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Whether you are blogging as a hobbyist or trying to make a profession of it, you want your blog to be interesting. After all, it's a public forum. I have to assume you want readers. There are many ways to attract readers, but do you retain them? And are you attracting new ones? Let's look at some things you can do to keep your blog fresh.
Mark your territory. Find your unique perspective and highlight what's unique about your topic. Whatever interested you in blogging to begin with, that's probably what you want to focus on, but the important thing is to focus. People want to know what the blog is about and when they do, they'll be back for more. If you wander to far, your audience will wander away. You also don't want to focus in too much that there is no variety, but you want people to be able to easily say what your blog is about.
Don't forget your "other" audience. Of course you're writing content for actual readers, but you're also writing content for search engine spiders. And you want to target them as much as you want to target humans. Make sure to use titles for posts and tags that work for both audiences. Try to balance being catchy and interesting to people with being searchable for spiders. Think about what people would search on to find your blog and incorporate that into posts as much as possible.
Blogging is like an intersection of very busy street. Everyone must pay attention to others on the same street so to speak. Get to know those around you, especially if their blog is of a similar topic. Comment on what your neighbors are doing well, invite them to do a guest post, and link them. They'll likely do the same for you. And even if you're blogging on the same topic, you have a different angle. But don't just get to know other cars on the street. You have passengers too. These are your readers. Don't forget to give them attention with comments and contests.
Make the most of all kinds of media. Don't limit your blog to entries that are all text. Boring. There all kinds of things you can do to attract readers, like add photos, podcasts, videos, adding links. The more interactive and sensually stimulating your blog is, the more interest you'll garner. Pay attention to the voice you give your text entries and watch out for dryness. Keep your voice approachable. Finally, think about how you space your words and paragraphs, what fonts you choose, colors, etc. All these things can be used to attract the eye.
Reveal yourself. And build on your bravery. It's what makes for interesting reading. If you know something that other people don't-trade secrets, funny stories, etc.-you'll get traffic. Make a decision about how far you are willing to go and what's appropriate for your topic, and then enjoy bumping right up against that limit. The blogging community will love linking it. When you have a great post that brings in the links and the traffic, follow up the next couple of days with posts that really show off your knowledge and writing skills. Fulfill expectations and you'll have a successful blog.
Article Source: ArticleMsDesign.com
Chris Kincaid is a twenty year marketing professional and writes extensively on business including local topics such as graphic design in Michigan and Ann Arbor web design
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by: Chris Kincaid. Total views: 76 Word Count: 561 Date: Thu, 18 Feb 2010 Time: 10:10 AM 0 comments
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