photo by Matt?!
Cyberspace is filled with millions of blogs. And a steady current of these informational pages feed into the mainstream everyday with the potential to connect with millions of readers. So, why do some blogs generate electricity and create a receptive audience while others barely ignite a spark of interest?
I searched out some of the more popular blogs, and found what they had in common. Here are 3 things I came up with to help you make your blog shine:
1. Make it personal. That doesn’t mean to share the details of your trip to the dentist. (unless maybe your blog is on personal hygiene). What I mean by personal is to have your personality stamped on your blog. If readers saw 25 different posts from 25 different bloggers, they should easily be able to pick yours out.
Whether you have the sense of humor of an 8-year old boy, or you are an intellectual snob, or you are a tell-it-like-it-is Right Wing Redneck, let that come out each and every time. Just as people like a certain tv show because of the characters they can count on to behave and talk and act a certain way, the dedicated blog reader will come to expect your personality to be consistent. Do not disappoint them.
2. Be generous. Many “famous” bloggers share their platform from time to time. They put a guest blogger’s post on their blog, by introducing them to their audience, and provide a short bio with their website or blog at the end of the post.
This is wonderful for the featured blogger, who gets instant respect and recognition. But, it also good for the established blogger who introduced the guest. It gives the host blogger the opportunity to provide fresh, related material to his loyal audience. This type of arrangement also gives the busy blogger a needed break every now and then. Lastly, it is just makes sense to connect with fellow bloggers who produce posts you love. Networking by acknowledging a fellow blogger is powerful, and whatever you give, you will get back a hundred times over.
3. Tell Stories. Again, people may not want the details of your colonoscopy, but readers like to be entertained. And there is nothing quite so entertaining (or enlightening) as real life experiences.
Use your imagination to take you there. Depending on your topic of the day, go back to when you were a kid, and retell an encounter you had with your soccer coach. Or fast forward to present time when you unexpectedly ran into an old friend at Starbucks. Learn to pick out the details that are pertinent to your point and embellish. Your readers will keep coming back for more.
Once you get in the habit of practicing these three tips, you will already be one step ahead of the competition. Blogs are definitely the current venue to shine. They are provide a great creative outlet for the blogger, and they provide a causal and informative arena for the reader.
Readers are also attracted to the interactive nature of blogs. Imagine what it would be like to have a dialogue between you and your favorite character on tv. My conversation would probably be with Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson, Kyra Sedgewick’s character on The Closer. As a woman entrepreneur, I really appreciate confident, sexy, and professional women. However, I just might suggest to Brenda that she ease up on her FBI husband. I wonder how she would respond.
Till next time…happy blogging.
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Kim McGinnis, Bring You Success