I ran across this great post by Yehuda. In the post, Yehuda gives 10 excellent principles for starting a new blog.

1. Have something to offer.
Yehuda realized one of his strengths was coming up with new and creative ideas. What are your strengths?

2. Pick a subject you’re passionate about.
If you pick a topic you’re passionate about, you won’t run out of things to say. What would you blog about for free?

3. Don’t be afraid of failing.
Every new blog starts with zero readers. You’ve got nothing to lose, so why be afraid?

4. Make blogging a daily priority.
Consistency separates the “wannabes” from the successful bloggers. Even if you don’t have anything to write, write anyways. Yehuda writes, “Sometimes the ideas only start flowing after the pen hits the paper; most people want it to be the other way around, but this doesn’t work for me.”

5. Fight adversity
People including yourself will wonder if you’re wasting your time. Be patient. Realize it usually takes time to build a blogging audience. Think of blogging as gaining practical experience and education.

6. Learn from the pros.
Read Problogger, Performancing, Copyblogger, and other quality blogs. Apply what you learn.

7. Write about topics that aren’t covered in your niche.
Be different. Swim upstream. Be unique. Stand out from the crowd. Be a purple cow.

8. Be promiscuous with your links.
Yehuda writes, “I link to all the hundreds of people that I love and read. If only 10% of them link back to me, thats still hundreds of people with one link (from me), and dozens of links back for me.”

9. Focus on your readers.
Not Google. Not Digg. While it’s okay to write about Google and Digg, most of your posts should be written for your readers. They’re the ones that truly support you. They’re the ones that will promote your blog for years to come.

10. Look for opportunities.
After your blog has gained a substantial audience, you can focus more on making money. After 3 years of blogging, Yehuda now makes $50 a month. Not a lot of money, right? Well, Yehuda makes much more money as a corporate blogger. He used his blogging experience to land that job. Also, Yehuda is a boardgame designer and he had one of his boardgames published by one of his readers.

Make sure to read Yehuda’s whole post. You’ll learn and be inspired. His post is not too long and it’s an easy read. It’s a great personal glimpse of a blogger who’s provided value to his readers for 3 years.

Source: How I Became a Professional Blogger (via Performancing)

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