Opinions are like the ocean they range far and go deep.

Individuals who are successful with their blogs and independent sites give strong and compelling opinions.  One mistake though that a lot of young bloggers make is they close their mind off to other people’s opinions.

They waste time and energy trying to change opinions. You see them in social media sites like Twitter and Facebook defending their posts like new born babies.

When a person comes to your site, it doesn’t matter the reason why they are there, just remember they are reading or listening because they are interested in your opinion.

Doesn’t mean they will agree with it.

Many young bloggers are worried about being liked. They believe that part of being successful is being universally loved.  In reality, that is something that is impossible to do.

The more popular you become, the more push back you will receive. You just have to be able to deal with it.

It is ok to correct readers or listeners who have the facts wrong, but it isn’t your job to change opinions. It is your job to give them.

What people decide to do with that, you can’t control.

If you want people to respect your opinions, be sure to respect there opinions as well. You will notice that even your harshest critic, in the end will turn out to be your biggest fan.

It doesn’t matter the industry. When you buy your domain you are automatically starting at the bottom but there are some steps you can take to ensure you have the best chance to succeed with your site or blog.

1- Passion

No matter what you are writing about, you have to be passionate about it.  When I say passionate I mean you have to be borderline obsessed with it.  I like comic books, but I couldn’t have a comic book blog because I casually like comic books.  Many people make the mistake of starting sites they have a casual interest in and they quickly lose interest when they aren’t having immediate success.

You want your site on to be your wife, not your mistresses or BFF.

If you are truly passionate two things will come out of it.  First you will speak more confidently about what you are writing about and secondly you are more likely to stick with it when things aren’t going well.

Just like a marriage.

2- Research

One of the biggest problem people have when they start their websites, they just do so on a whim.  They have no idea what goes into running a site or what makes a site successful.

It is like that friend who watches a basketball game on TV and says:

“If I was 7 feet I could do that easy.”

Most people assume incorrectly running a website is easy, running a successful one is no different than working a 9-5 job, so you have train before you jump into it.

The first thing is always to check out other sites in your genre to see what you like or dislike about them.  Check and see which sites are the most successful.  Get feedback from people you trust in regards to choosing your domain, design and logos.

Before you go live make sure you are fully prepared.

3- Find Your Niche

When you are looking at a pool of fish, all are silver, but one is gold which one do you think people are going to be interested in?

I call it the Rudolph the Rednose Reindeer theory.  Ask someone on the street to name all of Santa’s Reindeers and 99% of the time who do they say first?

Rudolph, because he has the rednose.

Whatever genre you are in, you have to have the rednose.  What is going to make you stand out?  Why is someone going to read your story over someone else?  How can you keep your audience?

Everyone is unique, don’t try to be someone else, be yourself and stand out.

Remember when someone comes to your site critic or fan they are coming to hear what you have to say, not what you think they want you to say.

Find your lane and drive it all the way to success.

4- Content is King

The downfall of 99% of independent sites and blogs is inactivity.

The internet is fluid, most people don’t stay on one site very long and as they are browsing through they are looking for fresh, new and updated content.

You can have the greatest story of all time, but if the next time that person goes back to your site that is the same story they saw before you have lost a potential fan.

Different genres lead to different frequency of articles, but there shouldn’t be one day that your site isn’t updated with something.  If you are an up and coming sports, entertainment or gossip blogger there is no reason your site shouldn’t be updated multiple times a day.

The most successful blogs and independent sites are the ones people treat as mainstream.

People do not consider the Huffington Post a blog even if it is on a blog software.

You have to be persistent even when you don’t want to post.  Look at it like going to the gym if you want that beach body you have to drag yourself out of bed even during those cold winter days.

5- Be your #1 Marketer.

Like in a “Field of Dreams” many people believe:

“If you build it they will come.”

That is great for the movies, but awful for trying to get a website off the ground.

You have to think of yourself like an unsigned musician.  The only way you are going to get your music heard is if you are out there in the streets handing out CDs, you are online promoting your single and performing at Steakhouses on the weekend.

No different for your website, you have to use your social media spaces (twitter, facebook, myspace, youtube and etc) to get your material out in the public.

You have to get on message boards and forums.

You have to submit your materials to other sites for possible link back opportunities.

In essence you have to hustle, because as the quote says in the front page, no one will believe in you unless you believe in yourself.

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Follow these tips and your site will quickly rise up the charts to relevant mainstream consciousness.

Mr. Littal is a proud graduate of The Ohio State University where he has a Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism with minors in Communication and African-American studies.

BlackSportsOnline has garnered multiple mentions on ESPN SportsCenter, Yahoo.com, Fanhouse.com, ESPN.com, Profootballtalk.com, TMZ.com, CNNSI.com, Deadspin.com, FoxSports.com, NBCSports.com, TheBigLead.com, SOHH.com, NecoleBitchie.com, Maxboxing.com, Boxingscene.com, Sportsline.com, Chicago Sun Times, New York Times, New York Post, Wall Street Journal, ESPN Sportsnation, ABC World News Now and many other sites and publications for our groundbreaking and refreshing way of reporting sports and sports entertainment.

Robert Littal has made multiple appearances on ESPN Radio, Sporting News Radio, Sirus Satellite Radio and many other televisions and radio outlets.

Robert Littal has been a special contributor for TMZ Sports, Washington Post the League, CNN, the Tyra Banks Show, Black Men in America Magazine,  J ‘Adore Magazine and E! Entertainment.

Robert Littal spent the last three years as a Social Media Analyst with a major cable company where he handled the corporate Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, Youtube and customer advocacy sites.

He has been very successful at social media consulting, web design, ghost tweeting and ghost writing for several entertainers, athletes and independent website owners.

BlackSportsOnline and Robert Littal was presented as one of the 25 Most Influential Sports Blogs in the United States by Ballhype.com

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