So being relatively new to the blogosphere I have been wondering what it is that makes a blog successful? What is it that gets one blogger 500 hits and another 50? I think it all boils down to Attention Economics and how we can maintain people’s interest.
After doing a fair amount of research on the rating sites such as Muti and Afrigator I have come up with a short list of what it is that a lot of the top blogs have in common.
1 : Pictures - it seems we are an image driven culture… we enjoy looking at pictures. It also helps that they are topical, funny or interesting. (or in the case of the enigmatic Bolton Deventer, of boobs) If you can have a great pic it often brings interest to your post and could even lessen the impact of poor writing.
2 : Links - If you link your blog to other sites and blogs it increases your hits and makes more people aware of your writing. It also helps by giving credit to other writers or just acknowledging them.
3 : Topical and targeted - Your blog must be topical and if possible targeted at a specific market. There is no point targeting your post on Orchids at a Techie.
4 : Structure - lists, short sentences, bold words and sub-headers can be used to break up the inevitably longer post. A large amount of info often scares away potential viewers unless it specifically interests them.
5 : Time - If you post your blog or time-stamp it to be posted at a certain time (when people first get to work or just when they are taking lunch) so it gets people when they have the most time to read.
As this is a list-in-progress I would greatly appreciate feedback as to what has worked for you. Hopefully in the near future I might be able to publish a more concise list of what works and what doesn’t.
Nice pic Jeremy! Did you snap it yourself?
Yes it is one of mine:)
Getting my stuff up on Flickr so will keep you posted.