Many new bloggers starting out learning how to blog ask me how bloggers do it - How do they continue putting out solid content on a regular basis, while holding down a regular job? There are tricks and pitfalls at every point in starting a blog - beginning with laying the proper foundation (Part 1 & Part 2), the right software, choosing the right host, selecting the right blog template.
For some, it quickly becomes too much - Over 99% of the blogs that are started won't last longer than a month, and of the 1% that do continue, over 97% drop before the first year.
How can you plan to survive longer than others, and make your blog a success? You might not believe it now, but by the end of this article, you may just discover five little-known, simple, and effective strategies to make blogging a part of your life, and have a better chance of beating the odds facing all new bloggers.

1. Have a schedule - Whether it's once a month, once a day, or once a week, create a schedule and stick to it.
   You may start off just posting once a week, and then move to once every couple of days, and then to once a day.
   Once you get into a rhythm, it can start to work for you.
   
2. Write first thing in the morning - This may seem like an unusual piece of advice, but if you can get up just a tiny bit earlier, and pump out that blog post first thing, you will have started out the day already accomplishing something important, and that will give you a productivity lift that can stay with you for the entire day.
   
3. Enlist friends to encourage you - There's nothing better than announcing your commitment to blog to your friends, and enlisting them in your success.
   Have them email you if they don't get their regular blog post from you.
   Have them send you blog post ideas.
   Have them read and comment on your blog posts, and take their feedback seriously.
   This kind of feedback works powerfully because you may not always keep commitments to yourself, but you will be much more likely to keep your commitments to your friends.
   
4. Map out your first 10 posts - When you get to post #5, map out the next 10 after that.
   This way, you've always got a decent backlog of material to keep you going.
   
5. Always write something - Actually, I swiped this idea from Ernest Hemingway, and it's worked well for me.
   Even if it's nothing more than writing a single headline on a page, and saving it, it will get your subconscious mind working, forming the ideas and structure of the post.
   Then, when you come back later, you'll find the post much easier to write because you've made that all-important first step.
   

Now, beyond the technical aspects, you need to set up your life in a way that will support, rather than interfere with your blogging.
Make sure that you have a plan to keep the blog going, because it's only through consistency that your blog will grow, and eventually succeed.