5 Blogging Methods That Work
Posted on February 2, 2008 by
Adie 
Blogging 
89 Comments
I haven’t been in the blogging world all that long, but I’ve already noticed a few blogging methods that get rinsed and repeated by almost everyone (including me) whether intentionally or unintentionally. None of them are ground-breaking, and you’ve probably already been exposed to every one at one point in your life. However, using these methods properly can turn a seemingly uninteresting blog post into linkbait gold.
1. Breaking a Post Down into a List
In case you don’t remember, I wrote a post not too long ago about why the masses enjoy lists so much. That was obviously a sarcastic article, but the basic principle that people like lists is true. Lists are concise, they keep the writer on point which in turn helps readers follow along much more easily, and they can be skimmed and dissected. If you doubt the power of lists even for a second, you should head over to the king of lists’ blog and check out how effective they are. Darren is a great blogger, and he embraces the list more than anyone I know.
You should also keep in mind that there are emerging more and more list aggregators that serve the sole purpose of linking to list posts (example). Usually these automated sites are worthless for authority links, but every blog backlink builds your Technorati and PR which is a good thing to advertisers.
2. The “What [person/group/experience] Taught Me About [topic]” Strategy
I’m starting to see this used more and more lately. It’s a great way to relate your topic to something typically unrelated to your topic thus capturing the curiousity of a more diverse group of people. This is also a way to make your topic seem more interesting by relating it to something more interesting, or at least interesting to a broader audience.
This can be seen at Kumiko’s blog where she talks about the 6 Lessons Britney Spears Can Teach You About Blogging. This is a perfect example of this strategy at work. Britney Spears has been in the news time and time again for being an all around dumbass, so to claim that she has something to teach us about blogging captures pretty much anyone’s interest. I admit, I read it all.
3. Link-farm Posts
When you’re running low on things to blog about but you know you should get that daily update out why not compose a link-farm post? If you’re an active blogger then you should be an active blog-reader as well, so when you come across enough interesting articles from others in the blogosphere dedicate a post to them. I do this just about every week with my top links posts. Not only does this give you some extra content without actually having to sit down and write anything (aside from maybe a summary) but you’re sharing the love with other bloggers. After all, being friendly is the little known link-building strategy.
4. Make All of Your Posts Personal
Blogging is personal, so you should go out of your way to relate what you write about to your own experiences and include your own advice. If people didn’t want your opinion they wouldn’t read your blog, they’d watch the rehearsed, critic-friendly, non-offensive evening news. Being able to relate to an actual person rather reading a news feed from some media conglomerate is what separates blogging from traditional media. Use that to your advantage.
5. Interlink Everything
Always try to include as many links to previous articles in every post you can. It’s not enough to get users to your blog for one page view, you want them to stick around and read as many pages as they can handle. The best way to do this is to include a critical mass of interlinks in each and every post you do. It may make publishing time a bit longer, but it will definately pay off in the long run.
Another good idea is to include a related post plugin in your blog which recognizes the most relevant articles published and lists them after each post. This isn’t as effective as interlinking within your actual posts, but every bit counts.
These methods aren’t anything new, but I thought some people would enjoy seeing them all in one spot. They’re 5 of (what I’ve seen to be) the most effective blogging strategies in use by some of the top bloggers.
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I think these 5 tips are foundational for a good blog. What about calling people out directly in a post, will that get them participating in contests ;) You’ll see what I mean once you come to CR.
I agree, it’s very well written and helpful.
Hey Matt, your link to the Britney article doesn’t work :-(
Fortunately i’ve read it already and it was awesome :-)
Good call, I fixed it.
Some really nice advice there. It is obvious that you know what you’re talking about due to your blogs success.
Writing timeless content is also a great rule of thumb to abide by. I’m still getting tons of traffic for a post I made in 2005.
great posts will always have continuous traffic. Congrats
Great post. I really like #5. Interlinking is great on both ends, users, spiders, the whole nine. What about something controversial? How do you feel about posting something to stir up the masses. This seems to help with Digg and other social bookmarking sites… kinda ties in to link baiting.
Writing about a topic which always generates all sorts of reactions every once in a while definitely won’t hurt and some well-deserved exposure may just come as a result.
Alan Johnson
Nice post, the britney spears article is great.
Btw, what plugin do you use for your nested comments? And also the “what year is it?” security question?
Thanks
It’s Brian Meidell’s Threaded Comments plugin.
Hope it helps,
Alan Johnson
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I would say that it is perfectly fine to blog about something that is controversial as long as your readers can trust that what you are blogging about is what you really believe. If your content does not have the quality and you are putting the post up just to have a post up then you will most likely fail sooner or later. The blogosphere is getting harder and harder to be successful at as there are more and more people blogging everyday. It is vitally important to blog about what you actually enjoy and or/what your good at.
Exactly, writing about a controversial topic is fine if you actually have something to say and don’t just post hoping that you will receive exposure.
Alan Johnson
5 Blogging Methods That Work…
This post in the Net Business blog list 5 methods you can use when blogging. Those methods are: Breaking a Post Down into a List, The “What [person/group/experience] Taught Me About [topic]†Strategy, Link-farm Posts, Make All of Your Posts Persona…
Digg SUXX!!!!!
well for the most part you are right, but try posting some pictures of weird pics of clouds and watch the traffic flowing in….
if you get a chance read this article
http://desinotes.com/what-you-should-know-about-digg-users/
#4 is what I find important. Nice post Matt.
Point #2 rocks! Let’s write about Paris Hilton!
Great post, I especially like number two and three. Just one question, in your comment submission form why does it say URI instead of URL?
Good points.
Matt,
Nice article. I have a few things to add to the list. I have noted them here:
http://mskadu.blogspot.com/2007/02/blogging-methods-that-work.html
Tell me what you think.
- Mskadu
Why only 5 points? There’s a content to write a BOOK! I made 10 times longer post in that topic, and I didn’t write about issues like “spellchecker”. You could check it here http://florchakh.com/2007/02/09/optimize-your-blog-to-be-a-little-bit-more-reader-friendly.html
These tips all assume that you have good content to start with. A blogger can write lists until his/her fingers bleed but if they suck they won’t bring in a whole lot of traffic.
That’s absolutely true. The foundation of every blog is always good content.
Indeed, any project which isn’t built on a solid foundation as far as content is concerned will inevitably end up as a failure, providing value to your readers is the name of the game.
Alan Johnson
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I agree with all your points except for the link farming point.
I agree also, I read a lot of articles with link farming and I learned it’s very bad when it comes to SEO.
Linking to useful resources never hurts as long as you don’t go over-board and as long as you are selective. A “top blog posts this week” entry is definitely fine, as spreading some link love every once in a while is definitely a win-win situation.
Alan Johnson
Very good advice. I will definitely start to use more lists.
Regards,
Tyler
I think we all need to do is create unique content and use the methods used by big established blogs.
I did all of the above today, Matt. Aren’t you proud of me?
http://www.derrich.com/2007/02/21/timing-your-blog-posts-is-everything-when-improving-trafficor-is-it/
This will all end with crying
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The interlinking tip is excellent, I’ve talked a more sophisticated way of interlinking in my post about smarter archive use.
Nice article!
Allen.H
Yeah that is a good idea. I tried using the related post plug in but it screwed up everything. I think linking back to articles that strongly relate to current posts will get more page views.
Indeed since, aside from SEO benefits, it helps readers find other useful articles which they might have overlooked otherwise, definitely a recommended approach.
Alan Johnson
[...] Traducido en parte de 5 Blogging Methods that Work [...]
Very helpful tips, Matt. They might be well-known, but your style is infectious, so I like hearing them come from you.
Just as an aside - and you can delete this if you want - everyone still seems to use the old w-a-s-a-b-i link for “Related Posts”, but it seems to be a dead link. A live one is this one, and the plugin seems to be called “Related Entries” now, for some reason.
Good call, Rory, thanks. I’ll update it now.
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Great post Matt. Very useful blogging tips that are so easy to implement.
They were helpful, Thank you!
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Nice post, I think I’ll be back for more interesting articles. I like method #2 especially.
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Nice post, I think I’ll be back for more interesting articles. I like method #2 especially.
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I really like this summary of how to blog better. You’re right: lists work! I’ll be trying more of these tips at my site.
I’ve noticed that thing with lists working better on my blog as well as titles that start with the words “Learning to…” Something else I’ve noticed through experimentation is that lists title “7 Ways to…” perform better than lists titled “Seven Ways to…”
Perhaps numbers are less intimidating than words as well.
Wow. This is a refresher of the important points I’ve taken from different blogs. However, I guess I need to hear them more, because I don’t apply but half of them. Thanks for this obvious, yet need-to-hear-post.
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Hello Matt,
Great article. I really dugg it!
i dont think those digg users will care, try blog-buzz.com to get bloggers’ attention
Found those tips extermely useful. I think I should have read you blog before
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I need to remember to do number five more. I always forget to internlink. Maybe I’ll go back through entries and link them now.
Thanks for sharing such wonderful info. I like ;)
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Interlinkijng true. That is why having related posts is good.
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Great…will help me in improving my blog : http://www.agnivo.org
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it doesn’t suck all the time. it’s good only if you can get the attention of the digg community.
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Does anyone know a plugin for wordpress which automatically interlinks pages like wikipedia does it?
Please contact me if you do. Thanks.
yep good work
my site:
http://phplover.9hz.com
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Good tips. Liked the making it personal, find myself switching person quite alot
Did like the point of “Breaking a Post Down into a List” its about having easily readable content, nothing more off putting then big blocks of text.
Keep it simple, keep it clear
What a great blog I am retired military and I allways wanted
ot know how blogging methods work.
Thanks
sgtwalk
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Here’s something I’ve been pondering about for a while. How do you make your blog popular if you have great content but are competing in a very established niche where most of the niche’s websmasters have already clued in on the techniques that work? In my recent attempt at promoting an internet business blog called hochstadt.com, I found some really tough competition. There are just too many websites out there selling themselves (convincingly) as experts on the subject. How do you differentiate yourself if your competition is using the exact same strategies as you? Or does it not matter? Does anyone have any ideas on this? Lilly
great tips
Thanks for share it.