Baron VC

As the popular saying goes, the rich get richer. I’d also venture to say that good gets better and of course bad gets worse (think you have small crack habit, we’ll see after 5 years). I was recently reading an article about how Tony Hung’s success as a guest blogger on ProBlogger earned him a permanent guest spot. Noted blogger Marshall Kirkpatrick also used to write great articles for TechCrunch as well. Om Malik is also another well-known journalist that parlayed his expertise into a very popular blogging venture. As blogs become a more mainstream activity and attracts more and more readers I think we’ll see more quality content concentrated in select blogs. Of course, this is nothing new or novel considering that traditional media such as newspapers have leveraged their reach and earning power to attract top class writers and columnists to further build their brand for decades. It’s no surprise that once your blog gains traction the real challenge is in attracting good writers, being a good editor in chief, and generating good direct revenue.

Developing a Good Blog is Not Easy

Landing on any of the quality blogs from a search engine or a link might not immediately make it obvious but these blogs were developed over time with lots of hard work and of course luck. The fact is there’s really no good way to predict a blog’s success. There are many blogs that languish in obscurity simply because they are obscure and no other reason. It’s a bind because if you resort to shady tactics to get attention, you’ll also ruin your reputation but without some sort of publicity you’re also doomed. This is why social bookmarking and news submission sites are fertile ground for struggling bloggers.

Readers Are Lazy

When you blog, you’re essentially competing with the entire internet. Say you have good content that’s on a par with any other quality blog. If a reader already visits other blogs regularly, it’ll take something special to convince a reader to also include your site in their rounds. RSS readers and the like are mainly for power users and a heavily tech savvy audience. Still, you can only process so much information.

Sure, you can get better information by reading 5 different newspapers every day but do you have the time?

If a reader already has a favorite with good coverage it’s that much more harder to compete. Having said that, in the infinite expanse of the internet as long as you’re not trying to emulate and compete with more established players, you have chance to succeed and then eventually branch out.

Advertisers Like Big and Established Blogs

If you’re a company looking to sell something through advertising, naturally you want to deal with media that has greater reach unless you’re business is in the shady niche. You only have to deal with a single point of contact and reach a broader but more coherent audience. Quality blogs provide good opportunities because they have a stable readership and advertisers can more or less get a better idea of what they can expect. Getting direct ad revenue means no middle parties and a possible long-term relationship.

Like Attracts Like

Success will give you more networking opportunities. Big blogs like to link to other big blogs because they get to share quality content, increase traffic, and build good will. Having access to more successful people means gaining more interesting information that translates into quality content for your blog.

People Like Giving to Successful People

It’s a paradox but people are more likely to give you something if you’re successful. If you’re a bum on the street shaking a tin cup for change, you might make some money but then again more people will ignore you, scowl at you, and humiliate you. If you put a movie star on the street to collect money for charity using the same tin cup, I guarantee they’ll make more money than most regular people do in a day. Not only that, the people donating money will be honored to do so and be generally polite if they can control their excitement.

Successful bloggers get all kinds of perks that normal bloggers can only dream about.

When Your Well Runs Dry

At the end of the day after your burnt out building a successful blog you can easily attract other fresh, bright bloggers that are yet to find an audience. By giving an upcoming blogger a big break, you gain quality content that will continue to reap benefits long after they move on to greener pastures. If you’re not there yet, keep writing and keep trying. Eventually, your writing will improve and you’ll find a nice audience. Whether you make it big time will be fortune’s call.

Thanking Tony…. BTW, he’s joining the ProBlogger Team