Firstly, we have to identify the question in the question itself. That is, what makes a blog successful?
To me, as of many others, interaction/communication is in the first place. Secondly, your ability to influence your readers and last but not least, monetizing it. With these 3 points in mind, one can work out a plan to build up a successful blog without side tracking and have something to focus on.
Here are some tips that I would like to share:
1. Content is king. This phrase has been repeated for n number of times but how many realize its importance? People go to blog to learn, keep themselves updated of your daily living or they may simply just want to know your point of view on certain topics. Unique content is what I call the pillar behind a successful blog. Don't just be a news reporter, your blog readers want to have a gist of your personal opinion.
2. Pleasant Looking Blog Theme. Trust me, your outlook is really important. Don't judge a book by its cover is no longer valid here. Imagine you have a black background with blood red fonts and your topic is about nursing or healthcare, will it convert well? Take time to work on your blog theme and look around what others are offering and it should give you some good idea.
3. Follow A Constant Blogging Schedule. Whether you intend to blog everyday, once a week or once every fortnight, follow it faithfully. Build confidence in your readers that they know they will read something new whenever they check back at a certain time. If you update everyday and all of sudden you update once a week, you will notice yourself losing traffic, badly.
4. Reply To Your Readers' Comments. This is what I call interaction and communication. If they have a question, answer them and I am pretty sure they will be happy about it and check back more often. If they offer their compliments, return by saying thanks! That's how we work in real life too, isn't it?
5. Visit Blogs Of Your Related Niche DAILY. Know thyself, know thy competitors. Get in touch with what bloggers around you are talking about so that you will be updated with any news. If they have MyBlogLog widget installed, they may notice a new face and they will most likely click on it and check out who is reading their blog. I do click on the little pictures that shows on MyBlogLog widget whenever I notice a new visitor and I would probably read their blog as well. You just gained yourself some traffic and if they like your content, they would probably throw a link to your blog since its a good practice to show link love these days. What a win-win situation.
6. Provide More ‘How-To’ Solutions Than Asking ‘How-To’. By asking how to, you have just put yourself a level lower than many others because you just declared there are things you don’t know! By providing how to, readers see you as an expert of the field and you will just build up your name from there. No matter where your level of experience is, what results you have gotten so far, I strongly suggest you do some proper research and draft out more ‘How-To’ tutorials on your blog. Spend more time doing it rather than just learning how to do it. Experience and result will follow suite…
7. Double Check Your Entries. Make sure you have no spelling errors or any sort that confuses your readers. This is a total taboo if you are looking to brand yourself as an expert in your niche. Why would any expert make such mistakes?
8. Get Testimonials. If you have been of any help to anyone, request for a testimonial from them tactfully. Just let them know you will be placing it on your blog and it in turns give their names more exposure as well. Testimonials is a really good way of branding yourself because it shows greater sense of reliability. Try to include a photo, name and website to prove that it is a legit testimonial.
9. Guest Post For Other Blogs. Nobody will request for a guest post from you if they think that you are unable to provided reliable contents. Therefore, when readers see that you have been invited as a guest Blogsblogger for certain blogs, it shows that your content is much sought after and you have gained some credibility in this field.
10. Last but not least, BRAND YOURSELF!
I hope you guys like my tips here and all the best to every blogger out there! 
