This is a guest post by Olusegun Adedokun, an entrepreneur from Nigeria.

Blogging has become the order of the day. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry, and their grandmother, wants to own a blog.

Technorati’s blogger segmentation statistics at the last BlogWorld conference showed that just 9% of bloggers are self-employed. Most people are just on the bandwagon, so to speak.

Now, no one has an exact idea of how many blogs are out there, but there are hundreds of millions of blogs online with several million people who claim to blog fulltime! They are, in a way, competing for the same eyeballs as you. This is enough reason for a blogger to protect any assets he or she might have online.

The Way Things Are

The Holy Order of successful blogging is:

• Creating quality content
• Driving traffic to it using many of the various tactics that the blogosphere is inundated with (only unserious bloggers or newbie bloggers may not now know them).
• Building quality relationships with readers
• Turning your blog into an asset
• Earning ROA, Returns on Asset, by creating income streams from your blog.

We Are Greater Than I

Lately, in the circle of bloggers that I network with, the focus has been on relationship building, forming alliances, helping new bloggers, and indeed everyone in the network grows and gains exposure. The big idea is to see your blog as a business asset and run it with the mindset of an entrepreneur/business owner.

All these point to the fact that the blogosphere as a whole is reaching a level of awareness, even as it evolves gradually. The future is indeed bright if, and only if, you do the right things right.

The Real Basics

The above points are some of the most important things that a blogger should do – and for a good reason too, but these actions are on the outside. The engine of any successful enterprise or project is intangible. It is within.

So what are the two greatest assets you have as a blogger?

They are your name and your word.

Around these all other things are built.

Your Name and Your Word

• Your name and your word are the foundations of your personal brand.
• Your name and your word are the bases of every relationship you seek to build.
• Your name and your word are a source of value to the outside world.
• Your name and your word create your authority status.
• Your name and your word are the source of your wealth and success.
• Your name and your word are the things that get you everything else in life.

These two assets are so intangible and yet so powerful that you are nothing without them and if you misuse or abuse them, you are finished. The good news is that you have every control over them. Somewhat ironic isn’t it? It is a proper blend of dependence and control.

How Do You Want to Be Known?

A wise person answers this question early before embarking on anything and moves ahead quickly. Most people do not until it becomes inevitable.

Our names are personal – though most of us did not get to choose it. Others hide behind another name or create a totally different one to portray a perception. Either way, you are nothing without a name.

Your Name Is Your Brand, Is Your Promise

As a blogger:

• What do you want your name and brand to be synonymous with?
• What will people think of when they visit your blog?

BMW’s promise is the ultimate driving experience. For Nike, it is superior performance. For Google, it is leading you to any information you seek, so to speak.

In your blog’s case, it is…?

Set time aside to define what values and promise you want your name associated with and begin to align every action of yours in line with this.

What Is Your Word Worth?

You are held in high or low esteem based on your word. In my ethnic group in Nigeria, we say that your word is like an egg. Once you have dropped it, you cannot retrieve it. So, it had better be good.

You are safest when you have not been known by your word, but you are also non-existent.

People will hold you to your word. They will also be led aright or astray by it the more you become an authority blogger.

• Can you stand behind your word?
• Do you guarantee the content of your blogs?
• Or will you post content and have to retrieve it because you erred?

Prevention is the annihilation of the need to cure. A damaged reputation is like a malignant cell – it keeps showing up where it is not wanted. It empowers you to fail as nobody will want to associate with you.

Dear blogger, yes you, what are your name and words worth?

Olusegun Adedokun is an entrepreneur from Nigeria. His blog is at Internet-Earner.com. He believes “One Ageless Universal Strategy and Countless Marketing Tactics” is what will make a successful online business.