I have decided to sort of avoid hopping on the prognostication bandwagon. I made some predictions on my other roller derby blog. I figured that's enough playing a Nostradamus wannabe for anyone.
I won't bore you with my cliched predictions for the coming year. I'll let the specialists in crystal balls and tea leaves do that for you. That's what they are paid to provide. On the other hand, if you have divined the winner of the Kentucky Derby, or the World Series, let me know!
Blogging became mainstream, to a large yet still uncompleted degree, in 2003. That trend will continue in 2004. Some pundits are already counting the gains made in the blogging community. Even the word "blog" made the 2003 new words lists.
Instead of giving you a series of misinformed and half baked ideas, about what to expect in the new year ahead, I'll continue to help you create better business blogs in the here and now.
The future will be upon us soon enough, as we already notice how fast the years whiz by us. After all, it was only a short time ago that the Y2K non-event was all the rage. Predictions of massive computer failures never translated into reality. Predictions can be wrong.
In the new year, one thing I do want to see from you, is more linking. Your blogs benefit from adding incoming links from other blogs and static websites.
Don't hesitate to exchange links with sites that are related to your areas of interest.
If a site, while not exactly on topic interests you, link with them as well. Don't worry about things like PageRank, or traffic levels of your link trade partners. Think first and foremost of providing helpful and interesting links for your readers. Your visitors should always be your first concern.
Be sure to keep updating your content. Post often, and regularly, to your blogs. As you add more fresh information and articles to your blogs, you will add new visitors. You will also maintain your current traffic flows. Your readership will grow. The key to success is to provide strong content.
Always has been. Always will be.
That sounded strangely like a prediction. If you provide great content, and freely exchange links, you will add visitors to your blog.
Don't forget to market and promote your blog too. A baseball diamond, built in an Iowa cornfield, may have had them show up for Kevin Costner in the movie Field of Dreams.
You need to work a bit harder, at gaining visitor traffic, than what happens in the movies.
Post in forums, using a signature link back to your blog. Write articles and provide guest blogs for other bloggers, when invited.
Submit your blog link to all of the available blog directories. Don't forget to add your link to the other many free directories either.
If you do even a few of these things, I have one more 2004 prediction.
Your blog will have more happy readers, and be much more successful, in the coming year.
And I promised not to make any forecasts.
Well, resolutions were made to be broken!
