What It Takes To Become an A-List Blogger and Join ‘The Blogging Elite’

“I didn’t intend to become a millionaire, but I wound up there anyway.” -Peter Rojas, Engadget

“Anyone can start a blog, and anyone can make it grow,” he says, sipping a glass of water. “But to keep it there? It’s f***ing hard work, man. I’ve never worked so hard in my life. Eighty-hour weeks since I started.” (source)

If your #1 goal is to become an A-List blogger, read on. I have rounded up the best tips ever published on the topic, and laid out the roadmap for you...

A-List Blogs are head and shoulders above the rest in three main areas: the number of inbound links to their blogs, the number of visitors and the amount of revenue that they generate.

In order to get the revenue, you need the visitors. In order to get the visitors, you need the links. This is the reason that most classifications and ranking systems are based on link popularity, or how many other bloggers are linking to any given blog.

Many tips have been offered on achieving A-List rankings, or at least enviable traffic & income levels. I have compiled the best of the best here in a list that any growing blogger should bookmark:

1) Study the Top 100 Blogs on the internet.

Create a directory in your feed reader specifically for these blogs, then study and analyze them exhaustively. Make note of the target market they reach, how they reach that market, how often they post, who the authors/contributors are and what their background is, how they monetize their content, who is linking to them -- every detail.

Do you intend to compete directly with specific blogs that are already on this list? Determine your position. Decide which blogs you intend to compete with, and which bloggers you want to 'join' and rub shoulders with.

My personal advice is that take a good broad look at the current Top 100 blogs. Consider any major, profitable niches that are not already represented. And specifically topics that are complimentary to niches that are already represented.

It is much easier to collaborate, than to compete.

Consider the ways that you can get involved with these blogs that the internet has voted the most popular. Link to them, comment on their posts, write commentary about their topics in posts on your own blog. Analyze ways that you can use the power of these blogs to jump-start your blog's growth.

This groundwork is an important step. Before you set out to reach the top, you need to know who is there and what to expect.

2) Learn from the A-Listers themselves

In addition to studying the A-List bloggers, and each of their blogs, you can learn what it takes to develop a popular and profitable blog directly from the A-Listers. Most of them have shared their own start-up story and offered tips on achieving the same level of success at some point along the way.

In Confessions of an A-list Blogger, Steve Pavlina goes into great length about the business of blogging and his lifestyle as a blogger. Launched in October 2004, StevePavlina.com is currently earning around $40k/month. It didnt happen overnight. In fact, one year into it the blog was only earning about $150/month.

His one piece of advice to anyone wanting to achieve the same is this:

Treat your blog as your primary outlet for contribution to the world. Make it your legacy. Write to pass on knowledge and ideas that you think will really benefit people. Focus first and foremost on providing value. If you can do that, the rest is relatively easy...

To get the details on how Steve went from $150 to $40,000 in monthly revenue, you'll want to read How To Make Money From Your Blog. In order to succeed, Steve shares that you must be web savvy - and if you're not, dont even think about quitting your day job.

Other tips that Steve Pavlina shared include: using blog carnivals to kick-start traffic, using social bookmarking services, learning how to craft traffic-driving titles for your posts, and designing your blog around your monetization strategy.

John Wesley, a guy in his early 20's and author of PicktheBrain.com, also shares some great tips for climbing the charts. At just over 6 months old, his blog is getting 90,000 unique visitors a month and has over 2200 feed subscribers. In a recent post, he tells his readers the 27 most important lessons that he learned in the process. Interestingly, he also suggests the use of blog carnivals and catchy headlines to drive traffic and improve rankings.

Even though he is relatively new to the scene, its worth paying attention to what he shares here as he is often quoted and/or linked to from popular A-List bloggers. If John can achieve the traffic and status is 6 months time, then so can you.

Robert Scoble also mentions the use of catchy headlines in his post titled Tips for joining the A-List, along with tagging and networking. Darren Rowse suggests short, frequent posts and networking with other bloggers as keys to becoming successful as a 'pro blogger'.

Many of today's top bloggers started their blogs as a hobby site or a personal outlet, with monetization coming into the picture later. Some achieved success and wealth by complete accident, while others on the list started up with a structured plan to capitalize on specific niches. Some of these pioneers in the blogging industry were featured in a Business 2.0 article titled Blogging For Dollars late last year, including a one-man show with a hobby site that turned into a multimillion dollar web property.

That article in Business 2.0, published in the Fall of 2006, opens with the spotlight on Michael Arrington and the fact that TechCrunch earns over $60,000 in ad revenue every month. Interestingly, TechCrunch was only launched in June of 2005 and less than one year before that issue hit the stands, Michael Arrington was interviewed in podcast style and made this comment regarding TechCrunch and blog advertising:

TechCrunch will never be that - it'll never be an Engadget... Advertising on blogs is not a very effective way of making money...

He also says that TechCrunch started as a part-time hobby on a shared hosting server with very minimal expenses. He attributes much of the initial success to the fact that he just picked the right topic at the right time. And also to knowing people and having connections. He admits, for example, that frequent links from Robert Scoble were a big help in gaining traffic and readers that first year.

To summarize, here are 7 quick tips for becoming a successful blogger:

• Use Blog Carnivals to kick-start and/or spike traffic levels, and consider starting your own
• Learn to craft catchy, linkable headlines for individual posts
• Master social bookmarking and tagging
• Develop a solid monetization strategy, and design your blog around it
• Choose a niche you can stay passionate about, but that has broad enough appeal to continuously attract new visitors and advertisers
• Get involved in debates and conversations on related blogs in your niche
• Publish short, frequent posts on hot topics

I would also highly recommend that you read the 5-part series on Professional Blogging by Yaro Starak. He strategically goes through the structure of a blogging business model, what it takes to be a professional blogger, what top bloggers have that you dont, key resources and various options. An excellent study.

These 'pro' blogging tips are a great starting point, though on their own they wont take you to the top. To bridge the great divide between B-List and A-List, you'll need something more...

Before you can seek out this elite status in the blogosphere, you must establish yourself as somebody. Whether that is a B-List blogger on the rise, a popular expert in your niche or a media magnet. You cant just be likeable. You have to be linkable.

Simply linking to people won’t get them to notice or link back anymore. That used to work in the old days but now you’ve gotta be bombastic, or otherwise interesting. -Robert Scoble

Being in A-Lister is about much more than just getting inbound links. It's about prestige, influence... and being part of an elite inner circle. Those connections alone can land you links and media exposure that will snowball your blog into A-List status...

“The good news is that it’s still possible to create a top-ranked blog,” says Shirky. “The bad news is, the way to get into the top ten now seems to be public relations.” Just posting witty entries and hoping for traffic won’t do it. You have to actively seek out attention from the press. “That’s how they’re jump-starting the links structure. It’s not organic.” (source)

As an illustration of the inter-linking that supports this snowball effect, see (and zoom in on) this image of how "the most linked to" blogs relate to each other. (note: over a year old, but interesting nonetheless)

3) Networking Your Way To The Top

Once you have put in insane hours researching the A-List, defining your niche and strategy and putting in all of the groundwork to create a kick-a$$ blog... you will most likely find yourself at a very comfortable B-List status.

Good traffic. Good income. But just not quite "an a-lister"...

The ingredient that you are missing is connections, or as Paul puts it - mindshare (see the new mainstream media landscape). To make it to the top you have to broaden your sphere of influence, saturate your target market with brand awareness and increase your level of connectivity to those already in 'power positions'.

Your goal is to gain the attention and favor of the elite group that you wish to join. To do this you have to be original, and you have to bring something of value to the table. And then... you have to get noticed.

Rising in the ranks and showing up on the radars is the best first step. Name familiarity is a huge asset when shaking hands - whether virtually, or in person.

“You think the A-list is the A-list is the A-list,” says David Sifry, the CEO of Technorati. “But I’m telling you, boy, does it shift—and does it shift fast.” (source)

Next: the 'Benefits of the B-List' and why some bloggers prefer to stay in that bracket, intentionally...

Best,

Technorati Tags: a list, blogging elite, top bloggers, pro blogger, darren rowse, techcrunch, michael arrington, engadget, robert scoble, technorati, david sifry, brian clark, copyblogger, john wesley, steve pavlina