A little really can go a long way. I started blogging because I’m very opinionated and feel I should bless everyone with my words. Above are my stats from the beginning of the year to three weeks into September. I really started blogging back in 2003 but I never devoted any time to it nor did I consider my readers. I actually wrote more about my day and how things were going in life much like a journal. We need to be honest people. You’re not Ann Frank, and most people don’t have anything interesting going on in their lives. I’m not saying I do all the time but depending on how you deliver your message depends on it’s success or failure.
Like I said above you need to realize that nobody cares about you. I’m not trying to be mean, but making posts about your cat pissing on the rug isn’t going to drive readers. You need to ask yourself why someone would share your story. There are mainly two categories you need to aim for, interest and relativity. You can either write about something someone wants or wants to do, or write about something someone has done and wants to share their experience. People want to know how the new FLIP Ultra HD is, especially when they are looking to buy one. People don’t want to know I had my tires balanced at a BJ’s last Tuesday.
Consider how your words can influence, reinforce or shatter other ideas. Unless you sound like a complete assface, readers will take your words into consideration especially if you’re writing reviews. Try writing from the opposing side. People love drama. Thats why the Jerry Springer Show was so popular but you really need to be careful here. Writing risk-ay posts specifically about people can backfire and can be caught as slander. When you write, you are placing yourself out there to a lot of people that can really get to know you through your blog, and you will have no idea who your readers are. If you’re burning bridges left and right you really need to make sure you as a person are separated from your blog enough so people can’t relate the two. This is not only for your personal safety but also on your future endeavors. If you’re deemed untrustworthy, it’s going to be really hard to wipe that slate clean.
Add rich media. Some people love to read, some people hate to read. Everyone loves to watch video! It doesn’t have to be perfect and you don’t need to dedicate your blog to be video only, but use images, sound and video as much as you can. You don’t need to blow $5000 bucks on a camera. Use a $30 webcam or buy a pocket video camera. I spent $200 on my Flip Cam which takes two hours of video at 720p. Hell save $20 and buy the new Kodak Zi8 that takes 1080p video.
Make people interested. I’m very abrasive on my blog, and although I’m very abrasive in person, I’m not as full of myself as I lead on….well maybe I am. But it’s a persona that still differs a little from my own that I deliver my posts in from what I can tell helps drive readers. I write about two things, things that happen in my life and reviews. The things that happen in my life are great and I love talking about them, but they need to be adapted so others can enjoy them as much as I do. Although I’ve been writing for a few years, I pretty much started this blog new at the end of 07. I just started capturing reporting at the beginning of the year. In January I got 24 readers in one month. Now I average around 200+ in a month which is over an 800% increase. Now two-hundred readers isn’t that much, but I’m happy with that. The image above was taken about a week ago. I ended September with 238 hits.
Remember when writing, nobody cares about you. Make them!
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