During my Social Media training programs I get asked this question frequently. The following is what I provide my clients when it comes time to get them started with blogging.
1. Whatever Style You Start, Stay With It — If your style of blogging is to be personable but also have a commercial approach to what you write about then stay with that from the beginning. Do not be talking about your dog today and then in the next post talk about the launch of your new product. Your viewers will get confused on what your purpose is and lose interest
On the other hand, if you want to talk about your dog and your business you can do so by creating a story about how your dog would really like your new product. I encourage you to be casual, humorous, informational and a story teller. That is what people come to the blogsphere to read.
2. People want to hear about success. The number one thing people come to the blogsphere for is for information gathering on something successful. So, make sure every blog provides some sort of information you want to pass on to the viewers. Provide some value. Success can only be obtained from the gathering of information about something.
3. Make sure you show your viewers you enjoy what your doing. There are times to be positive about things and times to be negative. Just make sure not to be all positive and forget the realities that affect something. And don’t always be negative unless you are wanting to be know as the blog site to come to hear about the latest bitch. If you show your viewers you enjoy what you are doing, even if it is on a negative tone, then they will be back for more…or they should be.
4. Real People want to learn. How to do something is what people really enjoy reading about. Posting a blog on how to do something that only you know how to do really gets people’s interest up. Even if thousands of others tell people how to do something and you have a different way of doing it then that information is what viewers want.
5. Place Links to articles or other blogs that back your story up. Besides the obvious SEO implications, your biggest audience are those who are already reading blogs. So, if you find a blog that is talking about something that supports, or not, your position in a blog, write a statement about that blog and link to it. You can see examples of this technique in almost every good blog
6. If everyone else is blogging on an popular issue report on it, put a really good spin on it, or leave it alone. There will be a current event that everyone is blogging about. This makes for a good subject for a blog. However, if you do not have anything else to say about it that others have not already said then why blog about it? Many professional bloggers will hammer an issue to death just to get traffic, so leave a subject a lone if everyone is blogging about it and you have nothing relevant to say.
7. Use images. This is optional. Images and photos really give the blog impact since 90% of people are more visual. This does take a lot of time and resources to find the photo that works perfectly with the blog subject. Unless you have a vast stock of personal photos to use this may not be something you can do on every blog you post.
8. Back away from over-used & tired out blogging trends — Do not use the same technique of blog each time. This means, do not just post Top 10 List of things to do. Blend your blog with lists of things to do and stories on your experience or point of view. If you fall into only having one style of blog people will get bored and move on.
9. Create controversy -You will see other bloggers in your field or interest taking a controversial position. People love controversy. However, controversy does not work in every situation. So, creating controversy will make you popular for awhile, but only until that controversy becomes boring. Think out the strategy of the benefits of taking a controversial stance before writing the blog. Project what the result will be. There is a fine line between being controversial and looking like an idiot. Destroying your brand value means losing your relevance and being placed on a fast track to failure.
10. Don’t continually second guess everything you say- Blogging is the exact opposite of a scientific journal. You write what you feel, when you feel it. If the information is wrong, so be it. Despite a handful of grammar polyps most of your readers aren’t interested in reading an English masterpiece.
Hope this list helps you get a better handle on what makes for a good blog. I explain more in my Social Media Training seminars. For more information on this program contact me.
Good stuff Scot. I agree with everything you said. I will add two more:
1) Write about something that you're passionate about. For instance, so many people start business blogs because they feel they should to advance their career. But, if that isn't where their passion lies, then it will come across in the writing. And you'll be less apt to post frequently (which is also key for SEO).
2) Take some time and learn how to make your blog visually appealing. It doesn't take much to turn a poorly designed blog into something that's clean, user friendly, and more professional looking. Sometimes that alone with separate a blog from the rest of the pack…. See More
BTW, I also read your 2010 Twitter Manifesto. I'm currently at 1.5K followers. Are you going to unfollow me when I hit 2K. 😉
I guess you will have to get to 2k Twitter followers to find out.. 🙂
great post..