Last time I went through a few blogs I follow and discussed what makes them interesting. We can put this all together and come up with a list for what makes a ‘great’ blog. Here are my 7 tips:
- Blog regularly – once you commit to a schedule, stick to it. This means you need to be realistic on how often you can blog. If you attempt to blog daily, people get used to daily content. If you miss days as posting daily is too demanding, people will slowly stop following you. Probably best to stay ahead of the game by a few posts at least.
- Be focused – blogs are usually targeted to one specific area. This is to give you a chance to build an audience. Think about it, people read stuff they’re interested in. They come to you for information on a certain topic. if you post five times and each time you discuss different genres what’s the likelihood of people returning
- Participate in various fora – the Mashable example was highlighted because of this. How will more people know about you if you stick to your own little corner of the web?
- Educate people – I think as humans we enjoy learning. So teach people with your blog. It is a great opportunity. If a person feels they’ve learnt something, what’s the chance they will return? But be careful not to b.s. Focus on what you know or can research. If you’re not ready to discuss a certain topic, delay it until you are.
- Collaborate – following on from above, if you don’t have knowledge about a certain topic why not try and get someone to help you write it? If that person has a site that can increase your internet presence even better. Find opportunities to write for other blogs/site that could boost your own traffic.
- Be yourself – for me the art to writing is being able to inject some of your personality into what you are talking about. People feel engaged and more likely to read through to the end. I think this comes best out of practice. Before starting this blog, my writing was limited to daily drilling reports….
- Be patient! – you will not become an internet sensation overnight. It could take months, maybe even years. You may only need that one post that takes the Internet by storm. So persevere!
So how am I doing? I am struggling on points 3 and 5. I need to raise my own internet presence more. I am a little bit stuck at the moment in my own sphere. But at the same time though this blog has a purpose, I am not too fussed about my traffic. The whole writing process is helping me develop my own thoughts as well as a structure on what to focus on now I am unemployed. I am not aiming to become an authority in the area. And heck, improving my own writing skills isn’t a bad thing?
Over the next few posts I’ll deal with how I am going about raising my internet profile. Do you think I have missed any key things about making a ‘great’ blog? Let me know in the comments!
J
Junaid Rahim 