Everyone around you seems to have a blog. They are all writing furiously about whatever they deem important. You’re wondering if you need one too but are unsure how to decide. Here are 5 steps to know you’re ready to have a blog:

1. Think about what you want to write about. Do you have a specific area of expertise? Do you want to write a generic blog? Who would the speaker be – employee, manager, ceo? What tone of voice would you want to write in? Determining all the pieces to the puzzle will let you know where you have holes and what questions need answering before you can start.
2. Research other bloggers in your topic. While there is nothing wrong with writing about a topic that is already being written about (because more than likely, you will have different thoughts) it is still good to know your competition. Read what they write, how they write and how they are received. This is also a great place to start commenting on blogs, so that when you do start writing, you have someone already paying attention.
3. Write for a month, every day, just in a word document. At the end of the month, count how many of your notes could be actual content that you would want to share with people. Are there at least 12? Then you can consider blogging. Blogging needs consistency, and knowing that if you write for a month that you can come up with at least 3 posts per week that are good content means that you will be able to maintain your writing.
4. Schedule your blog. Can you stick to a schedule? Can you force yourself to write, even when you don’t want to? Being able to add blogging into your schedule like you would a meeting or a phone call means that you have the desire and drive to stick with it. The biggest issue for most beginning bloggers is being willing to set aside time for it.
5. D0 you have a network built? I always suggest that the best bloggers are ones that already have a network of friends and followers built through twitter and facebook first. If you have a group of people who are already interested in what you say, it is more likely that they will read your blog and add comments, making it successful more quickly.

If you can follow all of these steps, you will have a good chance of being successful when you start a blog.

If you want to become a better blogger, you have to grow, change and adapt. You also have to know these four tips.

• Remember your overall goal: The blog should have a theme, whether it is all about your business or a combination of business and personal, your readers need to know what to expect. By creating a main goal for the site, it will be easier to develop content and stay on theme.
• Be honest but not overly personal: Even if you want to keep this as a business blog only, you still need to be honest with yourself. If you struggle with certain areas, do not claim to be perfect at them. On the same token, if you are going to include some of your personal side, make sure that you don’t reveal too much. It should never be more than you want strangers to know about you.
• Be consistent: Without consistent content, your readers will not stay interested. The best number of posts is 3-5 per week. Bloggers who can stay consistent with this number of posts will see success with subscriptions and participation. This consistency can be achieved through a good calendar process.
• Use good titles and keywords: Your title is important for your readers, but also important for the search engines. Make sure to use words that you know people will search for when looking for your content in both the title and the post.

What advice can you add to be a better blogger?