I remember when I first started this blog, it was because the developer of Warhammer Online, Mythic Entertainment had a promotion where if you created a blog for their game that they would provide you some unique in-game perks. Being rabidly addicted to the game, I signed up.
There are a few important things that one must ask when launching a successful blog
The first question I had was, "what will the blog be about?" Very important, just like in life, without a goal, one cannot expect to accomplish anything. My favorite pastime when playing WAR was finding the Tome of Knowledge achievements which granted unique in-game titles and items. I had a special add-on to help me find them and decided to have a step-by-step blogging guide that showed visitors where and how to find these achievements.
The second thing that I thought of was "what will the name of this blog be?" This is probably the most crucial thing for me; a good name for my character or the guild I join is very important. Sometimes I feel that if I can't get a proper name, its not worth bothering. Maybe a name isn't too important for you, but this is your face to the world. For me, I was constantly playing a few more minutes because I kept saying to myself "welll... i'm in the area, i might as well get one more unlock (for my tome of knowledge".. so the name Just One More Unlock was a natural fit.
A 'successful' (we'll talk about that shortly) blog is normally one that has a high frequency of blog entries. You'll find that sometimes you have tons to talk about and share and other times life gets busy or there isn't anything interesting to play, so entries are few and far between. Its my opinion that a good blog will have an entry atleast every 4-5 days; its kind of like having a conversation with a person, in that you want to keep the conversation going and not have any awkward pauses. One thing some bloggers need to remember that its just polite etiquette to have an entry that tells others that you're busy and will have a lull in your entries.
An important area to consider is "What is your content?" You will notice that alot of the bloggers for NBI are mmo gamers, which is fantastic because once connected via blogrings, you can easily get to the information that you crave. Its always great when everyone is playing (and thus blogging about) the same game as you are, and you may feel isolated when they're not. But never fear, one great thing about bloggers is that we still read what you write; we may not comment, but we visit and like to see what you're thinking about. I started with WAR, then transitioned to Rift and then the more recent SW:TOR. You are in charge of your blog's destiny; when I wasn't playing mmo's, I blogged about the Xbox 360 games I was playing instead. I got into photography, so I shared my photos as well. I love to read self-help books and share the knowledge, trying to make it a Coles Notes version as my best friend would normally give me the "too long, didn't read" email reply. Your blog may start off as one on mmo's but don't let that limit you to blogging only on that one subject.
The last part one should consider is: What is success to you?
I'm a bit jealous when I look at some other blogger's sites with their hundreds of thousands of page views, or tons of comments. While that kind of traffic is a good measurement of success, it doesn't mean its the be-all and end-all. Never get discouraged at that: ever. I see success in that i'm able to articulate what i'm thinking and feeling. That I can share my art to the world wide web. That I'm able to make people think critically on what I bring up. That i've had this blog since 2009 with nearly 500 entries. Find your measurement of success and be happy.
Anyways; welcome to the NBI. You will find alot of helpful information on the forums with many of the greatest mmo bloggers and writers. Like a great big guild, we're here to help and support you. Welcome and best of luck!
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