The Secret to Great Blogging

OK, there may not be one secret to GREAT blogging. But there are some things that can help you get the most out of your blog posts.

Determine the Purpose of Your Blog

What do you want to get out of your blog? Do you want to get press coverage, other bloggers to notice you, add keywords to your site, improve your internal linking, vent about a topic? Do you want your blog to go viral on social media? My guess is you probably want all of these things, right? But it’s not really that easy. First determine your goal, following that you can create a blog strategy that will help you accomplish your goal.

Keep your Demographic in Mind

When writing a blog, possibly the most important thing to focus on is tailoring it correctly to your reader. Write on the topics they like, write in a voice they like to read, and engage them as you would in a real world situation.

Comment on Hot Buttons in Your Industry

If you’re going to comment on something, make sure it is worth commenting on. There are always hot items in the news that related to your industry or niche.

By commenting on those topics, more people will find your post interesting and want to read it.

Don’t be Afraid to Have an Opinion

Make sure to make strong points and put your opinion out there. Now keep in mind, this does not mean that you should formulate a ridiculous opinion just to drive traffic and get noticed. What it means is don’t be afraid to say what you really think. Be yourself and your blog will shine.

Write Like you Talk

Blogs can be very informal, which is nice. I mean think about it. No one really likes trying to decode incredibly elaborate and dense vocabulary. Make your points easy to understand, give your post flow, and don’t be afraid to crack a joke every now and then.

Add Keywords

If you infuse your blog with keywords it will help you SEO efforts and help people find the blog online. Keywords should be placed in the Meta Keyword area, in title tags and throughout the text. While this is important, make sure not to go keyword crazy, because that can diminish the quality of your content.

Add Pictures or Video

Everyone likes to look at pictures or watch videos, so why wouldn’t you put a few in your blog? Spend a dollar or two on a istock image or throw a quick video on your site. Not only will your users like it, so will the search engines.

Promote your Blog

Once you have written a blog, don’t expect people to find it on their own. Sure, Google will most likely index it in a few days and send a visitor or two. But there is plenty you can do on your own.

Promote your blog in social media outlets like Twitter, Linkedin, Digg, StumbleUpon, Facebook, Technorati, etc. If it warrants it, create a press release from the blog and link back to the blog. Let other bloggers know about your blog. Promote, promote, promote! That is how your get people to view your content.

Good Titles and H2s

In today’s online space people’s attention span is shorter than ever. Make sure your title is eye catching and gives a good indication of what the article will be about. Also, if you are writing a longer blog, make sure to title each individual section. The reader will appreciate this because it will allow them to quickly navigate to the area of the blog they are interested in.

Summary

Blogging is an art and becoming a good or GREAT blogger can take time. Not every post becomes viral or gets great traffic. Keep at it and you’ll accomplish your blogging goals eventually.

More posts on how to get the most out of your blogging to come soon.

John E Lincoln