obtain. The biggest problem is that they fail to identify core habits that will make or help them to achieve their goal.

Successful Blogging Qualities

After the introductory remarks, let me share with you 15 habits you must maintain if you want to become a professional blogger.

1. Waking up early

You will never become a professional blogger if you do not utilize your time properly. Waking up early is a very effective principle of proper time utilization. All professional bloggers have an early bird routine. They wake up early in the morning, plan their day, and follow their timetable as soon as possible. If you wish or plan to become a professional blogger you must plan to wake up as early as possible, plan your day and follow your daily routine. Remember by waking up early you’ll get enough time to prepare interesting content for your blog.

2. Learning a new thing every day

“Once you stop learning, you start dying,” said Albert Einstein. Learning is a crucial habit for becoming a professional blogger. The more you learn the more you become professional. Professional bloggers tend to acquire new knowledge every time in their area of blogging so that they can be capable of solving various readers’ problems. Remember, as Ken Blanchard commented, “When you stop learning, you stop growing.” Therefore, if you want to grow from being a novice blogger to a professional blogger, you must learn a new thing every time.

3. Having concrete goals

Tony Robbins asserts that “Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.” To become successful in anything, including blogging, you are supposed to set up well-defined goals. Establishing a blog without having goals is like starting a journey without knowing where you are going. Setting up goals will act as a road map toward your blogging destination. If you are planning to become a successful blogger you should acquire and keep this habit. You should set up goals of what you want to do, what you want to accomplish, and what results you expect from your blogging journey. Try to write down your goals and make sure you check them every day to ensure that you are not deviating from them.

4. Loving what you blog

According to Marsha Sinetar, do what you love, and money will come your way.
When you look at successful individuals you discover that they have become successful because they do what they love. Doing what you love has many benefits that enable you to achieve your goals. When you do what you love you become motivated. You inspire others and it becomes easier for you to face challenges and to overcome them. If you want to become successful in blogging you must blog on the area where you are passionate, where you love the topic of your choice, and where you are not ashamed to express your thoughts and opinions to your readers. Never pick up a topic just because it is a popular issue on the internet or because it is an interesting matter among your friends. Pick up a topic which you’re comfortable with and which appeals most.

Read also: Know 12 Things That Kill Many Blogs

5. Planning and organizing

Planning and organizing is a very important habit of becoming a successful blogger. You cannot produce quality content if you have no well-conceived plans to guide you through the process of preparing these contents. As a blogger, try every day to set up a plan for your blogging journey so that you can produce organized content and work in a more organized environment.
Things to consider while planning and organizing:

• Identify blog operation costs and its handling.
• Identify your blog niche.
• Identify your readers.
• Identify post ideas.
• Identify your content creation plan.
• Finally, identify how to handle readers’ feedback and queries.

6. Being consistent

“Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying basic fundamentals,” James Rohn stated.
It is sad to see that many bloggers tend to be very motivated and consistent during the early stages of their blogs but after some time they tend to lose consistency and as a result, they lose their success too. Blogging is a job that requires consistency. Success in blogging does not come overnight. To see tangible results, you need to be consistent over a long period of time. Being consistent is not about producing space-filler content every day, but rather a process of producing interesting topics, based on a reasonable regular interval of time.

7. Understanding your readers

When you blog, you are actually writing for your readers and not for yourself. Therefore, understanding readers’ needs are the secret behind successful blogging. As a blogger, you are supposed to understand what your readers need by carefully selecting a topic that will answer readers’ questions or solve readers’ problems. Check regularly the comment section to see what type of content is needed or requested by your readers.

8. Being real

Some bloggers hide behind the internet curtain, something that makes them fake. They speak things that they do not practice or understand. Because of being fake or blind imitators, some bloggers lack authority and authenticity. If you plan to become a successful blogger you should be real and do what you speak or write about. Never speak or write anything which is not true. Make sure that the matter you are sharing on your blog is something you can verify and prove. Do not share ideas simply because you need many followers or readers. Share blog content because you want to help someone or because the contents have helped you.

9. Learning from mistakes

Rather surprising, Bill Ackman said that “Experience is making mistakes and learning from them.” Mistakes are a great source of experience and knowledge, and if you are planning to become a professional blogger you should always be ready to learn from your mistakes. You should not be held back by mistakes – instead, you should be pushed forward by your mistakes. Understand what makes or causes you to fall into mistakes and understand how you can overcome mistakes in the future. Use every mistake in your blogging journey as a stepping stone to the next step. As a blogger, you should also open your ears to other bloggers so that you can understand or identify mistakes they have committed and how they have overcome them. Note the lesson(s) your fellow bloggers have learned from their mistakes. For unwise people, mistakes are enemies that bring shame and sorrow, but for wise people, mistakes are friends that bring fame and joy.

10. Being creative

When you watch successful people you understand that creativity is what distinguishes them from unsuccessful individuals. If you were planning to become a successful blogger, creativity is a habit you cannot do without. You must understand that there is no new topic on the internet. Therefore, creativity is what differentiates your topic from other topics posted on other blogs on the internet. For example, if another blogger has posted a topic entitled “How to get rid of fleas in dogs” you would be remembered for creating a relevant topic known as “10 effective ways for getting rid of fleas on dogs.”

11. Solving problems and filling gaps

Readers do not come to your blog because you want them to do so. They visit your blog because they have a certain problem and they are looking for a solution. If your blog does not provide solutions to readers’ problems, no one will visit your blog. Understanding readers’ needs are one of the most important habits toward becoming a successful blogger. Make sure every time and in every step of blog content creation you accord first priority to your readers’ needs.
You can understand how readers’ needs are related to your blog success by researching extensively on the questions-and-answers sites like Quora or by using users’ comments and e-mails.

12. Preparing great contents

In the area of blogging, great content is the king. If you are planning to stand out in front of other bloggers, you should prepare great content. Make sure your contents provide relevant points that are strengthened with examples as well as practical solutions for readers’ problems. Moreover, never forget good writing practices, such as subject organization and proper editing.

Read also: Why a New Blogger Should Chase Professional Bloggers First and Not Traffic

13. Building an e-mail list or fan base

One of the greatest sources of blog or website traffic is the e-mail list of a fan base, especially from social media. Successful bloggers tend to build an e-mail list and social media fan base and these help them to have permanent readers for their blogs. Thus, if you are planning to become a successful blogger you must put this habit into practice. You can use tools such as OptinMonster, Optimizely, and Unbounce to create an email list for your blog.

14. Utilizing social media

It is considered that more than 3 billion people use social networks across the world. Nowadays, social media provide exposure and awareness to Brands and companies more than ever before. So, if you are planning to become a successful blogger you should utilize the power of social media. Every time you publish content in your blog, you should share it throughout social media accounts so that it will be easy for you to acquire readers for your blog, from social media networks.

15. Practicing SEO

In a nutshell, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of creating web content that is optimized both for search engines and users. You should remember that the goal of the search engine is to provide the appropriate solution for users’ problems. Search engines tend to analyze web content and identify the relevant quality contents which can be listed to solve users’ needs. If you are planning to become a successful blogger you should make use of this habit of doing search engine optimization so that your content will be suitable to both users and search engines.

Important things to consider in SEO:

• Optimize website performance.
• Carefully select topics and keywords.
• Prepare great content.
• Perform legitimate link building

Conclusion

I hope that now you have understood the habits you are supposed to acquire so that you can become a successful blogger. Remember that becoming a successful blogger is not an overnight event. It is a long process that requires the key habits pointed out above, habits that are supposed to be implemented consistently over a course of time. Never imitate, fabricate, or force anything to become a professional blogger. Just follow the identified rules and success will follow you, wherever you are.