I have set goals for you this year.  We feel that it’s time to get the credit you deserve. It’s time people knew who you are and what you blog about. It’s time for you to create a buzz throughout one end of the blogosphere to the other. It’s time for thousands of readers to wait in anticipation for your next blog update.

It’s also time to evaluate why you have not reached your goals and objectives in past years.
Source Blogger can tell you why. And it’s obvious. As a matter of fact,  you already know the answer. It’s your content. When you strip all the marketing, promotion and site design away, your readers are left with one thing: words on a page – your words! If you copied and pasted your article in 25 different blogs, would it have the same impact? Would it get the same reception from readers? Could it stand alone?

“I respect readers because they have learned to filter out content that will not be any use to them very quickly.” – Source Blogger

“Source Blogger, another clever article…umm..but, I already have decent traffic levels and a reasonable amount of followers…are you writing this article for me?”

I am writing this article especially for you. Because even you must acknowledge that your conversion percentage (in this case – subscribers, followers, comments, social media interaction (retweets, Stumbles, Diggs, etc.) is not as efficient as you would like it to be. Is it? We want you to convert your high traffic levels to more loyal followers. You can’t keep doing the same thing and expect better results.
If you’ve been reading Source Blogger for any length of time, you know how to market your articles. You’ve learned how to get your article in front of as many readers as you can, in the shortest time possible, with the help of social media and RSS, haven’t you?
But, again, the reality is…is that your blog is only as good as your content. Poor, dull, lifeless, irrelevant content does not, and will not appeal to the general blogging community, regardless of your distribution strategies.
Your Goal For This Year: Market and promote a better product – Your content! 
If that means having to write less or taking the time to plan and research your next post – start implementing that strategy. Each minute spent doing this will result in a greater return on your blogging initiatives. Readers like consistent, high-quality, relevant blog posts – every time! 
Let’s break down what you can start doing today to improve your content, improve your writing style, and improve how the blogging community perceives you, shall we?
1) Stop being an affiliate for ProBlogger, CopyBlogger, and Dosh Dosh
The “flock” mentality in blogging is to replicate what’s been written by many of the A-List bloggers, provide links to that original article and to try and include one’s self alongside these other well-known bloggers.
Realistically, all you have accomplished is to funnel more traffic to their blog. I bet you were not even aware what a great affiliate marketer you were, did you? (We’re proud of you!)
Unfortunately, what you have succeeded to do is to recycle someone else’s original idea and lead your readers to a blog that has a more successful formula (at the present time) to yours.
Was this what you intended to do? Keep acting like a groupie. They will bypass you and go straight for the expert.
2) Satisfy your target market
Blogging is a journey of discovery. You must react promptly to changes in reader demand. Stop writing for you. Write for them. Push and challenge yourself to excite and mystify your readers. If it means leaving your comfort zone, so be it. I know for some of you this is a difficult analogy, but approach your articles in the same fashion you did in college.
3) Stop trying to be everyone’s friend
You do not write for 100% of web users. Your blog’s niche is in a category that does not appeal to all readers. If you feel your blog does appeal to everyone, all you will accomplish is to confuse readers.
But, on the other hand, recognize when broadening the scope of your blog will serve to expanding your readership.
4) Simplicity – Not Complexity 
Are you a blogger who blogs on various, technical topics?
At Source Blogger, we love to research every aspect and every intricate detail for our next post. Some of the technical jargon and concepts used are so beyond anything we could share with the Source Blogger community, we quickly have to leave your blog.
Is it our level of comprehension?  No. It’s an assumption made by that blog author that all their readers can grasp and identify with their content at the same inherent level.
All this blogger will accomplish is to alienate his/her readers and encourage them to find blogs that speak directly to them. 
5) Publishing an article is not the end of your writing 
Let me ask you this. Do you always read the comments below a blog article you have read? We assume you do. In that chain of comments following the article, most of the better-managed blogs will respond directly to their reader’s comments.
One of the things we look for is the manner in which a blog author interacts and responds to their readers. (Yes, even this aspect of blogging warrants a critique)
Allowing your readers access to you is priceless. We hope this is the reason you chose to become a blogger – which was to share your knowledge and expertise directly with the online public. Wasn’t it?
When done well, the results are outstanding, if not magical! When done poorly, interest declines.
Make your job easy. Often the best method of interacting with readers is not in blogging communities or social media sites – it’s on your very own blog! Use this to your advantage. Your blog is not a newsletter. Stop treating it like one. Go back to some of Source Blogger’s recent posts and read our responses to reader’s comments.
6) Stop being so anonymous and mysterious
Your writing style is unique. Allow some of your signature qualities to run freely in your articles. Win readers over with your style and flair.
Does this mean that you must blend elements of your personal life in your posts? Oh my goodness, no! All that it means is that you know how to incorporate a “personal touch” into your content.  
7) Stop admiring other blogs and spending so much time in social media and blogging communities
 I know, I know. This is a sharp contrast to what we have shared with you in the past about marketing and promotion. But, there is a tendency to overuse these mediums.
Refocus your energies back to your blog. Make improving your blog’s content a vital strategy for this year. The blogging community is  becoming more and more saturated, which means we will have to make the most of each and every traffic visit. Your advantage is your content. From this, you will succeed in capturing a greater percentage of your audience – before your competition does. 
8) The #1 most important aspect to blogging
What do you think it is? Perhaps my next answer may surprise you. The answer is…creating relationships.
Your blog’s subscription and sales conversions all stem from a connection that your readers have with you. It is only until they believe and trust you, will you ever be successful in blogging.
This is often why we dismiss many of the new blogs in the “Make Money Online” category.
In closing, cut back on the shameless self-promotion, if you want to promote something, let it be your content. The Article Marketers know when they have something special to market. Do you?
You have homework. Over the next week, do something you probably haven’t done in a while. Read your own blog!
We want you to look at your own content. What do you think? Has your writing improved?
At Source Blogger, we feel that inspiring you to reach your goals will serve to expand the Source Blogger community this year. We are excited about creating a deep, lasting relationship with you and are humbled that you allow us to share in your blogging journey.

We hope you feel encouraged to share your personal experience as part of our community, with others.