He may have only started last year, but Jim Walker has built his blog into a must-read for the cruise line industry. How did he do it?

As I mentioned on Tuesday, Cruise Law News has been a huge success for Jim Walker. In fact, he estimates that  firm inquiries are up about 5 times what they were pre-blog. Have they turned into cases? I would say so. From a single accident he blogged about he got 8 cases–that my friends is results. But his journey is not without effort. So how did he get to where he is today?

My Thoughts: Don’t be fooled, blogging is a full-time commitment. If you want to be successful (really at anything, right?) you have to first put forth the effort. Here are a few ways I think Jim built his blog into a vehicle that gets results:

  • Consistency–Rather than post when he felt like it, Jim made a commitment to his readers to post on a regular basis. With 356 posts in 365 days, I’d say he proved himself a reliable source for industry news
  • Timeliness–Jim writes about real, of-the-moment industry news and information. If something happens that involves a cruise line or ship you can be pretty sure he’s going to cover it. That drives people to return to his blog over and over again for fresh content.
  • Focus–By picking an industry he knows well, Jim created a niche for himself. His background gave him unique insight into his readers and he stayed true to what THEY want to read about.
  • Conversation–Instead of being simply a source of information, Jim engages with his readers through the comments section. By reaching out to them he’s connecting—and talking WITH them, not AT them.
  • Passion–Jim’s interest in the subject and enjoyment in writing the blog comes through in every post. When you truly enjoy what you do it shows…and it draws others straight to you.

Kudos Jim! Keep blogging…getting cases is proof that it works!

Black Pearl: Almost as if on cue, this post from Cordell Parvin arrived in my Inbox. “If you need to, got to or have to-You won’t,” is a great wake-up call for those of you who see marketing and business development as a burden. Change your attitude, change your future!