World of Warcraft Blogging 101

World of Warcraft Gold Bloggers

Maybe you are already blogging about World of Warcraft or maybe you have been thinking about giving blogging a try.  I have been blogging at Cold's Gold Factory about World of Warcraft for almost a year and a half now.  I have my share of experiences and would like to pass on some of the things I have learned to those of you that are less experienced or may be thinking about getting started with your first WoW blog.

Since the release of the Cataclysm expansion, the number of World of Warcraft gold blogging sites has exploded.  Many new bloggers have joined the gold blogging community, but not all of them will have the staying power to last.  Why?  Gold blogging with a consistent schedule and top quality content is harder than you may think.

Blogging Is Not Easy

Blogging is hard work.  It can take upwards of 2 or more hours per post when we finalize a post for our readers.  Sometimes topics ideas will come to you quickly, but many times you have to put a lot of thought and effort into deciding what to even write about.  When you are a fresh blogger, the topic ideas may not be so hard to come up with, but once you have written on a lot of topics already, it gets harder and harder to come up with something new to discuss.  This is only compounded the longer you continue to blog within the same topic niche.  Thankfully as WoW bloggers, there will always be patch notes to spark our minds with new topics.  Be forewarned though, it is not easy to come up with top quality readable content every single day.

Why Are You Blogging?

Every blogger has their own reason for starting a World of Warcraft blog.  My reason for blogging may be completely different than your reason for sharing your thoughts with the rest of the world.  Regardless whatever reason you choose to start up a World of Warcraft blog, stick to your reasoning.  Don't change up your reason for blogging because of what pressures or attacks you may receive from commentors, readers, or other bloggers.  Which brings me to my next pointer.

You Need To Have Thick Skin

Can you take criticism?  Do you have thick skin?  Why?  You will be getting feedback on your blog posts.  Some of it will be good and some of it will be bad.  You may even get some hate mail.  Just this weekend I had an odd request from a newer blogger asking to be removed from my blogroll.  This author stated that he was under a massive hate mail attack and was being accused by other bloggers of stealing content, being a copy-cat, and he was ready to quit blogging completely.  After some of us veteran bloggers sent replies he has decided to continue on, which is nice to see.  Remember, the more popular and successful you become, the more haters will come out of the woodwork.  So listen to constructive criticism, especially if it is from a fellow blogging veteran, but don't put too much effort and energy into hate mail and idiots who want to leave stupid comments on your blog.  One quick way to cut out a lot of the "OMG, you suck!" type comments is to not allow commentors to use Anonymous commenting.  I have recently turned off anonymous commenting, because 90% of the time anon comments are from idiots that are scared to post their name with their comment and are just commenting to stir trouble.

Get In Touch With Others

If you want to be successful, get in touch with the other bloggers in your niche.  Try to establish working relationships with multiple other bloggers and at least 1 veteran blogger.  By veteran, I mean a blogger who has been within the niche for a year or longer.  These veteran bloggers can serve as a great mentor for you.  I myself have help a handful of the current WoW gold bloggers that are still publishing today.  Many of us blog because we like sharing our tips and tricks and enjoy helping others make gold in the game.  On the same note, most of us will gladly help you get started and will help you understand some of the basics of gold blogging.  Who is your blogging mentor?  Don't be afraid to ask for help or to bounce ideas off of one another.

Write A Guest Post

Guest posting is an excellent way to establish a relationship with another site owner as well as a great tool for getting exposure to new readers.  Contact some of the better known blogs and offer to write a guest post for them.  Many times we bloggers welcome guest posts to help out newer bloggers, but also it gives us a post for a day, which lightens our busy schedule a bit.  Guest posting is a win-win situation.  Just be sure to adhere to any guidelines or recommendations from the hosting author and don't get offended if you are asked to polish up your entry. 

Join a Blogging Carnival

Just as guest posting is great for exposure and relationship building, so is writing for a blogging carnival.  Submitting regular posts to a monthly blogging carnival is an awesome way to both build readers and relationships.  Here at Cold's Gold Factory I host a monthly gold blogging carnival and I am always looking to feature new authors and their World of Warcraft sites.  So if you haven't particpated yet, what is holding you back.  Join the CGF Gold Blogging Carnival participants and get your articles read by many more users than you may be able to find on your own.

Need More Blogging Help?

Feel free to follow me on twitter @SSmith0911 and ask questions there or shoot me an email at SSmith0911 (at) live (dot) com.  I'm more than appy to help you get started and answer any questins you may have.  And I am always willing to support other authors by publishing guest posts or exchanging guest posts.  All you have to do is ask.

Also Flux over at Power World Gold has a nice WoW Gold Blog Directory, which you can use to get in touch with all of the gold bloggers and podcasters.

Back to more top notch gold tips tommorrow.