(4)
What steps should one take to cultivate a popular blog? For some, simply being who you are is enough (although he does a great job and would get traffic even if he wasn't working for Big G), and others have the fortune of being able to gain respect by providing introduction and some analysis of popular topics related to a specific industry. Yet with the thousands of blogs added to the Internet every week, there have to be some best practices to help the not-so-privileged grow their blog into something buzz worthy.
A recent thread at Cre8asite Forums introduces some excellent pointers to those thinking about starting a blog. Titled: Do's and Do NOTs of Blogging member SEOIgloo asks others for "Your 2 Cents." Senior member Joe Dolson lists some very valuables Do's and Don'ts, and then Kim Krause reminds everyone not to forget about Usability. She provides an excellent hint:
A page in blogs that's commonly overlooked is the About Me page. It's often the most obvious difference between a true blog, and a spam blog.
Find the thread at Cre8asite Forums, and forward it along to any blogger-wannabees out there.
Comments:
Michael Martinez
09/01/2006 05:47 pm
Sort of curious how several popular SEO resources have taken up the issue of what is good for blogging this week. I like the tips in this thread and elsewhere, although I haven't followed them all myself. I get about a thousand readers on my personal blog now, which isn't bad (I think) for a blog less than a year old that rambles all over the place. I've been working with a client who has a blog that has earned reputation quickly because he draws upon other Web sites for inspiration and freely links out to them. That's a very old philosophy with me for static Web sites and I think it's equally valuable, applicable for blogs. Be a great resource for everyone. Don't agonize over who ranks better than you. Just give your readers the best possible information and guidance that you can.
Kim (cre8pc)
09/01/2006 08:04 pm
Michael, I think what your client does, by using other blogs as inspiration and linking out to them, goes back to the "old" days of blogging. It seemed, then, the way they created the blogosphere community and united together. I broke the rules a few times this week, in my own blog, by going off-topic. I hate the rules that say "don't go off topic". Sometimes, on topic is just not interesting enough to write about :) We appreciate the nod, Barry.
Kim (cre8pc)
09/01/2006 08:08 pm
Crap. Sorry, Chris. We appreciate YOUR nod!
Doug Karr
09/01/2006 08:36 pm
I've spoken to this topic a few times, the most recent being Seed, Weed, Pollinate and Grow! http://www.douglaskarr.com/2006/08/31/blog-farming-seed-weed-pollinate-and-grow/