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Ten (10) Ways to Become a Better Blogger
Imagine how big your list would be. Think about what it would mean when you were ready to exit the business – imagine how much money you’d make selling your “authority” corner of the web.
All of this is within your reach – especially if you follow these 10 suggestions for becoming a better blogger:
1. Survey your readers to find out what they want
Adding a poll or short survey to your blog not only makes your blog interactive (which is a good thing), it also gives you an idea of what kind of content and solutions your readers want! It helps you to target your paid products as real solutions to the desires of your subscribers.
2. Give your readers info that they’d gladly pay for
Just because your blog is free doesn’t mean you should post content that’s not worth anything. On the contrary, you should post valuable, helpful, relevant content – the kind of solutions you’re market is already paying for – on your blog. By doing this, you can build trust and establish yourself as an expert in your niche. Great free content leads to increased sales of paid products.
3. Write about hot or controversial topics to spur discussion
When there’s a controversy going on in your niche, grab a side and blog about it. Push a few emotional buttons. Then create a call to action at the end of your post where you specifically ask your readers for their comments and feedback. The more emotionally charged the post, the more likely it is that you’ll get comments – regardless of the stance you take.
4. Join the blogosphere discussions
Your blog is not an island. Start visiting and commenting on other blogs in your niche and join the community discussions. You can comment directly on their blogs or better yet, write a response on your blog using a trackback link.
5. Optimize your posts for the search engines
You don’t have to optimize every post you make. But if you make a point to optimize at least one post per week, you’ll see a steady increase in traffic. Often new bloggers don’t realize the SEO effect of simply publishing unique, authoritative, and relevant niche information as blog posts and comments.
Tip: Use a tool like WordTracker or the Google Adwords Keyword Suggestion Tool to uncover your niche keywords. Often it pays to choose words that have low competition or that are long-tail and very descriptive. Then include your keywords two or three times for every 100 words of content. But don’t practice what some call “keyword stuffing” (adding too many keywords to the point that the narrative becomes unnatural and “spammy.”)
6. Arouse curiosity with password-protected posts
Your visitors can see that your blog has a lot of good content. But then they notice that you lock up your best content behind password protected posts (with the passwords only being available to your subscribers). You can bet curiosity will get the best of many of your readers . . . and they’ll subscribe to unearth addition valuable content.
7. Learn to create killer headlines
People will decide whether to read your post or not based on your headline. As such, use headlines that include words like how to, you, amazing, secrets and discover. I like to keep a swipe file of my own headlines and those created by others that seem especially enticing.
8. Vary your posting style (some long, some short, etc)
Don’t always post a 400 word “how to” article. Instead, mix things up by posting articles of different lengths and different styles. I prefer most of my posts to be in the 700-1200 word range, but that’s not a “set-in-cement” standard. I have found over the years that short 300 word posts that many bloggers use are simply a way for them to rush through this task of posting new content often. Your posts need to be long enough to be able to give value and be at least somewhat detailed. By the way, this post is 904 words long.
9. Interact with your readers by answering their comments
Your comment section isn’t just a place for your readers to talk amongst themselves – it’s also a great place for you to interact with your readers. Since people buy from those they know, like and trust, this simple act of interacting will grow your income. It will also set you apart from almost all of your niche competitors as it takes time to give individual attention to your prospects and customers. However, I have found that it is time well spent and it pays dividends over the long term.
10. Make blogging a part of your daily routine
Add “write a blog post” to each and every daily to-do list until it becomes a habit. If you write just one new and unique blog post per day, in a year you’ll have 365 posts – and a whole lot more readers, subscribers and income if you set things up correctly!
In summary, creating a big, popular blog isn’t a matter of doing one thing. Instead, you can create a better blog (and become a better blogger) by consistently taking a series of small but purposeful steps.
To you online business success,
Steve Browne
www.SteveBrowneDirect.com