From their presence in the media, it seems like everyone and their mother has a blog. Have you ever thought of starting your own?

There are many ways of running a successful blog, but signing up for a free blogging site doesn’t come with a Blogging 101 manual. FYI spoke with some experts on getting that Web journal up and running.

Pick a topic

“The main thing to do is just to pick a topic that is broad enough that you think, if you really struggled, you could find about one new thing a day,” Chase Martyn, managing editor of Iowa Independent, a political news blog. “Pick one topic that isn’t just ‘me,’ pick a topic that other people care about . and keep writing about it for a while.”

The blogs the media talk about usually aren’t about what someone had for supper, the song they are listening to at the moment or how much they hate school – they have a definite subject, and their authors report solely on that subject.

Erin Boeve, volleyball player and senior in kinesiology writes a weekly blog for the ISU volleyball team on www.cyclones.com.

“It’s something new,” Boeve said. “I just thought it would give fans a more inside look.”

Boeve blogs on how the team did, how it travels, where it stays, who it played and practice.

“It’s pretty easy to do if it’s what you’re interested in and what you’re involved in,” Boeve said.

Gerard McKiernan, associate professor of Parks Library, runs blogs on several different, but very specific topics, such as biorenewable energy and social networking.

“I guess it all comes down to focus. I’ve decided to focus and to post only the most relevant, significant, substantive content,” McKiernan said.

He uses his several blogs for when his different obsessions strike him.

Be consistent

No matter what topic a blog covers, it should be consistent in content.

“Don’t just start a blog and write whatever comes into your mind on a particular day. If you are going to start a blog about politics, keep it about politics,” said Martyn.

You should also be consistent about the number of times you blog in a given time period. Blogging only once a week is fine as long as you stick to it.

“The trick is to find out what your readers want from you,” Martyn said.

Martyn said even bloggers get writer’s block, but they have times when they are overflowing with information. If you manage your information carefully, you won’t have to worry.

Listen to your readers

The readers of a blog help determine how successful it is. Martyn suggests listening to your readers on everything from subject matter to frequency of posts.

“It’s a service to them more than it is an exercise for yourself to make yourself important,” Martyn said. “[If] you really do your best to give your readers what they want, then your blog will be successful and, if you don’t, then your blog won’t succeed in the long run.”

McKiernan uses a site counter to track who visits which pages and uses the data generated from it to determine which posts people are reading and what they’re interested in.

One highly viewed post was about a Facebook application.

“So that says to me, if I learn about other new apps, maybe I should not hesitate to have a posting about that app because that would be of interest, not only to me, but also a broader audience,” McKiernan said. “So, I do use that information.”

Getting attention

Blogs don’t usually start out in the spotlight. It takes work and dedication to get noticed. You need to stick with it if you want it to take off.

“[It will be] a couple months before people will take notice. You have to keep plodding along like you have a huge readership even if you don’t,” Martyn said.

One way to garner attention for a blog is to list it through a service like Google.

Another way to gain attention is to comment on other’s blogs on the same subjects as yours. If another person comments on your blog, consider writing on his or her blog as well.

“Treat it like a community,” Martyn said. “Successful blogs are very interactive.”

McKiernan said he considers the contacts he makes by blogging one of its benefits. He also sends notices to library list services about the blog.

“I’m not shy about self-promotion,” he said.

How to be successful

Success in the blogging world depends on your goals. Maybe you want thousands of readers or just a few – either way it’s important to set some.

If you are writing for the Government of Student Body, you may not need thousands of readers, but only the 30 people involved, Martyn said.

To figure out if your blog is successful, look at what you wanted from it. If you have fulfilled your goals, then the blog is a success.

McKiernan measures his success by awards won and readership, which he is able to claim from other countries as well.

“I think a successful blog is one that the intended audience expects the content and reads it from day to day,” Martyn said.