As a writer, blogging can be one of the greatest ways to connect with readers of your work and other writers. But blogging can be a tricky task if you’re interested in building a great readership that lasts. To make the most of your blogging, use the following tips:

Do: Narrow down your target goal and readers for your blog
A blog without a purpose that people can recognize as soon as they enter, is a blog that probably won’t hold long term interest for any one reader. Although you might think that writing on various topics and subjects will hold everyone’s interest and make them wonder what’s coming up next, that’s not to be said for the majority of readers. Readers choose to read a blog because it is targeted to their area of interest, whether it be animals, science, health, parenting or writing. You are a writer, hoping to connect with other writers, therefore you want to appeal to them. Forget making the world your audience and stick to writers. Blog for them.

Don’t: Expect tons of readers
Especially not when you’re first starting out in the blogging world. Again, as mentioned above, the world will never be your audience, but you can surely build a group of readers that grows over time. There are very few bloggers who have the attention of all in their field. You want readers, but if your goal is to simply have more readers than everyone else, you probably won’t succeed.

Do: Comment on other blogs
There are also few, if any, blogs that do well all on their own. With the amount of active blogs, you have to do what you can to advertise your own. A great way to do that is to comment on other peoples blogs, preferably other writers. Commenting on their blog allows you to leave the link to your own blog. This doesn’t mean that you should post on someone’s blog if you really don’t have anything to say simply to get yourself noticed. Be kind and thoughtful in your comments and that blogger will likely check out your blog. Don’t be afraid to have a list of blogs that you enjoy on your own blog, most people do this and it doesn’t take away from your own readers. If you’re lucky, other bloggers may add you to their list of blogs as well (but don’t ask them to).

Don’t: Criticize people/editors/publications by name
This is better kept to private conversations. Remember that anything you say in your blog can be read by anyone including the person, editor or publication you are criticizing. Although what you say may be completely true, it can come back to bite you in other ways. For example, if an editor comes across your blog and notices that you are very open about voicing your complains whenever something comes up, word could get around that you’re not the best person to work with. Editors and publications wouldn’t want to take that chance just to work with you. You also wouldn’t want to get into a situation where the things you say could get you into legal trouble.

Do: Update often, but not too often
An infrequently updated blog will get read less and less until readers simply give up. You also don’t want to update too often because people don’t have time to read that much. Everyday is probably not a good choice, but a few times a week or every other day might work better. You want to make sure that your blog posts are interesting. Don’t write about anything simply to get people to get to your blog. It’s not the number of people who are stopping by your blog (because they might only stay for 10 seconds before leaving), but the kinds of comments you are getting. Not everyone can spend the time commenting, but some will and those comments tell you a lot about what people think about your blog. Make each blog piece interesting, a good piece of news, something thought-provoking or a question for your readers. Blog entries don’t have to be long, vary them in length. Sometimes a small paragraph works. Sometimes a longer pieces might be called for.

Don’t: Get too personal
While it’s fine to talk about your personal life every now and again on your writing blog, it’s important that you don’t allow your personal life to become the focus. People who read your blog may enjoy reading about your personal life, but you don’t want to confuse the purpose of the blog, so you may want to set up a second blog for personal life entries and link your readers to it so they have a choice. It’s also important when you do take a personal detour on your writing blog that you don’t become to negative and use it as a venting place. People who normally enjoy reading your blog about writing may be turned of by having to read about your problems. Remember that other writers, as well as editors, are coming to your blog to read about your writing and the business.