How do you become a top blogger on this site?

So I was glancing at the top bloggers page, and I realized that pretty much all the top bloggers were premium members. Is it necessary to be a premium member to be a top blogger?

I think the blog section needs a revamping to get more views.

I think it is the opposite.  Members because premium members because they enjoy the site -- including blogging -- and wanted to take full advantage of everything chess.com had to offer.

So if you're not a premium member then you can't reach out to lots of people when you blog?

Be a girl and it will dramatically increase your chances, though I have heard that it is tough being a girl on this website.

Ugh, you don't want to know.

That's not really true.  I was top blogger for years and the only title I own is Ms.

You don't have to be a premium member, but you will probably have to message Erik or somebody to apply for that status.  Your blogs will need to be predominately chess-oriented.

3. 

1 and 2 are totally irrelevant.

I think that was Melvin's wishlist and has nothing to do with the topic at hand.

Oh I see! So it isn't by viewcount? I would have thought that it should be sorted by view count...

It would be cool if it could be divided by "genre" and users can search for them, would feel more like a "community"

Top bloggers' blogs are featured in a rotating scheme in the top 3 spots on the main blog listing page. If you click on the little "top bloggers" link shown above the 3 top blogs, you go to the page that lists bloggers by total view for thae past 90 days.  Top bloggers who have no blog entries in the last 90 days won't be listed at all, of course, but are still "top bloggers."  The main advantage of being a "top blogger" is that your most recent entry is featured in the top three (while everyone else's gets lost under the volume of new blogs) and on the chess.com slash page and stays visible to potential readers for usually a week, sometimes longer.

I would think 1 and 2 would help, at least. That doesn't make them deserve more views necessarily, but nonetheless it will generate more.

Not sure about how they decide the "top" part -- I was actually a "top blogger" once but all I did was occasionally do blogs.

Getting views and being a top blogger absolutely no relationship. A top blogger can get 0 views or 10,000 views and someone with 10,000 views may or may not be a top blogger.

And this is the problem I am addressing. I think that well written blogs should have more attention brought to them (helps chess.com actually to have people writing amateur articles for free!) and what if they were divided into categories like the forums, or better yet, had tags so they are easily searchable?

I would kind of like to know.

I would think views and top bloggers would correlate, even if views don't guarantee it. Well written blogs are more likely to be viewed (assuming satisfied readers tell others, etc), everything else being equal. Anyway, how do you become one again? Does Erik just pick people? Because like I said I'm pretty sure I was a "top blogger" once and it seemed pretty random.

"top blogger" is a status that guarantees certain exposure. It has nothing to do with views.

@Elubas:

this is the concern I am stating! People are putting much time into writing instructional/humorous/interesting material but they are going unnoticed because they aren't "chosen" to be top bloggers. Maybe it should be called "chosen bloggers" instead

After having proven themselves, they should apply for that status.  Chess.com isn't a mind-reading site.

Like I said, the kinds of posts that top bloggers would make probably correlate with high amounts of views (even if they didn't get the extra exposure -- good posts are more likely to get more views). That doesn't entail the staff considering you for top blogger based on those views.

It's easier to make yourself recognizable by posting on the forums than by creating blogs. Trust me.