There's so many "top blogs" lists out right now. Professional blogs - and when I say "professional" I'm talking about those that make a living at it financially - share some common characteristics. Here are some of the key features they incorporate that can help you make the best of your blogging, as well.

Writing every day or sometimes more. Probably the biggest thing they all have in common is that they write daily and sometimes even more than that. You may have noticed this is something I'm personally really bad at, of course! Maintaining a readership is an important aspect of blogging and is really the whole nature of blogging.

They have unique and informative content. You'll hear it a lot and it's true - content is king in the world of blogs. You need to have unique, good quality content that sets you apart from other blogs. While your idea doesn't have to be original (but that doesn't hurt), something has to set you apart from the competition.

Sticking with one general subject or market. Many of you probably don't want to hear it, but sticking to one general subject or targetting one specific audience is the best way to go. It's fine if you want to write on a wide range of subjects, but you're less likely to get repeat visits if your blog is inconsistent. If you want to write a few different subjects that do not relate to one another, consider writing more than one blog.

Networking and partnering with other bloggers. Not one of the bloggers on any of the popular blog lists is an unknown who did it all by themselves. Getting to know other bloggers is mandatory if you want to move up there with the big boys. By networking and even partnering with other bloggers, even if they aren't the top dogs, is important.

Patience. Yes, patience. Making money writing blogs is very possible - making enough money to quit your day job is even possible, people do it! But it takes a lot of patience. Blogs do not become popular overnight. It can take weeks, it can take months, it can take years.

These are just a few general characteristics. In later blogs, I'll talk in more detail about specific ways to improve your traffic through promotion, social bookmarking sites, formatting your blog, and more.