Banking on Your Blogging

Posting blog entries consistently is one of the starting points to getting your site notice by readers. When you first create a blog you want to be sure that your post are thought provoking, informative, or at the very least create a stir. A great way to judge the reaction to your posts is in both the number and nature of blog comments left at your site.

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?

Blog posting consistency is one thing all bloggers need to maintain in order to attract and retain traffic. Another variable involved concerning posting is the frequency of which fresh blog entries appear on a site. There is little doubt that in the early stages of blog building the frequency of posting is a major factor in the growth rate of a site. In order to attract any blog traffic you must have posts on your site for readers to view. Obviously in the very early stages you need to build up an ‘inventory’ of content therefore your posting must be more frequent. Once a blog has begun to attract a regular flow of traffic however is posting frequency still a factor?

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.

Popular blogs get that way for a reason and looking around on the internet it appears this popularity stems from a particular style of blog posting. Now I am not referring to the frequency of their blog entries but actually something more subtle than that. Most every successful blog displays an ability to communicate effectively with their readers.

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.