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The SITS Girls

The Secret to Success is Support

10 Steps to Becoming a Credible & Respected Top Blogger

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You’ve probably heard people say that respect isn’t something that’s given; it’s something that’s earned. That couldn’t be more correct when it comes to blogging. Everyone and their grandfather has a blog these days.

Just having a blog isn’t enough to make you an authority and a top blogger in your field.

finding your authority as a top blogger

Becoming a Credible & Respected Top Blogger

You have to demonstrate that you’re actually worthy of credibility by earning people’s trust, people’s time and, yes, their respect. Here’s a 10-step plan to help you achieve those goals.

1.) Get Organized

You know you want to have a blog, but you need to think bigger. You have to have a plan that goes well beyond a few post ideas. Put together an editorial calendar, come up with a business strategy, and develop a top-notch site. Approach your blog like a job if you want people to treat you like a serious blogger.

2.) Clean Up Your Social Accounts

You give your Facebook, Twitter and other social media accounts a good scrubbing when you apply for a job. Do the same when becoming a blogger. You want to present a professional image so that you can build your authority. Beyond the obvious, like removing drunken spring break references, you should also curate any photos of yourself still floating around social sites.

3.)  Address Negative Things Said About You or On Your Blog

Nobody wants to get skunked on their own blog. Monitor what people say about you, but don’t censor it. If you see someone complaining, address it directly. Or if you notice there’s a negative article about your blog ranking on the first page under your actual domain, try to guest post on relevant sites to get your articles ranking higher than the negative one, pushing it to the second or third page. Or you can try to connect with the offended party and iron out your differences.

4.) Get Google Authorship

This is key to establishing your credibility and increasing your search engine optimization. Google Authorship is an online byline tool that serves several purposes. It allows you to put a picture and your credentials with every byline you post. And it also helps Google love you more, because nothing makes the search engine giant happier than when you use its products. That means better SEO.

5.) Connect Authorship With Places You Have Posted

Once you’ve established your Google Authorship, you want to connect it with as many places you’ve written as possible. Link with your social accounts, and build up your Google+ account to improve your Google Authorship authority.

6.) Find and Begin Hanging Out With Influencers in Your Niche

Getting in with the cool kids really can benefit you online. If you want the same influence and reach as these bloggers, you need to get exposure on their blogs. Interact with them on Twitter, post comments and go to conferences. You’ll get a huge boost when they link to you on their social media accounts or blogs.

7.) Engage on Other Sites: Get a Comment Strategy

Many bloggers set a goal of commenting on other blogs at least once a day, if not more. This is a great way to reinforce tip six, helping you to connect with those influencers. It also exposes your blog to people who read other sites. When you post a comment that includes a link to your latest blog entry, you’ll undoubtedly draw in a few new followers.

8.) Use Guest Bloggers and Guest Blog for Others

Part of blogging is doing outreach, whether it’s approaching others about the opportunity to guest blog or accepting pitches from other bloggers for guest posts. Don’t be afraid to try new things. Listen to every pitch; you never know who could wow you with an unexpectedly great idea.

9.) Embrace Blog Reader Programs

Blog reader programs like Bloglovin’ and Feedly make it easy for readers to keep up with multiple blogs through a digest that lists all the latest posts from the blogs they follow. Your goal should be making it easy for people to bookmark you in their blog reader programs. Grab badges from any site you’ve gotten traffic from and any your blogger friends recommend. The easier it is for someone to follow you, the more likely they are to actually do it.

10.) Post Regularly

Bloggers who post sporadically might as well not post at all. It is hard to connect with people and prove that you’re serious about blogging if you only post once a month. The best bloggers post daily, if not more. You have to show dedication and discipline to rise to the top of your field.

KEEP READING!

Looking for posts similar to this one on becoming a top blogger? Then be sure to click through the below links or head over to our Facebook fan page to continue the discussion!

blackwhite-Ali LawrenceAbout the Author: Ali Lawrence is an earned media specialist for a tech company and blogs about online PR in her free time. Follow her on Twitter: @Ali_MarCom.

About Tracie Nall

Tracie lives in Arizona with her husband, teen daughter, and more books than her shelves will hold. She spends her days writing and editing. Many of her words end up on her blog, From Tracie. Find Tracie on Twitter @FromTracie and on Instagram where she takes pictures of things that are yellow.

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  6. Bronwyn Joy says

    I definitely agree with this list. Can I also add: please don’t pretend to be an authority on something you’re not.

    I immediately lose respect for bloggers who give in to the temptation to recycle old wives tales because it ranks well in search engines, seemingly without looking at whether there’s any research or professional opinion to the contrary – and do it under the guise of “let me tell you these five facts which are definitely and verifiably true!”

    If you don’t want to do serious research, you can always present your story as a personal tale or experience and people can still connect to that.

  7. Charlotte says

    Posting daily is something I’d love to do, but I haven’t been able to master this just yet. Am trying hard with 2-3 posts a week, but really would like to bump that number up. And thanks for the great tips here–will definitely work on these!!

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  17. Luci says

    I scrolled through and watched the Google Plus Authorship video. Although I already had authorship set up, I didn’t know about webmaster tools. That was cool!
    Someone told me a while back that I should also put a link to my G+page from each of my posts… so that authorship would work better. Do you have any knowledge on that? I basically write “google authorship” at the bottom and link to the page.

  18. laura says

    I have a small “mommy” blog with about 100 followers. I’m looking to expand, these tips are extremely helpful!

  23. Laurali Star says

    I absolutely loved the tips that you shared here. I am actually going through a bit of this myself. I have been blogging for four years but have settled on re-branding. This means combing through all of my social networks again and making a fresh start.

    While these tips may seem obvious, they are often overlooked. Thank you for sharing this! I truly enjoyed reading it and using it as a great reminder of what I still need to work on 🙂

    Love and Luck,

    Laurali Star

  26. Ali Lawrence says

    So glad you ladies like my article! Best of luck building your credibility on your blog 🙂

    @Kristen, yes, Google Authorship is definitely a must for every serious blogger!