Through their comments you can get valuable feedback to help you become one of the most popular blogs in your selected niche.

Now that we have established the importance of the participation of any site visitors to your blog, just how do we go about increasing this needed and wanted interactivity?

Here are 7 suggestions to keep in mind to help increase the number of comments you get on your blog.

Spice Up Your Blog Entries

Don’t be afraid to stir up your readers with a controversial blog entry. Postings like this stimulate both the intellect and the emotions so you should expect plenty of reactions. Remember the more interactive your site becomes the more traffic it tends to attract.

You Don’t Ask You Don’t Get

Always remember to ask for feedback or suggestions from your readers. Actively invite or encourage them to participate. In this way you are simply reminding them to leave comments and that it is OK. Try to make this a habit.

Acknowledge Comments

If the comment warrants a response always reply and don’t take criticism personally since it is only going to help you improve upon your blogging.

At the least be sure to thank people for their comments.

Personalize Your Responses

When replying to comments remember to use the commentators name to create more of a sense on familiarity with them. You now seem more like you are speaking directly to them, which by the way you are.

Post Consistently

It stands to reason that the more you post on your site the more reactions you are going to initiate from your blog readers. Maintaining a consistent blog posting schedule is important for keeping people returning, and of course commenting as well.

Monitor and Respond Regularly

Do your best at monitoring and responding to comments in a timely fashion whenever possible.

A Simple Thank You

As we mentioned above if nothing more thank your readers for their comments and let them know you appreciate each and every one. This type of positive reinforcement will encourage them to leave more.

Receiving blog comments not only indicate how well you have stimulated your blog reader but also gives you the opportunity to receive valuable feedback. Any comments responding to your blog posting by site visitors will usually indicate their satisfaction or lack thereof. Their reactions or preferences are especially critical if you operate a home business blog since it is now tied to your income. By incorporating the 7 suggestions we discussed above on a consistent basis your site should eventually become one of the more popular blogs in your niche. What is your ‘take’ on this?

If you stop and consider, most popular blogs are those that update frequently with fresh and interesting blog posts on a consistent basis. Think about that! What goes into accomplishing those tasks? Research, diligence, and persistence!

Now let’s consider the type of planning you need to do and mindset you’ll need to acquire to make your home business blog the success YOU want.

List Your Goals & Objectives

Be realistic by choosing objectives that you can achieve. Keep them with you for constant reference and as a reminder.

It is important here from a personal development standpoint to set goals that match up well with your talents and ambition. Targeting objectives that do not challenge you however, will therefore not motivate you and as a result bringing out your best is not likely to happen.

Continually challenge yourself, overcome these challenges and move on to even more challenging goals. This is how you’ll build a bigger and better business.

Think big and you’ll accomplish big but if you think small …nothing will happen!

Dispel Negative Thinking

Blogging results do not occur over night but instead take time to develop before you’re able to see the fruits of your labor. It is during these times of ‘non-visual’ results that the evil demons of negative thinking can plant their seeds and side track or derail our actions.

This type of thinking will only clutter your mind, fog your thinking, and dampen your spirit. Winners think positively and move forward while ‘others’ think of why they can’t succeed and ultimately find that negative thinking is usually the reason why.

Always think positively, but remember to add just a dash of realism! If mistakes occur learn from them, but don’t dwell on them!

Make Your Own Luck

I regard the word ‘luck’ as often times meaning what happens when careful preparation and the proper mindset meets skillful execution. You sight your objectives, you plan how to meet those objectives, and then you implement your plan and bingo objectives met! Now where’s the luck in that?

Achieving success with a home business blog is not the result of learning an art or being technologically savvy. The actual truth is blogging to make money is more about persistence. If you got the resolve, then you possess the key to success in making yours the best blog site in your niche. Once you’ve achieved that, you’ve achieved the independence you no doubt were seeking! Congratulations!

What we want to address here today is how to position your site to be one of the top blogs in your niche. No doubt the use of numerous SEO and blog design approaches can be very advantageous to positioning your site. Our focus here however will be on making the most out of every entry to the blogging platform itself.

Here are 7 blogging tips you can use when posting entries to increase the popularity of your site within your niche.

Let the Reader Know How You Feel

Show some attitude when applicable in your posting, after all it is your blog. Readers will enjoy your display of ‘personality’ and so will you since it will make your writing a lot more fun and therefore easier for you.

Keep Post Brief

Your post does not have to be article length. A composition of about 250 to 300 words will work just fine. This will help maintain the readers’ attention long enough to read the complete post and it won’t be as much effort for you to write. My own blog posting in this area tends to exceed the recommended limits. My efforts have me packing more information into my entries simply because I do not post on a daily basis.

Riveting Headline

Do what you can to capture the readers attention. Since the headline will be the first things they see, try to insure it is an accurate ‘portrayal’ of what the content holds for the reader.

When possible the use of shock or humor will work wonderfully, but be sure to deliver to the reader what your headline indicates.

Be Passionate

A show of enthusiasm or passion in your writings will serve to get your reader more involved in what they are reading. If your tone sounds bored it is only natural that the reader will quickly adopt this feeling and probably quit reading.

Also if you are passionate or excited about what it is you’re writing this will only make your efforts seem more like play and less like work.

Reader Friendly Format

Make your posts easy to read by using a blog design or layout that is easy on the eyes. Avoiding long paragraphs will lessen the eye strain of your readers.

The use of bold letters or underlining also makes it easier for the reader to scan your post for the highlights or important points of the post itself.

Also when possible, try to present your points in a listed fashion whether through the use of subtitles, numbers, or bullets points.

Optimize Your Post

Consider what it is your post is all about. By identifying the main point of the post you can isolate and select keywords or keyword phrases. By optimizing your post in such a way you now have made it easier for search engines to find your posted material.

The end result when you properly optimize your post will be more readers are able to find your post when they conduct a search for content such as yours.

More readers - sweet deal!

Ask For & Encourage Comments

At the end of every post ask readers what they thought of the information you provided. This encourages helpful feedback for you and more interaction by the readers themselves.

The feedback is something you can use to improve your blog while the increased interactivity by the reader will be more satisfying to them.

Your blog entries are the foundation upon which you will build your site. When you first create a blog your focus should be on any blog comments left at your site. There is no better barometer as to how your blog site is being received by readers online. By following the 7 blogging tips we discussed above you can position yourself to become one of the top blogs in your niche. There will be other techniques like the blog design, linking and SEO that will also help, but remember it all starts with the content you put on the site. What are your thoughts on this?

The recent past evolution of web 2.0 on the internet has now given article composers the chance to frequently practice their writing skills. Blog posting, social networking and even emails now offer the opportunity for many to practice writing ‘content without fluff’.

Here are 3 ways in which participation in social networking, blogging, or composing emails can make you a better writer.

Consolidating Your Thoughts

Why say something in 100 words that can be said in just 50? Your readers will greatly appreciate this.

It is always a good idea when writing articles to let them sit for a while upon completion. With a little thought and a fresh perspective you can always edit out words, phrases, and even paragraphs that aren’t needed. Getting your point across using as few words as possible will give those words you do use more impact.

Blog posts, emails, and even interacting at social networking sites will quickly ‘train’ you to quickly make your point. In fact Twitter, one of the most popular social network sites online limits your posts to just 140 characters.

Sticking to the Subject

Your ability to stick to the subject and get to the point is something every reader will appreciate. A common tendency for most writers is to sometimes deviate from the point of their articles. In fact, meandering away from your intended subject can irritate readers to the point where they don’t even finish reading what you wrote. The additional content doesn’t necessarily add any value to the article itself and therefore should be left out when possible. In fact as an author this is a time saver you will appreciate, especially if you submit articles frequently!

Once again when posting to blogs or emailing you want to get right to the point since these type readers don’t expect to be reviewing anything other then brief messages.

Write Plainly

Learn to write so everybody understands you and don’t try to impress them with your vocabulary. The need for a dictionary is not what your readers are looking for since this takes additional time and is inconvenient.

When sending quick emails, or writing short blog posts you have to focus on making your points quickly and in an easy to understand fashion.

Always write to and for the general audience and never assume that they have an appreciation for 25 cents words. This only makes their reading all the more difficult and less enjoyable.

The best way to improve your writing skills is through repetition. One of the most effective writing talents a person can develop is the ability to write less and say more. This is particularly true especially when you write an article since you want to capture the readers’ attention without boring them. As a rule of thumb good articles are short articles and this is why. So next time you ‘tweet’ somebody or sit down to write a blog post or email realize you’re also improving your writing skills as well.

Here are 5 strategies you can adopt or adapt for your needs and various applications when using content for promotional purposes online.

Author Your Own Content

Creating content that is uniquely your own is the best content to publish on the internet for any purpose. This type content contains your insights or personal experiences which are hard to duplicate. It does help however to have knowledge that is worth sharing on a particular subject when using this method.

Hire a Writer

A very common approach many employ when regularly using content as part of their online marketing strategy is to hire a ghostwriter. This frees up a lot of time so that you can focus on other areas of your business. It is recommended however to ALWAYS check the work you have done for you before publishing it online since your name will be on it.

Private Label Rights

Purchasing private label rights or PLR is another common avenue many take to help ‘compliment’ their content needs. You can easily locate niche specific content pertaining to just about any subject imaginable. It will be necessary to rework or modify this type content since there are others who have purchase and are likely using the same content.

Public Domain

Searching through an inexhaustible amount of content found in public domain work is another viable option for creating content. You can take anything from this vast library and modify it to better suit your needs. This is perfectly legal and acceptable to do and involves only an investment of time in the researching and modifying stages of the development process.

Credit Other Authors’ Content

Another quick and easy way for locating and using content is to simply take the work of another author that is applicable to your needs and use this content as is. It is very important however if you choose this route to credit the work to the appropriate author. It is highly unethical and frowned upon to attempt to pass off such work as your own.

Content development is crucial to the success of any online business. Without exception every internet business incorporates content into their online marketing strategy in some way, shape or form. Establishing a strategy for finding and/or creating content therefore is integral since the need for it will be consistent and ongoing. The 5 strategies suggested above have proven to be effective for anybody and everybody using content for promotional purposes online. These strategies and their respective ’sources’ offer an infinite amount of the type content you will, and do need to succeed with your online business.

Resource Blogs

Some blogs are designed with the intention to serve as a platform for information to help others locate various resources that are relative to a particular or custom niche. Now the blogger is usually not the one who created these resources but simply located them. The site itself is use to dispense the location of theses resources to the blog reader.

Authority Blogs

These sites are built upon the expertise and/or research efforts of the blogger that focuses on a particular field or subject. The content found here is normally extensive and the site is usually considered a reliable source for this type information. Creating a blog like this it is always best to be very well informed about the subject matter or very passionate about researching it. These sites are often used to make money blogging!

Social ‘Butterfly’ Blogs

The blogger with a site like this is able to maintain a presence at several online communities within a given niche. Although they may not be the top expert in their field they probably know the person who is and how to contact them. These type bloggers are very high profile and are normally very active within the community both on and offline. They are usually great facilitators for bringing together JV partners between and amongst various business blogs!

Media Blogs

A blog like this routinely utilizes different multi-media tools ranging from audio, video and text to present their content. If there is a new media ‘tool’ to be found it will likely be found at a site like this first.

Braking News Blogs

Depending upon the niche, blogs dedicated to delivering breaking news to the blog reader depend upon timeliness. Their ability to stay ‘connected’ is what sets them apart from the rest. Being able to be the first to consistently deliver accurate and timely news in any niche will almost certainly make yours one of the most popular blogs within that niche.

For anyone interested in developing a popular blog the first step is to always establish what your objectives are going to be. Determination of the niche is a beginning but you must also establish what your intentions are within the niche you select. At this point you are now considering the blog reader and how they would best like to view the content you produce. Most of the popular blogs online have adopted certain styles which have helped gain them their popularity with the blog reader. The 5 styles we reviewed above may differ greatly in their intent and delivery but all 5 are very well received by readers. This list serves as suggestions from which you may choose to alter and utilize for your own particular needs and purposes. By placing the stamp of your personality upon any of these styles you are now creating a blog that is uniquely you!

Here are 5 tips you can use to help establish a ‘unique’ identity that will help you attract the blog traffic you both want and need to be successful.

Topic Selection

It is always a good idea to select topics that have some sort of popularity with readers.

The topic you select to blog about will not necessarily make you unique but the approach you take to it will. The way you present these topics on your site will determine how much blog traffic you attract. Many people may blog about the same subject but you can gain uniqueness in the WAY you present it.

Opinions Offered

Do not be afraid to voice your opinion on any subject as long as you have some knowledge of what it is you are saying. People love to hear the opinions of others even if they do not always agree. Offer yours and watch the readers’ fire back comments in response. Many times your blog success is dependent upon ’stirring up a reaction’ from readers. This increase in interactivity on the site helps create an atmosphere of community and encourages others to join in on the discussions.

Content Quality

The content on your site should always contain some type of information that readers find intriguing, educational, humorous or useful. If it does not your readers will simply not return, end of story! This is especially true if you are blogging to make money since quality content will give you more credibility.

Timeliness of Information

How relevant and timely is the information being shared? If it is industry news how old is it and if it is industry knowledge how relevant is it at the time of its publication or posting?

Simply said the more timely or relevant your content is the more popular you will become which translates into more blog traffic.

Personality

Everybody has a unique personality therefore use it to your advantage on your blog. The ‘tone’ of which posts are delivered can make any blog distinctive. Whether it is humor, sarcasm, witty or a tutorial type of delivery it is always best to match the personality with the type content that is being posted. This can add ‘entertainment’ value or ‘intrigue’ to an otherwise boring piece of content.

The 5 blogging tips we discussed above will help you to capture your own unique identity or personal brand which will influence the level of blog success you enjoy. The uniqueness you achieve will serve to help attract the blog traffic you need and if you are blogging to make money this will be especially helpful. By following these suggestions or even adding your own little ‘deviation’, should put you on track to crafting an identity people will notice. What you do with this identity is entirely up to you!

Here is a discussion comparing the pros and cons between posting schedules concerning their frequencies and how readers and content may be affected.

1 - Frequency/Quantity

Strengths

a) Continuously fresh content is being posted to the blog.

b) The more frequent the blog entries the more frequently search engines will ‘crawl’ your site. This normally results in a higher search engine ranking.

c) The more entries that are posted the more likely the content will be shorter in length and therefore easier and quicker to read.

Weakness

a) It stands to reason that the more frequent the posting the less research and depth the material will contain leading to a decrease in content quality or originality.

b) Posting quite frequently can also lead to a tendency to run short on relevant material. This may create ‘temporary’ circumstances when content is not relative to the theme of the blog.

c) Once again the ‘rush’ to post an entry may result in content that contains information with as much depth as you would expect to find in a comment left on a blog. When your aim is to make money blogging your posts should be more useful to the reader since you expect them to spend money at your site.

2 - Length/Quality

Strengths

a) When posting infrequently blog entries tend to be longer in length and contain more comprehensive quality content. This is especially helpful when your intentions are to make money blogging since readers can see more of an investment of your efforts and contributions. This tends to have a more positive influence on their purchasing decisions.

b) With more time between entries there is generally more insight included in the content due to the time invested in developing it.

c) Posting less frequently to your blog may in fact be more appealing to many readers who have hectic schedules. This gives readers more ‘breathing’ room between their visits allowing them to keep pace with any new updates.

Weakness

a) Many who visit blogs tend to rush through what they read due to eye strain, time schedules, multi-tasking or other reasons. As a result of this readers may lack an appreciation for any additional research or depth a post may offer since they may prefer a ‘lighter’ and quicker read.

b) By posting less there will be fewer visits by search engines which can result in a decrease in blog traffic due to lower search engine rankings.

c) If a post appears longer in length after an initially scanning it, some visitors may opt to skip over it completely. This is not unusual especially on the internet where people tend to ’scan’ content more than they actually read it.

Although a frequent blog posting schedule is needed in the very early stages of its development that may not be the case once the site is established. There appears to be some merit to posting infrequent blog entries as long as content quality remains high. Once your site establishes a regular flow of blog traffic these readers place more importance on quality than quantity. Frequency seems to be of more importance early in the blog building stage to simply attract ‘attention’ but quality tends to better sustain the popularity of the site. In the end it all comes down to what your readers have become accustomed to but one thing does remain consistent, your content must be worth their time.

Of course it is always a good start to strive towards making sure that any blog entries posted to your site contains some type of interesting or useful information. This is a great way to attract readers but it is just a start! The way you ‘deliver’ your information is what compels the blog reader to RETURN!

Here are 3 ‘ingredients’ that only you as an individual can add to your blog posting that will make it stand out and attract a ‘hungry’ mob looking for more.

Communicate Your Thoughts

Being able to convey your thoughts in a clear manner is critical. You do not want your readers misunderstanding you or worse NOT understanding you at all. The last thing you want to do is to make readers struggle just to try and understand what it is you are saying. If you manage a business blog you want to be especially sure you communicate clearly since your income is at stake as well!

Any successful blog presents its content in a way that is more like a casual conversation. Using short sentences and paragraphs without the use of an extensive vocabulary is highly effective at ‘easily’ communicating your thoughts. This is a practice you should strive to follow whether you run a business blog or are just pursuing a passion. In either case you want to be understood!

Insight

Your blog posting should also include any opinions or experience you can share with the reader on the topic. Yes readers are interested in your point of view so share it with them when the opportunity presents itself.

When you stop to consider it, many of our opinions are formed by the opinions of others, so let yours be known. If the blog reader has an opinion they can ‘fire’ back at you by leaving a comment.

Make Points Quickly

Most blog entries are relatively short in length and therefore (usually) get to the point of their post quickly. Do not post blog entries that read like suspense novels by leaving readers ‘hanging’ until the end. Let people know where you are going with the topic as early on in the content as possible.

Most of the popular blogs you see all display an ability to communicate even the most ‘generic’ news in a way that appeals to the blog reader. It is not always WHAT they say in their blog entries but HOW they say it that makes them so popular! The 3 ‘ingredients’ we spoke of above are something that can ONLY be supplied by the individual blogger, and this is what makes the site so unique. Paying more attention to ‘how’ you deliver your messages and ‘adding’ a little more of the ‘element of you’ will help to keep readers returning.

Here are 3 guidelines for writing any type of content online that will help to improve your writing so that you may more fully engage your readers.

Speak Directly to Them

One way to improve your writing and make your content more intriguing is to address the readers directly when discussing your topic. Mentioning to them that ‘they know what it feels like’ or ‘we have all been there before’ draws people deeper into your discussion of the content. It is quite natural for somebody when they are addressed this way to immediately ‘reflect’ upon what it is you are referring to. When people do this, it makes them feel more personally involved in what it is they are reading. You are including them into the conversation.

Offer Opinions

EVERYBODY likes to hear the opinions of others; this is quite simply human nature. Now this is not to say everybody will agree with yours, but it will get their interest and possibly even a strong reaction as well. Styles of writing like this depend upon ‘baiting’ people with your perspectives and than they can either elect to agree or disagree. Bloggers, who are often posting content daily, find this particular style quite comfortable.  In any event people most likely will have an opinion of their own, and this is what you are counting on. Writing in this fashion usually makes for interesting reading since it tends to ‘provoke’ a reaction good or bad.

Ask Questions/Opinions

This really tends to draw people into the ‘conversation’ since everybody likes to be asked their opinion. This also makes readers feel more involved since the mere act of posing a question is one of the most direct ways to address person. Questions require answers but to give an answer the question must first be heard, therefore this tends to get the readers’ attention.

Anyone who publishes content online is probably aware that their readers find certain writing strategies more appealing than others. The styles of writing that tend to make for the most interesting reading all succeed at getting readers more deeply involved in the content. The 3 guidelines for writing we discussed above all serve to help improve your writing by learning to speak ‘directly’ to your audience as opposed to simply speaking at them. Incorporating this strategy into anything you may compose will better help to ‘draw’ readers more deeply into your content.