What It Takes To Be A Top Blogger/ Pro Blogger?

Have you ever wondered about the qualities that set apart a pro blogger or a top blogger apart from all others?
Anyone and everyone you meet these days thinks that blogging is a gold mine and can help you get rich overnight.
Or, is ‘gold mine’ an understatement?
Considering the fact that most youngsters who set up a blog already think of themselves as the next Larry Page or Seth Godin?
I have, in the course of my blogging journey, met many 15 and 16 year olds who have set up blogs. Most of them fizzle out soon, but some dedicated ones do manage to create a name for themselves in this field.
What is it about good or successful bloggers that kept them going?
Here is a list of 9 qualities which, according to me, every pro blogger must possess.
If you want to know how to be a successful blogger, read on:

      1.  Dedication+ Passion+ Never Ending Enthusiasm and Love for Work:

This is one of the most important features of a pro blogger.
Passion drives a blogger to write, not money, not credits, not appreciating responses.
A successful blogger writes because he wants to write and he loves doing it, he writes because that’s all he thinks of!
And there is always a great dedication and hard work, endless hard work, sleep-less nights, but in the end there’s a lot of satisfaction, which definitely Is priceless.

      2.  Unique+ Consistent+ Error Free/ Quality Content:

A good blogger is the one who has the most unique content over the internet.
More often, it’s the only article of its type all over the web.
Furthermore, the content is error free, engaging and of high-standard. THAT definitely demands endless hours of hard work.
And yes, that is the hallmark of a pro blogger.

      3.  Learning From Every Single Mistake:

Be it a newbie blogger or professional one, everyone makes mistakes. But a top blogger knows how to put the past behind him and move forward while learning from the previous mistakes.
A top blogger is a true learner.  He/she does not fear to making mistakes, loves to experiment and accepts challenges gladly.

      4.  Prioritizing Audience and Understanding Them:

Before writing any article, a good blogger asks himself only one question:  How it will help or benefit my audience?
Will every visitor to my blog be satisfied with this article?
This, my friends, is called prioritizing the audience and understanding them.
If you want to be a top blogger, you must possess this quality.

      5.  Ability to Take Negative Criticism with a Pinch of Salt:

There are some bloggers out there who are quick to delete/ trash/ spam all negative feedback or ignore it completely.
A successful blogger, on the other hand, always makes sure to look back and analyze the feedback, check how factually correct his detractors are.
I came across this wonderful Australian mommy blogger who had written a blog post apologizing for suggesting a dish washing detergent which contained chemicals known to ruin dishwashers.
Now, that is an endearing gesture and if you accept your mistakes, your readers will love you for it. To err is human, after all. But to accept that you have erred is divine!!!

      6.  Credibility:

Trustworthiness or credibility is another quality that a good blogger must possess.
The information over his blog should be dependable and reliable. No on would want to visit a blog where he cannot be sure about the veracity of the facts ad figures being dished out to him.

      7.  Treating Every Single Visitor Same Way:

Of course, every blog has few regular visitors and first-time visitors.
A pro blogger always makes sure that the first-time visitors are treated with the same magnanimity and open arms as regular visitors are. This hospitality can be easily seen in the replies of the posts.

      8.  Helpful:

Most top bloggers are extremely helpful.
Anyone who has ever contacted Atish Ranjan for help will vouch for that!
Whenever a visitor sends them an e-mail, they reply them within 24 hours and if they can’t help fully, they provide other resources to look out. He will always be a helpful friend for his visitors and fans.
Adrienne Smith recently pointed out to me in one of the comments to my post that whenever she sees a faceless comment left behind by a blogger, she makes it a point to send an email to him explaining to him why he must have one and how to set one up!!
How many of us would take that trouble?
I have tried to follow in her footsteps after having read that, though I humbly accept that I am no match for her.

      9.  Connected:

A top blogger is always connected to a blog community. She/he knows about other bloggers and communicates with them frequently.
One great way of doing that could be commenting on posts of other bloggers and other way could be guest posting on others’ blogs. This helps in increasing the credibility, trust and network among the bloggers.
Conclusion
If you have always wanted to know how to be a good/ successful blogger, see how some of the pros around you are functioning. And take a cue from them.
No one is born great or perfect. They have all burnt midnight oil and endured great hardships to reach those dizzying heights.
If you want to be the next Darren Rowse or the next Amit Agarwal, you have to possess all these qualities laid down above.