Okay, you’ve been a blogger for a few weeks or maybe even a few months. You’re writing posts, but now you’re ready to take it all the next level. You understand that it’s all about creating a conversation with your blog community. You would like to see more comments, site traffic, and even some recognition. You want to be like one of the cool kids right?
But how do you go from being a little whole in the wall to be a place where the cool kids hang out? Well here a few things to try to take your blog to the next level.
Who are you writing for?
Does your blog have a niche? Does it focus on one particular concept? Ask yourself what your readers are going to “get” from your posts? How is it going to be useful to them? You want to make sure that your posts are useful, full of good information that they will be able to apply easily.
Creating the conversation
Give your readers a call to action and ask them questions. Remember it’s all about creating a conversation with your readers. Make sure to respond to comments on your blog, as much as you can.
Put a picture of YOU on your blog, and make it known who you are. Be transparent in who are and give full disclosure. Your readers are going to want to connect with the person/brand, not just your blog.
Give them other ways to reach you besides the normal, like a Twitter/Facebook account. Here’s even a thought… a phone number.
Making it pretty
Make your blog posts easy to read. Insert white space by breaking up your text. You can also use bold titles inside your blog posts to separate sections.
Have a long section? Use the blockquote feature to make them stand out for the rest.
Insert images from your personal connection or perhaps grab some stock images for Stock Photo or istockphoto.com
Comment, comment, comment
Just as you want comments on yours, so do other bloggers. So, get out and comment on other people’s blogs.
You can also create a post on your blog commenting on something on another’s blog and track back to posts on other blogs, especially some of the popular blogs within your niche! What will that do? Help your blog get noticed by others.
Post on a regular basis (at least once per week)
Post something useful at least once per week. You want to remember to keep the posts useful to your readers but its ok to write off-topic or even personal posts too.
Lead from the front
Prominently display your RSS feed up at the top of your blog so people will see it easily. It maybe helpful to even include a subscribe graphic.
Also be sure to ask your readers for advice, ideas, suggestion, and feedback. You want to make your blog useful for them so ask them what they want! You might be surprised to find out the results.
You can also add the email-subscription option available thru Feedburner for those that aren’t quite sure about RSS feeds. You can also use this option in replace of a regular autoresponder type application if you’re so inclined.
Want feedback or suggestions for your blog? Well just ask away my friends. You can always email me at tammy AT newmediava DOT com or on any of the various social networks like Twitter, Facebook, etc.
Years ago when social networking primarily consisted of message boards and forums, etiquette there was pretty simple. The rules were black and white and pretty easy to remember. These days with all the various social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Squidoo , the rules are now gray.
