The Newbie’s Guide To Spectacular Post Titles
August 20, 2008
This is a guest post by Jason - Jason Pereira blogs at The University Kid… grab the feed!
Good content is everything when running a blog. Well, that’s if you want real people to actually read it, of course.
The problem with most new bloggers is that they may start out with fascinating content, but no one reads it… why? Probably because their post titles aren’t up to scratch, and even though your post may be the greatest blog post of all time, if no one reads beyond the title it’s not worth much.
Here’s some tips to supercharge your post title and thus make sure that people scroll down to see the rest of the post.
Use List Titles
Titles that use list formats usually do well. For example ‘7 Hot Ways To Boost RSS Subscriber Count’ would do far better than just ‘Ways To Get More RSS Subscribers’ – even if the posts are the same!
Lists are not just far easier to read, but also have a better chance of being picked up by other blogs as people read it, debate it and add points of their own.
Over-exaggerate
Don’t do this all the time, as overdoing it will hurt your blog; however a good way to create posts that people read are by using powerful words.
Which title below would you be more apt to read?
DESTROY Your Competition – Read Below!
or
How You Can Better Your Competition
For me, it’s the former. Everyone loves superlatives, especially in the world of blogging – heck, I’d rather ‘destroy’ my competition than just ‘better’ it.
Exact Amounts
If you’re writing a post about increasing metrics, why not show how exactly your tips have benefited you? Here’s another example – which would you be more likely to read?
Learn How I Made $550.00 Yesterday With Craigslist Marketing
or
Make Money On Craigslist
Despite the former being longer, I’d probably opt for it – and this is whether you’re talking about any kind of metric, be it revenue, traffic, subscribers etc.
These are three simple, yet effective ways that I have personally used to make sure that people do click through and read my posts – and guess what, I tend to receive more comments than blogs of a similar level due to this.
Use post titles that appeal to your readers and evoke their emotions and you’ll get them reading, commenting and subscribing. Who said blogging was difficult?
photo credit: jonrawlinson
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The All-Time Best Blogging Articles of June 2008
June 6, 2008
Greetings, and welcome to round three, the third edition, of Super Blogging’s The All-Time Best Blogging Articles. This is a group writing project that any blogger in this niche can join in on and have their article featured in the extensive collection you’re about to read. This has created an amazing resource for everyone out there, so thank you to all of those who sent in your submissions and posts to be shared! I hope you like June 2008’s The All-Time Best Blogging Articles. Enjoy!
Content & Writing
Four Surefire Ways to Write Magnetic Web Content at Search Engine Journal.
Take Your Starting Positions… at Punctuality Rules.
…And the Finish Line at Punctuality Rules.
Traffic Generation & Exposure
125+ Super Tips to Increasing Sticky Blog Traffic at JobMob.
10 Tips of Commenting in a Blog, a Good Style of Linkbait at Tech at Hand.
Site Development
Starting a New Blog? WAIT! at Legal Andrew.
22 Essential Habits Towards Blogging Success at Lost Art of Blogging.
Effective Linking With Your Old Post in 10 Steps at Tech at Hand.
The Comment Etiquette: The Guide to Proper Blog Commenting at Lost Art of Blogging.
3 Surefire Ways to Run a Totally Radical Blog Contest at Contest Blogger.
See How Easily You Can Beat the Daily Blogging Gremlins at Great Circle.
How to Get Back Into the Blogging Groove at On The Horizon.
Making Money Online
7 Ways to Profit from a Blog at Blogtrepreneur.
The Downside of Starting a Blog for Money at Blogtrepreneur.
20+ Tips to Earn More Revenue From Google Adsense at eTechBuzz.
Make Money Online With PepperJam at VHSG.
SEO
Top 10 Basic SEO Tips to Build a High Traffic Website at eTechBuzz.
The Art of Creating Titles at Learning SEO Basics.
Learn SEO Copywriting at Learning SEO Basics.
How Did I Get #1 from Google SERP in Manny VS Barrera Fight Result at Tech at Hand.
Social Media
Should You Ask for Social Media Votes? at Traffikd.
The Costs of Over Reliance on Social Media Traffic at Traffikd.
Marketers Guide to del.icio.us at Traffikd.
The Success Checklist I Used to Hit #1 on del.icio.us at GroupWritingProjects.
Twitter: Why It’s So Great And How To Effectively Use It at Lost Art of Blogging.
Blogging Platforms
Blogger Vs. Wordpress: Who’s Got the Upper Hand? at BloggersGuide.
The Top 5 Reasons I Left Wordpress For Blogger at Smithereens.
My Blog is Finally Talking to Me Again! at MeAndMyDrum.
Cool Tools & Sites
101 Essential Blogging Resources at Blogtrepreneur.
Join The iReply Movement at MeAndMyDrum.
Secrets Revealed: How I Pick Domain Names at MeAndMyDrum.
Google Analytics Step Two: Don’t Track Yourself! at Linden’s Pensieve.
Cool Technology: IWantSandy.Com at Linden’s Pensieve.
Diigo: Paper-and-pen Mark-up Meets Web 2.0 at Linden’s Pensieve.
Miscellaneous
Does Your Website Have Terms of Use? at Andrew Flusche.
Five Questions For Would-Be Bloggers at BloggersGuide.
10 Reasons Why Blogging is Like Dating t Romance Tracker.
Your Online Writing Life: Protect Your Reputation - And Future (Part One) at Colloquium.
Connected Lives (Part One) at Colloquium.
A Cautionary Tale: The First Amendment, Good Taste, and Writers’ Rights at Colloquium.
Why Do You Blog? at On The Horizon.
Thanks, I hope you enjoyed this amazing collection of articles written by some great bloggers. If you liked it, please consider stumbling this page or sharing it with your friends. If you missed out on entering this time, subscribe to Super Blogging so you’ll be in the loop and know when to enter or read for the next group writing project!
To browse the complete collection of resources of The All-Time Best Blogging Articles, see below:
PART ONE: November 2007
PART TWO: January 2008
PART THREE: June 2008
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10 Reasons Why a Blog is Better Than a Website
February 25, 2008
Photo credits: jurvetson.
So many people wonder whether they should start their online hobby or business as a blog or a static website. The two have many differences, but I honestly believe that in most cases a person should start a blog instead of a website. Some still remain unconvinced, especially since blogs are newer on the scene. However, these are the reasons why I think a dynamic blog is better than a static website.
1. Blogs are easier to setup and manage.
A blog can be installed with Wordpress, the best blogging platform and my choice, in five minutes. You don’t have to get up close and personal with coding it, all of the core files are already there for you and all you have to do is upload them and create a database (which takes two seconds). You can find an amazingly beautiful theme or design, upload it in one minute, and if you want you can easily tweak it. You can login to the user-friendly dashboard and write your content, manage your categories and comments, change your options or blogroll, and much more without dealing with anything over the top and complicated. The blog platform does all the work with the technical stuff while you get to enjoy writing for your site and running it however you like.
2. Blogs retain interest.
Because blogs are updated all the time and it’s easy to browse through them and all of their content, that makes them a favorite with online visitors and readers. A visitor is much more likely to return to a blog than a static website. Blogs catch and hold attention and it’s easier for the reader to get lost in one for hours since the content is navigated the way it is. That can happen with a website, but it’s a lot less likely. Blogs are at more of a personal level, and all of the posts are easily accessible and featured for the readers. Instead of a website where visitors have to crawl through page after boring page, consider a blog and keep your readers longer and have them coming back all the time for more.
3. Blogs are more search engine friendly.
Just like they’re reader friendly for being updated all the time and having a huge collection of interlinked content, they’re search engine friendly for those same reasons as well. It’s not always true, but more than likely that a blog will rank better in search engines than your average website. The more a site is updated, the more often a search engine bot will come back and crawl your site so they can quickly index the new things you have to offer. And when a bot is coming to crawl your site, it will have many more options with a blog since all of the content is linked to and featured everywhere. Besides those things, blogs are easy to optimize, especially with all the plugins available (see All In One SEO Pack). And blogs attract links more than static websites as well, which will help you out in the search engines too.
4. Blogs gain an audience more easily.
Just like how I mentioned that blogs retain interest, they also more easily gain an audience. With the abundance of content and such a navigable site, readers will like your blog. A blog will also be found for the first time by visitors because they are usually much more popular than a static website. If you write good content and provide things of interest, you’ll get noticed easily. And once you start building a readerbase, your readers will help promote your blog for you. People will talk about you, link to you, and grow your blog for you. Usually when I first learn about a blog I learn about it through someone else or another a blog I read. People like to stay on top of blogs about topics they’re interested in, and that’s easier to do with a blog. And for an audience, the easier it is the better.
5. Blogs help build author and visitor interaction.
When you have a static website your visitors aren’t going to be known to you like they would with a blog. With a blog, anyone who likes your page or post can comment on it. You’ll start to learn your readers’ names and their own blogs or sites. You’ll have conversations with them and discuss topics through the comments or email. And even if a reader doesn’t comment, you might see them voting for your content a lot via social media, their avatar might be popping up a lot on your MyBlogLog widget, or you might be getting linked to by them and see it via your trackbacks and incoming links. As your blog grows you’ll come to recognize hundreds to even thousands of your readers, with dozens becoming people you know much more closely.
6. Blogs can be made to look however you want.
Like I mentioned earlier, you can achieve any look you want with your blog, WITHOUT having to get up close and personal with the coding. There are so many free themes, plugins, and resources available that are already built and coded for you - all you usually have to do is upload them and click the ‘activate’ button. If you find a theme you like you can upload it, and if necessary, tweak it here and there to make it perfect for your blog. Plugins can manage and run things automatically without you having to lift a finger after you install one. There are plugins that work behind the scenes and block spam, create navigation systems, generate sitemaps, and enforces WWW or non-WWW for your blog. Then there are visual ones, like plugins that encourage visitors to subscribe, create contact forms, rotate advertisement banners, let you create polls for your blog, and thousands more. A blog can look however your heart desires - it can even look like a static website if that’s what you want, while still being managed much more easily.
7. Blogs allow readers to subscribe via RSS.
RSS readers are one of the most valuable things a blog can have. Subscribers are people who love your blog and what you write so much that they want it delivered to their feed aggregator or their email inbox each day. They are people who are targeted to your content and are probably your blog’s biggest fans. By allowing people to subscribe, developing regular readers is even easier than it was before. The amount of RSS subscribers a blog has is one of the ways to determine how popular and valuable it is. Besides providing value to you, it provides obvious value to your readers as well and makes things much easier for them to read everything you write.
8. Blogs are popular with social media sites.
Since blogs have a bigger sense of community and the blog owner and readers interact, (as well as bloggers interacting with other bloggers), you’d know blogs are popular with social media sites, like Super Blogging’s readers’ favorite StumbleUpon. Since you’re already building relationships with the readers who come to your blog, it’s easy to encourage social media votes and promote your blog this way. Loyal visitors and blogging friends will often vote for your best content, and using a blog over a website content is easier to promote.
9. Blogs build links much more easily.
And again, since blogs have such a huge community and personal aspect to them, they gather much more links. Bloggers try to link to other blogs as much as possible, not only because this helps build exposure and traffic (since a blogger is alerted whenever they receive a link), but also because blogs are huge sources of easily browsed information to direct their readers to. At Super Blogging you might notice I do weekly roundups called “The Best of the Blogosphere”. I do this to point my readers to fantastic content from other bloggers, and also to get those other bloggers’ attention. And since blogs collect many links each day or week, they often develop better rankings in search engines as well.
10. Blogs are better for a million more reasons.
What other reasons do you need? They’re easier to setup, easier to manage, have thousands of free themes and plugins to install, build a loyal readerbase quicker, are promoted by others, retain interest, are more popular with search engines AND social media, are easily customized, promote interaction, offer RSS subscriptions, and much more. Websites used to be the only choice, but blogs are quickly gaining popularity to overrank them. It always depends on the goal you want to achieve, but 95% of the time I’d tell you to start a blog.
Did I leave any out? Please let me know if forgot any reasons stating why a blog is better than a website, or if you think differently, please tell me why in the comments as well. What do you think? Is a blog better than a static website, or is it the other way around?
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The All-Time Best Blogging Articles of January 2008
January 27, 2008
CONTENT & WRITING
How to Be a Focused & Productive Blogger: Have a Weekly Theme by Ruchir at TechnoMoney.net.
See How Easily You Can Beat the Daily Blogging Gremlins by Jacob at GreatCircle.com.au.
What Do You Think of Weekly/Monthly Roundups, Themes, and Link Love Posts? by Lillie at LillieAmmann.com.
What Everybody Ought to Know About Preventing Interruptions and Avoiding Distractions by Jacob at JobMob.co.il.
TRAFFIC GENERATION & EXPOSURE
Top 10 Basic SEO Tips to Build a High Traffic Website by Vijay at eTechBuzz.com.
125+ Super Tips to Increasing Sticky Blog Traffic by Jacob at JobMob.co.il.
SITE DEVELOPMENT
A Link is a Link… Right? by Chris at ChrisBloczynski.com.
Maximizing Your Website’s Income by Monetizing RSS Feeds by Steven at VandelayDesign.com.
Blog Design: What Should Be Above the Fold by Steven at VandelayDesign.com.
Testing Elements to Increase Your RSS Subscribers by Chris at ChrisBloczynski.com.
Premium Wordpress Themes and Plugins: Making WP a More Valuable CMS by Steven at VandelayDesign.com.
20+ Practical and Ethical Tips to Earn More Revenue From Google Adsense by Vijay at eTechBuzz.com.
10 Tips to Use Sitemap Files for Faster Crawling and Indexing of Your Site Pages by Vijay at eTechBuzz.com.
MISCELLANEOUS BLOGGING
Social Media Mega Project by Janie at JHSiess.com.
Blogging Metaphor: Blogging is a Large City with Hundreds of Small Neighborhoods by Lillie at LillieAmmann.com.
Five Rockstar Ways to Use Text Replacement Software by Chris at ChrisBloczynski.com.
Google Tricks by Moin at ANewMorning.com.
8 Ways to be a Blogger Without a Blog at Techne-Eikon.com.
The amount I promoted this group writing project was minimal, so hopefully we’ll see more submissions next time around - I intend to have a new The All-Time Best Blogging Articles carnival held at least every two months or so, so please stick around for the next one and subscribe to Super Blogging so you won’t miss anything!
Others in this series:
PART ONE: November 2007
PART TWO: January 2008
PART THREE: June 2008
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10 Ways To Create Exposure For Your Blog
December 11, 2007
Photography by etoile.
1. Comment on other blogs. Being community involved is a very important thing. If you drop by other blogs, especially ones related to yours or in your niche, and leave a quality comment that adds to the discussion, the author of that blog will surely notice what you have to say and visit your own site in return. And besides the blog author, it’s pretty likely that several of their other commentators will see the great comment you left and wonder who wrote it, visiting your site to find out. Caroline Middlebrook has written a great post on blog commenting that you should read.
2. Link to other blogs and sites. I know that personally whenever someone links to me and I get the trackback for it, I will go to their blog to see where exactly that link is coming from. Linking to other bloggers helps to get those bloggers to notice you, and besides that, often times they might return the favor and link back to you in one of their posts, sending more of their readers and more exposure your way.
3. Guest write on other websites. Something I don’t do a lot that I should is writing or guest blogging on other sites. At least once a week you should write up a quality article and have it published on another blog in your niche, thus reaching a whole new readerbase and audience and hopefully extending your own by doing so. Guest posting is probably one of the greatest and easiest ways to get exposure if you know how to write! Read A Guide to Promoting Your Blog Through Guest Posts for more information.
4. Use social media sites. If you’re already writing great posts, then take the time to submit some of them to sites like StumbleUpon.com, Digg.com, and BloggingZoom.com. If one of your posts becomes popular and gets a lot of votes, it can hit the front page, thus sending you thousands and thousands of visitors! After a while of using social media, take some time to figure out what kind of content does best on those sites and use that knowledge to your advantage. Quick Tip: Adding an image to your post and using lists increases its chances of doing well with social media by almost twice as much (as long as your post’s quality is good to start with)!
5. Ask other blogs to link to you. This one is iffy, and you have to do it right if you want exposure and a good reputation. In fact, if you implement this method incorrectly, you could have the opposite affects you were hoping for! The key thing here is to contact other bloggers in your niche, even the big names and the small ones too, and tell them about an article you recently wrote and why it might be helpful for their readers. As long as you are polite and considerate, it’s worth a shot and won’t hurt - you might get some links in return, and even if you don’t you’ll still get the attention of everyone you’ve contacted.
6. Hold a contest or give something away. Everyone loves free things and competitions. If you can come up with a giveaway that provides something people will want, you’ll surely generate some exposure and backlinks to your blog, especially if your contest is well-run and organized. You can give away something like a cash prize, or if you don’t want to spend anything you can write up a GOOD QUALITY e-book or give away a month’s worth of advertising space on your site. This is a surefire way to increase traffic if implemented properly!
7. Create some linkbait. Not everyone is good at creating awesome linkbait, but it’s always worth a try. If you can come up with a new idea or something creative and off-the-wall, you can generate tons of links and traffic. Lists of the top blogs are good ones that often draw in lots of links and visitors. But linkbait doesn’t always have to be some new and fantastic idea, you can also create controversy instead - if your opinion on a topic is different than the opinion of everyone else, say so - and don’t back down from your position!
8. Hold a blog carnival or group writing project. Write a post on your blog asking for all of your readers to submit the best articles they’ve written on a certain topic. Set a deadline, and afterwards gather all the articles you’ve received and create one post linking out to them all. This not only creates a great resource for all of your readers, but gives your other readers and fellow bloggers a chance for some exposure of their own - which they may return by linking back to your resource! I recently ran a group writing project called The All-Time Best Blogging Articles, and it turned out great and drew in plenty of new visitors!
9. Purchase advertising on another blog. If you buy advertising on another site or blog related to yours, you’re going to get exposure and traffic, no doubt about it. Search around and find a quality blog with affordable prices that targets the kind of audience you write for, and purchase a banner or some other form of ad space on that site. If you can find a blog that is willing to write reviews for money, then you can order one of those as well. If people read a well-written, positive review of your blog, then that will increase your exposure and reputation by a mile!
10. Keep writing fantastic content. Like said earlier, if you have great content but no one reading, then there is no point. However, if the opposite is true - you have people visiting your site but no great articles for them to read - then that is even worse. Set yourself a schedule and maintain great content, and no matter what, in time the exposure and traffic WILL come!
Hopefully the above ten tips will help you generate some attention to your blog and get it noticed. As you might have figured out, visitors are one thing and loyal readers are another. It’s important to convert the people who visit your site into people that will come back on a regular basis to read what you have to say: that’s what makes your blog successful! So pick some of the methods above, implement them, and once you start getting traffic to your site make sure you have buttons for people to subscribe to your RSS feed on display in an important part of your blog. (Notice: my feeds are promoted in the top of the sidebar.) Reply to all your comments and emails and keep in touch with your visitors so they’ll be willing to come back to your blog continuously.
Good luck on getting exposure for your blog, and if you have questions or remarks feel free to ask or share what you know in the comments area below.
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