How To Attract Readers To Your Blog
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November 8th, 2006
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I get asked every now and then about starting a blog and attracting some readers. I know of no sure way to build a successful blog and attract tons of readers but there are a few basic hints that might help. Did you note that I wrote successful blog? What is a successful blog? Lots of readers? Making lots of money? Quality content? Funny? Educational? Lots of personal or emotional content? I don't know. It's up to each individual person but most don't seem overly concerned about having a successful blog. People blog for all kinds of reasons. What I think is great you might think is crap. You get the point, blogging can be a very personal thing.Jay over at The Zero Boss has put together a great list of basic hints for the beginning blogger. Actually, most of the tips are great regardless if you're new to blogging or have been doing it for years. You can find a couple of his favorites below. Go to Jay's site for the rest.
- Write regularly. Daily is best, but at least two to three times a week is fine. The more content you create, the greater chance people will somehow stumble across something you wrote - and, hopefully, get hooked.
- Buy your own domain name. Not a strict necessity, but every little bit helps. Blogs hosted on their own domains look less fly-by-night than blogs with their own stake in cyberspace. Plus, search engines give higher marks to blogs hosted on their own domains, especially if the domain is registered for two or more years in advance. (Thanks to Darren Rowse for that tip!)
Another favorite blogger of mine is Steve Pavlina with his blog about "personal development for smart people". He has a great post about how to make money with your blog. This might not sound fun if you're not at all interested in earning money through your blog, like me, but the post also has some great overall advice of how to attract readers. These two guys have covered the blogging basics but there are a couple of things I would like to add.
- Overall direction. When you start writing, or actually before, spend some time thinking about what content you will have on your blog. It's not something you will have to follow exactly, just a basic direction. Are you going for a family blog, satire, educational, news, product review, music, gossip, etc. ?
- Breaking The Rules Don't be afraid of doing different things. Steve mentions that most people advice him and others to do short posts to increase posting frequency. Instead of doing one long post, break it up in three parts. Steve does the exact opposite which works great for him since his content is outstanding. Don't be afraid of trying different things to figure out what works for you.
- Photos. I enjoy seeing some photos in a post. Preferably small thumbnails which take little room but can be enlarged if desired. I enjoy these posts more (if the photos are decent) and they give me a better understanding of what the blogger is talking about. Avoid the huge photos that take forever to load. Most people today have broadband but many have slow DSL speeds and will wait forever for your site to load. Some people might hate your photos but you never know until you've tried.
Steve talks a lot about quality content on his site. In the long run that's the best way to attract readers and make them come back. Your content could cover anything from toddler poop to political news but still be of high quality. Some talented loggers have a gift for writing funny, emotional, and educational posts. Others, like me, are not gifted in that area but still enjoy writing. Check out Jay and Steve, they have some great advice!
Great advice! I was just looking for something like this, actually. Thanks for the tips!
Great advice — I was just looking for something like this, so thanks for the tips!
Very Usfull. thanx
I have to admit that at first I was thinking of making money so I opened different blogs but at the end of it, like everything in life - you need to be passionate and live everyday with the notion that “Tonight is the night” - write about stuff you love and like to share.
I believe that the more you give the more you receive.
BTW, I really enjoy your blog
That Pavlina post is one of my faves, AD. My next fave is his top 10 reasons why you should never have a job. Good stuff.
Thanks for the link!
A man is trying a very unusual way to propose to his girlfriend. He wants people to forward an email to as many people as possible and he hopes that it will eventually get to his girlfriend. Details here: http://www.proposal-to-mary.com
Here is what he wants people to send by email:
You could help me a lot to spread my proposal to Mary – it is important that it is distributed as widely as possible so that it eventually reaches Mary. If you would like to support my proposal to Mary, please send the following text by email to a lot of people :-)
————- SNIP (email text end) —————
WHEN YOU RECEIVE THIS, PLEASE HELP TO DISTRIBUTE IT TO OTHER PEOPLE!
For a long time I have tried to find a special way to propose marriage to my girlfriend Mary, whom I know for five years now. I wanted it very special, romantic and memorable, something our grandchildren would still remember.
And here is my idea: I will send out the proposal to Mary to 50 complete strangers, people I don’t know - hoping, that they will forward my proposal to as many people as possible, which in turn forward it etc. And some day, I hope, it will reach Mary, after it has travelled a very long way. I know, it will take a long time and I am quite nervous…
From the poem MY Mary will know immediately that the proposal is for her.
I have created a homepage ( http://www.proposal-to-mary.com ) where you can find the current status of my quest. You can use the homepage to check if the proposal has already reached Mary (in that case it is not necessary anymore to forward the mail).
Once the proposal has reached Mary, I will put a note on these pages. Also I will publish there how many people have read the proposal so that everybody can see how far it has spread and that it is getting closer to Mary.
And of course you will find there what I am waiting for most: Mary’s answer! I can’t tell you, how nervous I am… Will she accept my proposal? Will she like the unusual way how she got it, through the hands of thousands of messengers all over the world?
Please cross your fingers for me! And please - help me by sending the mail to as many people as possible, to help it spread, so that it eventually reaches Mary.
And here is my proposal:
Mary, please forgive me, as you know English is not my native language. And I am not a poet. But I mean it from my heart.
My angel,
Five years ago, I will always remember the day When fate made us meet, blissful Alaskan moments in May Earth spun around us and a journey began Love, warmth, happiness, enough the years to span.
The longer it lasts the more grows our bond And with 80 still - of you I will be fond Whatever happens, I will stay at your side Through good and bad, together let us stride
No second with you was ever wasted
You are the sweetest I have ever tasted
We have spent so many years - why not a life?
Mary, will you marry me - and become my wife?
Mary, if you have received that and have recognized me, then give me a sign so that I can continue with the romantic part of my proposal…
————- SNIP (email text end) —————
I’ve got an Amazon gift certificate burning holes in my pocket,
and I want to get the most bang for my buck.
Enter the Secret Amazon Web Pages:
http://bargains-hunter.blogspot.com/2007/10/how-to-find-bargains-at-amazons-secret.html
Amazon Secret Web Pages
This is where you’re going to find the “latest sales, rebates, and limited-time offers” from
Amazon, and you can score some pretty deep discounts if you’re a savvy shopper.
Next, there’s the special Sale link. This is open every Friday, and ONLY on Fridays.
You can find the same good discounts here as you would in hidden Deals, although some
Fridays you can really get lucky and make off like an Amazon bandit - I’ve seen discounts
there as low as 75% off sticker price.
Hi,
I just found the blog:
http://bargains-hunter.blogspot.com/2007/11/amazon-price-drop-more-than-44-and-i.html
There is an amazing how-to for changing the amazon price.
Hi,
ever wondered how to get better Amazon deals or how to get that 30-day refund from Amazon?
We discovered a gret service which tracks prices for you and alerts youl.
Check out our latest review at:
http://bargains-hunter.blogspot.com/2007/12/apnoticom-review.html
.
Nov 15th, 2006 at 1:43 pm
[…] Last week I wrote a few lines about how to attract readers to your blog. My input was limited and instead pointed to Jay over at The Zero Boss who had some great suggestions for anyone who has a blog or is thinking about starting one. Due to popular demand, Jay is back with another write-up about blogging. This time he looks more at writing posts based on news in his post Not Necessarily The News: Writing News-Based Blog Posts. A couple of my favorites are relating the story to your personal life and leverage your own expertise. Using personal examples can make a story much more interesting and give it another perspective. Like my post on The Blogfathers about possibly killing severely damaged newborns which received this fantastic response from Vinnie. Using your expertise can also be a great way to share what you know. We are after all experts at something, aren't we? Relate the story to your own life. What personal impact does a story about gay marriage, or bullying, or the trade deficit have on you? What life experiences have you had that make that story compelling? How will your life be changed by the story? How might a piece of proposed legislation effect your life? This is the same tip as above, just from a different angle. The underlying them? Make the story personal. […]
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