Bloggers are a peculiar bunch.
Since blogging became a mainstream topic, the image of a blogger is someone that is a loner. They tuck themselves away in the corner of the house. They turn the lights off. Only the glow of their computer screen is visible as they feverously type away their latest thoughts for all to read on the Internet.
In some ways this is entirely true, but there is more to bloggers than this.
For someone looking to hire bloggers, it’s important to understand what habits and traits make a successful blogger.
Today I read – 6 Habits of True Strategic Thinkers – and thought I’d twist the idea around for bloggers.
6 Habits and Traits of Successful Bloggers
Businesses are looking to blogging as a great long-term customer acquisition tool. Blog posts are a great way for people to discover your company, become subscribers and eventually customers. Make sure you’re working on the right strategy from the beginning and you’ll be setup for success. The right strategy includes hiring the right people.
1. Inquisitive
This is what I feel to be the most important trait of successful bloggers. See, I even bolded those words there so you would pay attention. Find someone that is inquisitive about everything. You want people that do their research and really put some critical thought into their posts. I’ve found that quite a few of my favorite writers are inquisitive. They take on a topic and don’t stop until they are entirely satisfied.
2. Steadfast
As a writer, it’s hard to get past the fact that not everyone will agree with what you write. As the kids say these days, “haters gonna hate”. The faster you learn this the better. You want a blogger on your team that takes a stand on their beliefs and stands by them no matter what. It can get you into trouble sometimes, but if you try to please everybody then nobody will care about your blog. Take sides on issues (and do your research: see #1). It’ll be a good blogging strategy with lots of communication with readers. Some will love you. Some will not. That’s Ok.
3. Combative
This goes along with #2. You want someone that is a bit combative. This person will read something another writer has published and might respond with a different viewpoint. This is good. You don’t want someone that goes out looking for fights, but you want someone that isn’t afraid to be a little combative. A willingness to disagree is alright.
4. Rebellious
This can be frustrating, but it works. You want someone that has a rebellious streak. This means they are willing to see the normal situation and forge a new way. They see rules and are willing to break them to make a situation better. If someone tells this person how a blog post should be formatted they will find a different way to do it and prove that person wrong.
5. Loves Perfection (just a bit)
I’ll admit I am not the best at perfection. I like things tidy, but I do miss a few spelling errors from time to time. If you can find someone that is a bit of a neat freak then it’s possible they will also be sure to proof their work before their publish. It’s not entirely essential, but it’s still important. You need to maintain a level of quality on your blog in order to gain respect.
6. Profit Focused
This one is tricky. I think it’s important to have everyone on your team be focused on things that result in profit. Testing something (even blogging) is part of the discovery process for adapting your business to the future. As a smart businessperson, you realize that business models change. It’s good to test new models. Out of 20 tests, 19 may fail, but the 1 that works could be the model of your future. While this is true, I still think it’s important to have a blogger that understands how business works: profit.