You used to make fun of bloggers, didn’t you?
Even up until a few years ago, the “blogosphere” was seen as the last refuge of the modern crackpot. The typical blogger, in your mind, was an ageing 30-something or 40-something year old man ranting about an obscure political cause while living in his parent’s basement. Or maybe your picture of the blogger archetype was of a 16 year-old know-it-all dweeb reporting on her latest (mundane) affairs at school.
Well, that was then. We are all bloggers now.
If you need to do SEO you also need to know about blogging and social networking. These helpful blogging tips will help you take your blog to the next level:
1. Create a stupendous headline.
Our attention spans have never been shorter. You’ve got to get your message out! Be specific, outrageous, and useful all at the same time. Here are some good headline examples:
- 914 reasons why my professor is an idiot.
- Am I losing my teeth?
- Is my child’s kindergarten teacher on drugs?
Look at those blog titles. Don’t they catch your attention? Don’t you want to click on them and find out what they’re all about? Don’t forget to center your title around your SEO keyword too, you’ll need that in the title!
2. Don’t get too tech-y.
Unless you’re blogging about computers or electronics or something like that, don’t get too technical. Write for a broad, general audience. This will expand your viewership and improve your SEO. If you do have to get into some technical mumbo jumbo, at least be amusing about it, and keep it simple. Add visuals, such as a graph or a photograph.
3. Use bullet points and white space and a consistent style.
People scan blogs. They don’t read them as if they’re novels. To that end, your blog should be easily digestible. Use bullet points, a consistent (easy to read!!) style, and plenty of white space to suck readers in and keep them suckling at your blog for more content.
4. Serve a (real, very specific) need.
Want to write about celebrity gossip? Good luck! You’ll be competing with the snarkiest, sassiest, and well-researched bloggers on the Web. These people have sources that you don’t. Some even have whole teams of researchers.
That said, there’s still room for you. You just need to pick an area that you can dominate — something specific. Something you’d love to write about. Something you can generate tons of posts about. Pick a good niche. Don’t get too obscure about it. Above all, make it marketable and monetizable!
5. Ignore everything.
The blogosphere is a virtual wild west. You will read lots of contradictory advice. Some of it will be right. Some of it will be wrong. What’s right and wrong today will change by tomorrow.
So what to do?
When in doubt, trust your instincts. Go crazy. Just get stuff up online, and get feedback from people that you respect.
