I am at a point in blogging where I consider myself among the ranks of veteran bloggers. I’ve been at this long enough to say with confidence that I have built a strong following, I know who I am and I know what this blog stands for. I have met tons of other bloggers and social media mavens along the way and have learned and networked at conferences. I’ve shaken the hands of others in the blogosphere at various events and this all equates to the fact that I know how this big bloggity blog world operates.

But, this revelation did not happen overnight and I’d like to add that I’ve paid my dues – and I am still paying them. Maintaining a blog takes endless hours of time and hard work including lots of blood, sweat and tears. This is easily a full-time job and those of you who have been blogging for at least a solid year know exactly what I’m talking about.

Blog success does NOT happen overnight and does not happen without oodles and oodles of endless hard work. There is no free hall pass when it comes to blogging and just when you think you’ve reached some success, you realize there is still a long way to go – but that’s the real beauty of this journey.

This post is not about how to build a following or how to maintain a true readership. I’ve written about those bloggy things before but I wanted to share some thoughts within the kind of post I wish I had read when I was just starting out…

Think of a time when you were the new kid on the block; maybe arriving at a new school or starting your very first day on the job of that brand new position – you had to learn the ropes. You had to understand the internal workings of that environment in order to function well within that organization. Well, the same principles are applied to blogging that can be noted:

1. Earn your rite of passage. We have all been there before and we all started the same way, with one lonely follower {and for the record, I adore Brittany and she is still with me today}. Think of an uber blogger that seems untouchable and think about their following. You have to remember that those uber bloggers were at one time newbie bloggers themselves! They didn’t get book deals and reach unimaginable bloggy status overnight. No. These women wrote their butts off and their amazing talent truly resonated with readers. These women found a niche that needed to be filled and have done so with style and grace. These women deserve every blog reader because they have worked for it. They’ve earned their rite of passage and you have to earn yours as well. You can’t enter the blogosphere expecting a handout. You have to work for it.

2. Don’t get too big for your britches. Once your blog does start to pick up some traction and your following begins to build, don’t forget what it was like to be a newbie. Treat every reader the way you want to be treated. We can all sense bloggy ego from afar. Remember who you are and where you came from. Staying grounded will be appreciated by many and it will set an example for future bloggers in the process. I’ve seen big egos turn some bloggers into different people and others have since lost interest. Stay authentic and true to who you are from the very beginning and your readers will stay the course, too.

And probably the most important five words that newbies need to hear if they want to maintain a long and lasting blog?

3. Don’t be a sell out. I can’t tell you how frustrating it is when I see new bloggers publish anything and everything that comes their way. They are willing to sell their souls for a few followers or a mere gift certificate. They don’t research the company they work with and the product they post about has absolutely nothing to do with their audience or even their blog. Why do they do it? For a few extra followers or to make it appear as though they are striking some uncharted, new bloggy ground? The fact of the matter is that many of us receive the same mass emails but the difference is that we recognize that it’s not the right fit for ourselves and our blogs so we decline. Be sure that with every product you endorse and every company you choose to work with, it’s the right fit for both you and your blog. Blogging about every promotion and press release certainly will not get you where you want to go. It may actually deter readers from returning.

At the end of the day there are no guarantees in this bloggy world, but what must stay at the forefront of every post is maintaining your readers’ trust and respect. If you lose that, you could have tons of followers and it wouldn’t mean a damn thing.

Don’t be a sell out – because we all know the kind of bloggers that do and we can smell them from a mile away.

And it aint pretty.