The Secret of Blogging Success

What makes a blog successful? Why do some blogs thrive while others struggle to attract any kind of readership?

If I knew the answers to these questions, Mark Evans Tech would be a TechCrunch or a Mashable as opposed to a modest little writing project that chugs along on enthusiasm, curiosity and early-morning coffee

My thoughts about blogging success versus blogging anonymity were sparked by a recent article in the Toronto Star about “1000 Awesome Things”, a blog devoted to putting the spotlight on life’s small pleasures – e.g. the smell of a bakery, catching food in your mouth or taking a spin on grocery cart.

The blog isn’t rocket science or amazing prose but, for whatever reason, it has resonated with people to the tune of 40,000 visits a day. Please don’t take my description as criticism because the writer, Neil Pasricha, has hit upon a wildly successful formula that has led to two Webby awards and a book, “The Book of Awesome”, that comes out this week.

The blog’s success is one of the reasons why blogging is so intriguing, exciting and mysterious. With no barriers to entry, the blogosphere welcomes with open arms anyone and everyone looking for a public platform. In theory, anyone has a shot at becoming a blogging superstar by simply having the right content at the right time that captures the imagination of lots of people.

Another great example of this phenomena is “Stuff White People Like”, which became all the rage by being different, quirky, irreverent and entertaining.

On the flipside, a blog that my brother, Sean, and I wrote for about a year called “Four Reasons Why” (which has disappeared into the digital ether) had very little success even though we thought it was creative, original and different.

Four Reasons Why offered four reasons about a wide variety of topics such as “Why Ketchup is Better than Mustard”, or “Why Thanksgiving is the Best Holiday of the Year”. It was a labour of love that eventually ran out of steam partly because the audience was so small.

1000 Awesome Thing’s success demonstrates one of the awesome things about blogging – the fact that anyone has a shot of making it..and making it big.

What do you think makes a blog successful? Are there any secrets?

More: Speaking of blogging and success, Tumblr has sort of rejected the idea of embracing advertising, according to the LA Times. “We’re pretty opposed to advertising,” said founder David Karp.