If you’re reading this, it’s quite likely you have your own blog. That being the case, you face the same challenges that all bloggers face, including us here at Affilorama. What do I blog about? How long and how often should I blog? How can I keep it interesting? How can I encourage comments?
So what is the magic formula that makes a blog popular? How did the likes of Guy Kawasaki and Seth Godin rise to the giddy heights of online ‘celebrity-ness’? It's good to remember they weren't always in demand - they started out like everyone else, in relative obscurity. Let’s look at a few things that separate the good blogs from the more forgettable, and can help you climb the long ladder to blogging fame.
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The list below is a summary of a handful of things you can do to improve the quality and attractiveness of your blog, but if you’ve got time, read this in-depth article from The Kassandra Project.
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There’s a lot more that can be said about writing well and in many ways it’s not something that everyone can learn in five minutes, in fact it may well take you years to master the art of effective blogging. But by following these simple, time-proven guidelines you can enjoy the satisfaction that comes from owning a quality blog.
We’ve discussed the good and bad of blogs, but what about the ugly – what blogs make you cringe and why? Just quietly I can’t stand seeing blogs with the latest post being sometime in December 2003 – it’s an eyesore on the blogging landscape!
Ps We all know it’s easy to get started with a blog, that initial rush of enthusiasm, but what can you do when your motivation starts to flag and post frequency goes from daily to bi-monthly? We’ll discuss that in a future post. Be sure to return or just subscribe to our RSS feed.
Image credit somewhat frank problogger.net
Lorrette - Daily Screw-Ups • 16 years ago
10 excellent tips for blogging. Heard somewhere that your post title should contain your main keyword and that your keyword should also appear in the first and last paragraph too...what are your thoughts?
Jason Dodd • 16 years ago
... absolutely thats good advice, you definitely want your keyword in the page title and the post heading. as for where your keywords appear in the body, the rule is pepper them throughout - the more keyword-rich your article the better.
ive also heard, its a good idea to put your 'last' paragraph at the top of your article so readers know straight off the gist of your post
Tony Balthazar • 16 years ago
Joe Watson • 16 years ago
Re point 8 "Time of publishing your post" which time/times have you found to get the best out of your posts, the most responses and the most people who complete your call to action?. I live in SE Asia but you can quote Eastern/Pacific/GMT and I'll sort my time here.
Thanks for the article.
Sincerely
Joe
Jeromy • 16 years ago
I totally hear you on this topic. I was up until 3AM last night writing my last post. A whole lot of work goes into finding your topic, other sites worth mentioning, tips/ideas that have value, keyword research and then putting all together into a post that visitors hopefully will enjoy reading and commenting. Then, if your like most bloggers, you start prepping for you next post. For me, I simply don't have the time to do more than one post a week (or more). If it weren't for the darn JOB I could pull off one a day (or two, with other marketing tasks).
I think what a lot of marketers are doing is Outsourcing some of these online business processes. This way they can have multiple blogs active with good quality content that is regularly updating (the Search engines like that). My last post on my blog discusses this very topic, Outsourcing.
Another tip I have come across in regards to your posts is to add controversy....perhaps start a debate. Also, I am seeing an increasing amount of bloggers posting video (or audio) as a portion of their blog. Surfers Love Video, so this is very good tool to try and incorporate. This is one of my next tasks with further developing my blog, video. I also need to get my Logo graphic complete and put into my theme. Then there is the task of social bookmarking, looking for reputable blogs and add comments of value, relevant to the topic of their post......There is a lot of good honest work involved in developing, running and maintaining a blog.
And as you say, these big names were not always big names. A large percentage of Internet business failure is, giving up, often before much of a start is even made. I think perseverance is key to these guys fame as well. It does take time. Keep plugin along, keep learning and active.
The beauty is, the web is really so big. Anyone with a bit of smarts, and who isn't afraid to work and learn, can run a blog and attract traffic to it. I think a final point that is becoming increasingly important is to, in some way shape or form, try to be unique.
Cheers!
Jeromy (AKA Hillbilly)
Jason Dodd • 16 years ago
Rich • 16 years ago
Jamie Green • 16 years ago
Great post. One question, what WP theme are you using for this blog? It has a great layout.
Jamie
Leo Dimilo • 16 years ago
You left out a point that most bloggers won't or don't do......test and track everything. Track the bounce rate of your individual pages, test linkbait posts, track time on site...if you can use heat maps, track what people look at...track referring links from comments you made, forum posts, web 2.0 properties to segment what is working and what isn't.
It is easy to blog....however, if you aren't testing and tracking, chances are you aren't doing any favors for your "brand".
Jason Dodd • 16 years ago
joe, wrt publishing time it really depends on your audience, ideally you want to catch them at their desks so keep that in mind, which is why weekend posts sometimes don't get as much traction. http://lorelle.wordpress.com/2006/06/15/when-is-the-best-time-and-day-to-post-on-your-blog/ for more info on this
jamie, from what i know its a heavily customised theme! if i can find out more i'll let you know
leo, thanks for the extra detail, and yep as they say you cant manage what you dont measure