Julie Powell, once a ”middle level bureaucrat by day, renegade foodie by night” propelled herself into super stardom with her popular blog, The Julie/Julia Project.
Self described teenaged ‘dork’ Tavi Genvinson won the hearts and minds of fashion house Rodarte and Comme des Garcons designer Rei Kawakubo and wrote herself into fashion blog superstardom with her original, quirky and irreverent TheStyleRookie.com.
Chez Pim chucked her Silicon Valley job to launch a career as a Foodie Blogger and became enormously successful with her http://chezpim.typepad.com/
Besides their enormous success that translates well beyond the blogging world, what do they all have in common? What does it take to be a successful blogger?
6 Traits shared by successful bloggers
1. Personal Point of View
A finely tuned, personal point of view is perhaps the singular most powerful trait of a successful blogger. As readers we not only connect with the WHAT or the content we find interesting, but also the WHO is behind the content. Like a leading character of a favorite novel, successful bloggers draw readers in and transport them to places we yearn to go. As literary heroes, successful bloggers inform, entertain, inspire and win over fans with their exploration and delivery of their personal point of view.
e.g. Julie Powell = renegade foodie
2. Focus
Like any successful brand, bloggers define their unique characteristics by focusing on a particular area or topic. By narrowing their focus, successful bloggers develop expertise and language that’s unique to their personality and brand character. Tavi, for example focuses on eclectic design and quirky style. She has a truly unique way of seeing fashion and a profoundly mature and witty writing style that captivates and amazes.
e.g. Tavi Genvinson = provocative style (not your usual stuff)
3. Passion
Successful bloggers are passionate. Can you imagine having to publish with great frequency about something you don’t care much about? It’s their passion that comes through in the writing and presentation of the subject or topic at hand. It’s their passion draws us in as readers and moves us to care about what’s being said.
e.g. Chez Pim = the best of everything food
4. Conviction
Just in the act of posting the content itself, bloggers broadcast their convictions to whoever cares to read them. The more successful bloggers provoke and inspire; they make an impact in our lives simply by channeling conviction into their words.
5. Authenticity
Authenticity goes alongside conviction as another important trait of successful bloggers. Can you imagine if Tavi were revealed to be hired gun by her industry supporters? It would discredit her completely. Tavi not only stands by her convictions she’s not afraid to admit she’s a self-described, “Tiny 13 year old dork that sits inside all day wearing awkward jackets and pretty hats.”
Often self deprecating and entertaining, successful bloggers show us their humanness; they admit their vulnerabilities and weaknesses thereby eliciting our empathy, and ultimately forging a sort of personal connection or bond between our world and theirs.
6. Prolificacy
Successful bloggers are prolific. As part of her The Julie/Julia Project, Julie Powell challenged herself to post regularly as she cooked her way through the Julia Child cookbook. This is an important contributing factor to a blogger’s success since frequent posting plays a huge role in boosting SEO. The practice of frequent blogging also reinforces all of the other characteristics contributing to their success.
Companies can learn a lot from successful bloggers. By developing their unique point of view (or brand characteristics) and focus, and delivering it with passion, conviction and authenticity, brands can potentially propel themselves into literary super stardom, win the hearts and minds of consumers, and create a meaningful connection that endures.