How to build a successful blog – 10 Lessons from JarusHub

The first question is, is JarusHub a successful blog in the first place?

Okay, let me answer question with questions as a Naija man:

Is a blog which article was quoted by a serving presidential adviser a successful one?

Is an independent blog that exclusively interviewed CEOs of multinational companies successful?

Is a blog that was nominated Top 5 career blogs in Nigeria in Nigeria within 9 months of establishment successful?

Is a blog that was nominated Nigeria’s Blog of the Year within 9 months of establishment a successful one?

Is a blog that interviewed a former presidential adviser successful?

Is a blog well known to and quoted by veteran executives in Nigeria a successful one?

Okay, let’s get real, I agree JarusHub is just on its way to mega-success, not fully there yet. But let me share how we managed to come this far.

I will share my thoughts on how to build a modestly successful blog:

1, Research and know the terrain: I spent more than 1 week researching when I wanted to float this portal. I googled “how to build a successful blog” and read many materials on it. I remember reading one 26-page article on that subject! I came across top bloggers from Europe to America. I printed some materials and read. I contacted some. It didn’t stop there, I still google and read relevant stuff online on building a successful portal. I have subscribed to many websites and portals in the process and I receive relevant information on the subject.

2, Consult: I consulted far and wide before and after opening this blog. In fact, even the name I gave the blog, I sought opinions. Seun Osewa, owner of Nairaland, was especially helpful. I had extensive email exchange with him, from the name I should use. Some other people were also helpful. Although I didn’t take the whole advice. Seun was of the opinion that I should simply name the blog JARUS, the moniker I have been known for from Nairaland, where I got some popularity before floating here. I didn’t take that advice because I there was a domain name as jarus.com already and I will not be able to register that. There were a couple of other things I disagreed with him on, like he felt I should use bloggers’ platform, instead of wordpress. Yet, Seun was one of the personalities that were extremely helpful on this blog taking off. Consult veterans before and after opening your blog if you want to build a successful blog.

3, Build a personality around the blog: Although I have at least 10 other writers for JarusHub, Jarus is what comes to mind when this portal is mentioned. I was able to build personal touch around the blog.

4, Originality is still king: If most of your articles are copy and paste, then I’m afraid you may not be able to run a successful blog. You just have to come up with original thoughts. I am fortunate to have other great writers who also share their original thoughts. 90% of articles on JarusHub are the original thoughts of the writers. It is only in few cases that we share articles from elsewhere. Very few Nigerian blogs compare with us when it comes to originality. It was helpful.

5, Assemble good brains: It is open secret that JarusHub parades one of the best collections of young minds you can think of in Nigeria. I think that was helpful. Except in certain niches, like gossips, it is very difficult to run a platform like this alone. Choose your writers well. I chose my writers very selectively and they are the poster boys of JarusHub.

6, Spend: Like any other good thing, you just have to spend. I have spent more than N0.4m on JarusHub, online and offline. I’m not so tech-savvy so I engage IT geeks to help me work on the blog when need be. I bought premium themes. I pay graphicists for banners, I do adverts on other portals etc. You just have to spend if you want to build a successful blog.

7, Be open to feedback: Be open to feedback. My good friend, Sola Fagorusi, is always telling me what improvement I need to carry out on JarusHub. I have changed the outlook of the blog more than 4 times and most times it was Sola that advised me to do. Some other readers also give me beneficial feedback.

8, Stalk other bloggers in your niche: I visit other top blogs in Nigeria and abroad that have similar interest with JarusHub and I get fresh ideas and insights anytime I visit. You are not an Island of knowledge and ideas, check what others are doing too.

9, Build a community around your blog: Most of the regular readers of JarusHub are now well-known to me. Try to relate with your readers by engaging them, answering their questions, replying their comments etc. Today, I have fans that cannot sleep without visiting JarusHub in a day and I am not exaggerating.

10, Successful blogs solve people’s problems: Even blogs that thrive on gossips solve their readers’ problem by making their poke-nosing tendency easier. On JarusHub I and my team try to solve people’s career and related problems using our experience and knowledge. To float a blog that has the tendency to succeed, first ask yourself: what problem do I want to solve with this portal?

Final shot: Did anybody notice that JarusHub started as a general blog, focusing on varieties of issues from politics to football? It was later that I narrowed than the focus to career, and later added management. Before your blog becomes so popular, you can still successfully change your theme.