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

Have you ever watched a movie so arresting that it made you completely forget that all you were watching is fictional? We all have, plenty of times. Actors like Anthony Hopkins, Sean Penn and Robert DeNiro seem to have the natural ability to cause that effect on command… and they can, but their ability is not natural. They have studied and perfected a series of techniques that are known as “method acting”.

In method acting, an actor goes deep into the skin and mind of the character and studies every little possible detail. By becoming the character, they are able to suspend your disbelief and convince you that what is happening on the screen may actually be true. But the truth is that they are fooling you, you have not lost your mind… instead, you have willingly stopped disbelieving in the fiction.

Keep reading: Method copywriting - Your ultimate goal

Once you’ve written your award-winning copy, you’re all done, right? Well… not exactly. Wise marketers always keep an eye toward the future. While your product might remain the same in the months to come, people will not.

Their needs will change, technology will change and their goals will be adjusted to fit their lives better. By tracking customer feedback, you will be in a good position to tweak your copy from time to time (or rewrite it completely) to better fit the emotional standing of your target audience.

Keep reading: Is it time for a copy re-write?

If you’ve studied copywriting for any length of time at all, you have probably stumbled across the acronym AIDA. That stands for Attention, Interest, Desire and Action. This formula has been used by copywriters (especially direct mail copywriters) for years and years. However, I find that it is a bit incomplete.

While I recommend that you base your copywriting process on the AIDA formula, I do want to add a few elements to it that will dramatically increase your copy’s performance by appealing to the emotions of your customers.

Keep reading: The advertising formula that always works

There are many different factors that make up the buying process of a consumer; and the most important one of them is the fact that people buy what they WANT, not what they NEED. This crucial fact is probably the most overlooked factor in the buying process and it is ignored by advertisers, marketers and copywriters alike.

Think about it from your own perspective. When you need a new car… what do you “mentally” go through from the time you decide you might need to start shopping around until the time you actually buy?

Keep reading: You WANT it. But, do you NEED it?

What books have been the most helpful to you in copywriting? This question was recently asked by Stephanie (aka circusmama) in the copywriting forums. And holy guacamole Batman! - it’s one of those questions that just crazy-glues itself to my mind and sticks there until properly answered.

And while I know fully well that a skimpy list like this one doesn’t do justice to these great books, and I’ll probably end up making for it by reviewing each one in a separate blog post sometime later this year. So without further ado here’s the list of my top 10 favorite copywriting books (Click the title to learn more about each book):

Keep reading: Top 10 favorite copywriting books

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?