Starting a new blog from scratch can seem like a colossal task. Watching that brand new WordPress installation with the ubiquitous “Hello World” post can make even the most prolific writer tremble in fear - as he feels a mind-numbing case of writer’s block creep slowly down his spine.

Fortunately, things don’t have to be that way. The only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time… so if you follow this simple strategy, you’ll have a blog that is packed with great content a lot sooner than you had ever imagined.

Keep reading: How to give your new blog the upper hand

The Copywriting Forum members have been asking a few questions about how to start and run a successful blog… and while the tips shared have been great, I feel that some background information is missing to build a solid foundation for new bloggers to rely upon.

For that reason, I’ve decided to write a series titled “The copywriter’s guide to blogging success” – and the good news is that it all starts today. So let’s dive right in…

The very first step in having a successful blog is to find a good theme to write about. A blog that talks about everything and nothing all at once will rarely be successful, so finding a good niche or industry to focus on is essential.

Keep reading: How to find the best niche for your blog

Listen to a few conversations during the course of your day and you’ll likely make a few interesting observations. When telling a story, some people give you just the facts. Others provide intimate details. When you offer information to them, some will stop you and say, “Oh, let me write this down,” a few will look at you intently – hanging on every word, and still others will appear anxious for you to get right to the point. This is because there are a variety of communication styles. People have preferences in the way they give and receive information.

The challenge, as a copywriter, is to provide your sales information in the way that your target customer will most willingly accept it. If you have a target group that consists of one behavioral/communication style, your copy will be easy to write. However, if your target audience is made up of a variety of styles, your job will take a little more effort.

Keep reading: What’s the key to effective communication?

It seems that by now, virtually every big boy (and girl) in the web marketing arena has pushed this new widget down the throats of their mailing lists – I for one got around 65 different e-mails announcing the launch and trying to get me to sign up under their network downline.

But even with all that hype and promotion, the question remains: Is it just hype or is John Reese’s BlogRush really the next big thing on the blogosphere? Let’s take a couple of steps back and analyze the widget, the service and the true potential it holds.

Keep reading: BlogRush: Hype Galore or Holy Grail?

We’ve all seen the effects and consequences of a successful social media marketing campaign on the web: Relatively unknown websites melting down their web hosting servers, ordinary people reaching rock-star status overnight (sometimes unwillingly) and new trends becoming mainstream in less than a week.

But what happens when one of Hollywood’s most brilliant minds decides to use social media marketing as the main strategy to promote his upcoming feature film? Enter the secretive world of J.J. Abrams and 01-18-08 (aka Cloverfield / Slusho / Cheese / Chocolate / Overnight). Things are about to get outrageously weird…so sit back, relax and enjoy the ride!

Keep reading: Case study: 1-18-08 social media marketing

How many times have you sat down wanting and willing to write only to end up staring at a blank screen for hours before giving up? Writer’s block is a problem that haunts the most prolific copywriters and bloggers more often than they care to admit.

So here are 7 easy-to-follow techniques you can use to get rid of writer’s block, get those lazy fingers of yours moving and kick-start your brain into writing again.

Keep reading: Writer’s block is dead. You killed it.

Bob Stone, one of the world’s best known copywriters said “Your first 15 words count more than the 15,000 words that follow!”

Any serious copywriter (and most successful bloggers out there) agree with the statement and actually put the advice to use every day. Why?

Because it’s the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Those first few words that you start with (your headline) are often written in haste. Yet, they count for 50% of the success of your entire copywriting project.

Keep reading: 10 headline formulas that work like magic