(1) Content is King – If you have a beautifully designed blog but lack compelling content you can get people to visit your site – once. After a few seconds spent envying your aesthetic sensibility they will leave to go visit some bland blog that has consistently good content. “Content is King” was first told to me, ironically, by King from King of Fools when I first started blogging. I’ve never forgot that. You shouldn’t either.

(2) Convey Information – Most successful blogs serve the functions of a business card, a rolodex, and online magazine. Each of those requires that certain information be conveyed:

Business Card

Name - The first information that should be provided is your blog name. While this might appear obvious, many bloggers – particularly those whose URL is different from the blog name -- fail to make this clear. Make it prominent enough that new readers will catch it quickly but not so intrusive that it gets in the way.

Tag line – Many readers will often find your site after clicking a link from another blog. Once they arrive they should see your blog name and then have some form of introduction. Have a line or two that give them an idea of what your blog is about. Don’t make it too complicated. Mine is “Reflections on culture, politics, and religion from an evangelical worldview.” It’s not catchy but it's to the point. Readers should be able to leave with at least a vague idea of what the blog is about. You don’t have to say that you’re a “neo-Marxist libertarian” or a “Right-wing nutcase who hates liberals.” Just say something along the lines that you write about “politics.”

Contact info – Have an email address. Use a free service (i.e., Yahoo, Hotmail) if you don’t want to give out the one you normally use. But have a way for people to contact you. Most people will look for a means of contacting you on your sidebar so put it in an obvious location.

Rolodex

Blogrolls – You need a blogroll. In fact, I would argue that you need several blogrolls. You cannot become a successful blogger without a blogroll anymore than you could become a CEO without a “Rolodex.” Your blogroll conveys several types of information about you and your blog:

Primary blogroll: The first blogroll you should have is a list of blogs you read often. This lets these blogs know that you are a frequent reader and part of their “social network.” It also tells your readers a lot about you. If the only blogs you have are the “big names” like Andrew Sullivan or Atrios then you probably aren’t going to have unique information to share. You give the impression, whether true or not, that you are just part of the mass audience that reads what everyone else is reading. Show some individuality. When I look at a blogroll I want to see names of blogs that I’ve never heard of before. It makes me wonder what I’m missing by not having them on my blogroll.

If you don’t have a blogroll at all then you’re not a blogger that should be taken seriously. A blogroll shows that you are part of a community rather than a solitary hermit separating yourself from the unwashed masses. I can’t even imagine consistently reading a blog that doesn’t have a blogroll.

Your blogroll, however, shouldn’t be a long unbroken list. Break it up into chunks of blogs. Use a taxonomy. On his own (now defunct) blog Josh Claybourn categorized his blogroll using Beatle’s songs. I use the Seven Cardinal Virtues and the Seven Deadly Sins (in Latin). Oxblog uses famous politicians and thinkers. You can use almost anything. Be creative. This is one area when you can add style and individuality while also conveying information about your personality.

Reciprocal blogroll -- In part four I argued the case for having a reciprocal blogroll. I recommend keeping it separate from your primary blogroll, the blogs you read daily or weekly. But don’t just add them to the list and forget about them. These bloggers comprise a large chunk of your social network. Keep in touch with them. At a minimum, visit these blogs at least once every few weeks.

Alliance Blogrolls -- There are dozens of blog “alliances” arranged around politics, religion, common interests, and other topics. If you choose to add them to your blog, limit them to two, or at most, three. More than three and the blogrolls just become useless wastes of space.

(3) Online Magazine

Blog posts – This is the reason that you blog: to post your opinions and perspectives for the rest of the world to read. The blog post is the most important information presented on your blog. Make sure it is readable and unobstructed by following these steps:

Edit your work – Brilliant thought is rarely conveyed by sloppy writing. Proofread and spellcheck before you post. When errors slip thru correct them quickly.

Use Headlines – Always have a title for your post, preferably one that hints at the content within. Do not just drop a block of text onto the page and expect people to read it. Readers don’t want to have to read 200 words into a post before they find out you are writing about your cat. Better to give them a warning, even if it’s nothing more than “Another Post About My Cat.”

Consider using subheads – Steal a trick from newspaper layout. Instead of just writing a title, think about using a sub-head as well: “Tabby Tales: Further Adventures of a Super Siamese."

Use Paragraphs – Break the text up into readable chunks, preferably no more than four or five sentences. Also use blockquotes or some other method to set apart items that you are quoting.

Don’t Choke the Bandwidth

Coming next: How to Win Friends and Influence Bloggers