John Hawkins at Right Wing News has a high-level bit of advice as to why bloggers don’t succeed. Here’s his Top Ten Reasons, along with my commentary on each (go read his entire post for his reasoning behind each):

1. They’re just not very good — writers that is. I may not be a good blogger, but I know I’m an outstanding writer. I have a degree in it (BS in Professional Writing) and more than 10 years professional experience writing about stuff so complex and technical that it would make an Astronaut go crazy. So, I know how to write well. Sometimes I just intentionally choose not to.
2. They don’t cover interesting material —John makes the following great point: “After 7 years of writing about politics, it generally takes me longer to find interesting material to write about than it does to actually write the material.” Which is what I think other non-bloggers probably don’t realize. I try to look for unusual stories to throw into the mix. Although I know that I’m guilty of assuming that my day-to-day adventures around Texas are “interesting” to anybody other than my two cousins and four siblings who read my blog. I typically write about what interests me on that day. I just hope enough other people are interested in some of it too.
3. They’re not unique enough — I’m the only biker I know who runs a conservative political blog. But other than that, I’d like to think that part of the appeal of my blogging is that I am not unique at all. I like to think that the opinions and rants spilled forth here are really more “every man” than the exception.
4. They don’t network — Probably one of the things that does hold me back from true “blogger success”. I don’t spend time pimping my blog to other bloggers. I don’t “trade links”. I don’t go to conferences. I don’t go to gatherings of bloggers. And fuck no, I don’t live in a “Blog house” with a bunch of other dorks.
5. They don’t promote their work — Again, guilty. I’ve been very fortunate and grateful to have been linked by some big wigs in the MSM (The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post) and some big hitters in the Blogosphere (Michelle Malkin, Glenn Reynolds). But then again, the primary reason I blog is for me — it’s a release; a way to vent. I have a fantastic day job already, where I get paid great money (plus benefits like health care!) to write about stuff that I’m excited about (military combat systems) and that is important to my readers (the war fighters who use our systems).
6. They’re not consistent enough. They take days off — Well, unlike a lot of big blogs that have several writers, I’m a lone wolf here. And I like to take time away from blogging to live a real life. I think I strike a good balance between the two. But even then, I think I’ve been a pretty consistent blogger for the near-four years that I’ve been doing this. I sometimes don’t write on the weekends. But that’s a stated site policy. And even then, I still blog on the weekends a lot.
7. Doing their initial promos too early — I never did a promo of my site. Should I have? Oh, well. It’s probably much, much too late now.
8. They don’t link out enough — That I can’t be called guilty of. I like out to somebody with almost every single post on this site. I try to go out of my way to find newer and smaller blogs to link to, too. I’ve found some great new sites that way. Like this one. And this one. And this one.
9. They don’t post enough each day — John recommends at least 6 posts per day and a minimum of about 1500 words. Which would be easy if I were a full-time, otherwise-unemployed blogger. But I have a day job. And a wife. And dogs that need walking. And motorcycles that need maintenance. But even then, since Sept. 22, 2004, I’ve managed to post 2214 times. Or about 1.75 times per day, every single day, for the last 1265 days. OK. Maybe I should write more often.
10. They don’t hang around long enough — Well in terms of blogger longevity, coming up on 4 years at the same site, I’m nearly an old man in this game now. I guess success is just around the corner.

Kate at Small Dead Animals has added an 11th rule: Keep profanity to a minimum.

To which I respectfully reply, “Fuck that.”

I’m a biker and a veteran . If you know enough bikers or veterans, you know that we cuss.

A lot.

And I don’t hold back on my moderately successful blog, either (moved up to a “large mammal” on the Truth Laid Bear Ecosystem, I’m told [whatever that means]).

I drop f-bombs to show anger, disgust, and disdain. I also use it to show excitement, acceptance, and bewilderment.

It’s a good word. As good or better than many “acceptable” words. So I use it.

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Yikes — I just realized how tediously boring blogging about blogging can be. And what a limited number of readers (who are mostly non-bloggers) that might possibly find this interesting. And thus it seems that I’ve violated Rule 2 right out of the gate. Rule 2A should be “Don’t Blog About Blogging”.