There are literally millions of blogs on the great wide web with more being started every day, but for every blog that is started only a few are able to successfully gain a substantial foothold in the competitive field. There is no guaranteed method for making an addictive blog that will attract a lot of readers, but there are proven techniques that can increase your odds.
Graffiti Artists are Professionals Too
There are blogs about everything (maybe) from Fortune 500 companies to criminal activities. Even if your blog topic doesn’t seem professional, it should still look like it. This doesn’t equal boring, the format and scheme of the blog should match its content but still look like a real website that someone took some time to develop. A lot of blog hosting sites like Word Press, Blog Spot, and Blogger offer packages that look clean and professional, and you can still personalize them if you don’t have the know-how for designing your own site. Professional also means submitting content that is free of errors and typos. Easy mistakes can ruin your credibility in a hurry, just look at Todd Akin’s political career if you need an example.
What Makes Halloween Awesome?
Mini candy! Your blog should mimic bite size candies by hosting bite sized paragraphs. The paragraph above is even too big for my liking and walls of text will just scare the average reader off. Try funneling information into some of the following:
- Bulleted or numbered lists! Very easy to read and can convey a lot of information quickly. Do as I say, not as I do, and use more than one bullet – three is a good minimum.
Utilize Subheads: These breaks up your post and a reader can quickly scan to see what you’ll be covering. They don’t have to be stagnant and can try to grab attention like I am attempting.
For Every Post, a Page: Rather than pushing old posts underneath new ones until users have a millimeter tall scroll bar, give each new post its own page. Then you can link between relevant posts, sort by titles and topics, and start developing a functioning website. This makes it much easier for users to navigate and older posts will have a longer life since Google ranks by pages, not by a site.
Speaking of Google: learn some basic SEO (Search Engine Optimization) techniques and keep those in mind when you’re coming up with titles and when you start networking. This will help get more traffic to your blog which will hopefully mean more dedicated readers.
Not Everyone Likes Sauerkraut
But those who do, love it! Your blog should cater to a niche rather than the masses because the cliché saying is right; you can’t please everybody. Targeting a specific group of people will actually increase your readership faster than trying to spread out. Plus, once you have a specific group following your blog you can begin to branch out.
Eat Plenty of Fiber
You want to be regular in all parts of your life, including your blog. Set a schedule, and stick to it! Your readers should know when to look for new posts, not just when you feel like it. Take the immensely popular YouTuber, Jenna Marbles, for example. Her subscribers KNOW that she’ll have a new video up every Wednesday. Even if that week’s content isn’t her best, she still gets millions of views by maintaining a strict schedule.
Stay Current
I swear, I am not trying to talk about bowel movements, but unless you are a history buff and blogging about the industrial revolution your blog should keep up with current affairs. This helps with SEO techniques as people search for breaking news items and will help to generate more traffic to your blog. Even if you are putting out creative pieces you should still try to tie them into current affairs that are relative to your niche.
There are plenty of more ways to make an addictive blog, but keeping it relevant, short, regular, and professional will set you up splendidly for success. Just remember that blogging is a labor of love and that it takes time. Many blogs out there aren’t even maintained anymore; don’t fall by the wayside like them.
Know the Guest Author
Carla Eaton has a B.A. in Mass Media and writes on the topics of business, technology, and design. She currently blogs for inkfarm.com, who specializes in Canon printer ink.