Here and on my own blog, I often write for an audience who is already blogging, tweeting, facebooking, etc. However, last week I had to take a step back to talk personal branding to an audience that may not already be 100% up to date on social media trends in an interview on WATE’s Good Morning Tennessee.

Because even a long news spot is only a couple minutes, I wanted to write a follow-up post to my live interview to further explain blogging, what to expect when you’re getting started.

It’s no secret that keeping a blog is hard work. So here are a few skills I think you must have in order to be successful in the blogosphere:

1. Knowledge: In order to be successful in blogging, you of course need to be knowledgeable about the topic you will be writing on. You can blog about the field you work in, about a hobby you enjoy, about being a parent, etc. — Just make sure you know your stuff. After all, you’re trying to prove yourself as a thought-leader, right?

2. Love: There’s no point in starting a blog if you don’t love to do it. It’s rare that you’re going to get rich by being a blogger, so don’t do it just because you think it could make you money. If you love to write and you’re passionate about the topic, I encourage you to start blogging, but don’t do it if you don’t love it.

3. Dedication: Blogging takes a lot of work. Each post needs to be thought out and written with care. Sometimes you even have to do a little research. In addition, to be successful in blogging, you need to post fairly often, so make sure you really love doing it (and can devote time to it) before you get in over your head.

4. Patience: Your blog is not going to blow up overnight, so don’t be discouraged if your visitor numbers are fairly low in the first few months you’re blogging. Just keep writing posts, promoting them on Twitter, Facebook, etc…and eventually the visitors will grow. It also helps to comment on other blogs and connect with like-minded people on Twitter.

5. Tough Skin: Not everyone is going to agree with you all the time. As bloggers, we’re putting our opinions on the line and sometimes people are going to disagree with us. When someone opposes you on your own blog, be thoughtful and craft a good response. You’ll actually find it’s nice to get a good debate going.

What do you think? Any questions? Other qualities you think a blogger should have?