Problogger Darren Rowse is doing a feature called Habits of Highly Effective Bloggers, I certainly don’t class myself as a highly effective blogger but as I tend to post here a fair few times a day I guess that still makes me a blogger. So here are my opinions on what makes an effective blogger (or not).

Be part of the Blogging Community
Getting involved with the blogging community is great way to make contacts in your chosen niche and get you blog known. Leaving trackbacks to sites you quote and meaningful comments on other peoples sites. I always read sites that have linked to me and if I find something interesting will often quote them and return the link favor. I did have a rant about this last week and have made a few friends because of it.

Be Different
There are fair few blogs in the gadget niche, many of which seem to report on the same things. One of the things I try to do is find original content that hasn’t been reported all over the place already. I only ever cover stories off the “big” gadget blogs (Engadget, Gizmodo, etc.) if the story is really breathtaking or I have an interesting twist on it.

Persistence
We all have days when we can’t be bothered and at times you feel you’re writing stuff but nobody is reading and that all the search engines hate you. Having a popular site takes time and effort so perserverance is key.

Be Passionate about the Subject
Blogging about something you have a passion about is so much easier than writing about a subject that you don’t really enjoy. It will come across in your posts and help to keep you motivated.

Don’t Spam
Every blogger wants readers (and if you don’t you may want to consider why you’re blogging in the first place), so promoting your blog is important but spamming is a sure fire way to alienate your self amongst the blogging community. If you think an promotion method is spammy don’t do it.

Be Professional with Speling and Grammer
If you want to give a professional impression, check you grammar and spelling. Doing a spell check takes seconds and if you can’t be bothered to read your own posts and check the grammar why do you expect your readers to read it.

Like I said in the opening paragraph I don’t really class myself as an effective blogger but the above points are what I reckon make me the sort of blogger I am. I’m also looking forward to reading other bloggers thoughts to gain ideas on how I can improve.

Normal gadget posting will resume shortly :).