I’ve talked before about how blogging has been one of the most important components of my career over the years, and I love hearing stories of how others have incorporated blogging into their professional lives.

Recently I had the chance to read Ruth Soukup‘s new ebook, How to Blog for Profit (Without Selling Your Soul). It’s a powerful book full of specific information (and not pie-in-the-sky suggestions) for building a successful blog.

Ruth has had great success, and talks about that success in her ebook. Specifically, when she started blogging she set a goal (a goal that seemed crazy at the time) of making enough money blogging that her husband could quit his job. She reached her goal — just a few years in;) After reading her book, I asked Ruth a few of the things that she attributes to her success in blogging. I love her answers, and couldn’t agree more. (I’m also inspired to focus more on Pinterest.)

Here’s what Ruth had to say…

#

I honestly think any success in life is usually a combination of a lot of hard work, a little luck, and sometimes just being in the right place at the right time, and the success I’ve had as a blogger is definitely a combination of those three things. I am a goal oriented person, so once I set the goal of earning enough money as a blogger that my husband would be able to quit his job, I immediately began learning and reading and experimenting, and basically doing everything I could to help myself reach that goal.

That said, there are three things that stand out as really leading me to success: 

• Never Giving Up: Blogging can be really discouraging, especially in the beginning, because it seems like so much effort for so little payout. I think most people give up because they find out that it is really, really hard. You have to believe in yourself, even when everyone around you is telling you it is silly or stupid, or that you’ll never be able to make money at it. Success as a blogger starts with persistence. You must simply refuse to give up.
• Content, Content, Content, Visuals, and Content: The next most important key to success in blogging is creating incredible content, then pairing that content great visual presentation. Awesome, compelling content is what will keep your readers coming back for more. Nothing else will do it. However, the great thing about creating really good content is that there is no single definition of awesome. It is different things to different people. Find your sweet spot, the thing you are most passionate about, and the awesome will follow.
• The Power of Pinterest: A third thing that has been very key for my growth in the last year is Pinterest. I firmly believe that Pinterest is the single most powerful marketing tool the world has ever seen, and it has, in one fell swoop, leveled the playing field for blogs. The potential for viral traffic growth through Pinterest is almost infinite. Awesome content still has to come first, but now there is a way to share that content faster and easier, with a larger audience than ever before.

Do you have a blog yet? If you want to start one, but haven’t yet, here’s my guide to setting one up. If you do have a blog already, have you had any successful moments on your blog that you think have helped your career so far? (Contacts made, gigs generated, helped advice offered, etc.)