In regards to the Always worth a read list and creating an interesting blog.
20 Oct
Last year when I published The sexiest blogs of 2010 – Always worth a read list, it seemed to be pretty popular.
The original page received over thirty thousand views in 9 months before I decided to delete my blog and moved the page here… (The sexiest blogs of 2010 – Always worth a read list)
I am supposing many a new blog was found by readers, and the bloggers themselves picked up some new followers.
That is what I published it for.
I read a lot of blogs and the ones who keep my interest I thought to be unique and a cut above the rest.
My personal blog reading list is now pushing 500 blogs.
Some I check weekly, some monthly, and some whenever I have the free time (rare of late)
All are pretty good in one way or another.
The list I published last year however was the cream of what I READ!
Sadly, a few have disappeared, and some have changed for the worst or been abandoned in just that short span of time.
The reason for this post?
I have gotten a few emails, comments, submits via form, etc… as to if I shall publish the list again, and if so… “Please check out my blog.”
Yes I shall publish it again.
No I won’t check out your blog.
I will be honest here for you bloggers who think you kick ass and don’t understand why people are not linking to you.
You don’t deserve it and your blog probably sucks.
It is either just boring in general or your blogging exactly like someone else has done before you, but you ain’t the original.
If you had original content that interested people you would not need to beg for attention. Other bloggers would be giving it to you already. They would mention you and your blog. They would tweet about you and share your posts on Facebook and Digg.
Copycat blogs are boring. Blogs without personal flavor are boring.
It is that simple.
Don’t worry if people will like what you post. Say it the way you see it.
For example this post (Chocolate pussy and taboo words) is the most popular post on my blog besides my front page this week with over 1400 unique visitors to the page in the last 3 days.
There is only 1 comment posted on it, but people shared it and talked about it other places. Some if the responses are not so good.
Another thing to remember is that blogging is not about good writing. It is about good story telling. These are two different things. People who read blogs want the personal aspect. They are not on your site for your awesome writing skills. (unless of course your blog is about writing)
For example… Millions of people have an asshole boyfriend or girlfriend they just broke up with. Nobody gives a shit about your personal break up. Go ahead and tell about it, but if you want people to give a crap then you have to let them know YOU a bit.
Why is he or she an asshole, what is it they have done, what you felt about it, how you handled it, etc…
Did you cheat on your spouse? That is a very common “sex bloggers” topic. Guess what… Nobody gives a shit if you don’t share your true feelings and give the details.
Got information you want to share? Great, we all love to learn stuff.
For example I will use Breast cancer awareness month. Every other blog on the Internet seems to have mentioned it once or twice this month. (I’m exaggerating)
Whole lotta nothing is being said by most. To say nothing, but still promote awareness it is better to just say “Hey, it is breast cancer awareness month and here is a page to learn about it” (National Breast Cancer Awareness Month organization) than to make up some dorky post about it with no relevancy to you or your blog. Get personal. Share YOUR views. That is what blogs are for. That is what will gain you readers and mentions.
Lastly… don’t worry about traffic or visitors to your blog.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t promote, but keep it to a minimum, and keep it relevant.
Filler posts and stupid comments suck. Make comments on other blogs when you actually have something to say about the post. When other people see “great post” or some other shit as a comment they are not going to feel an urge to visit you.
On the other hand, if you make relevant comments that readers of that blog find interesting they will sometimes feel an urge to check your blog out.
As a matter of fact… that is the #1 way that I find new blogs to read.
Blogging can be so personal, sometimes it’s difficult to differentiate what’s interesting to you from what would be interesting to thousands of anonymous readers. You’ve laid out some good rules of thumb here Aaron.
On our blog we try to make a point (or joke) out of each post, we stay on topic (sex related), keep it positive, and try not to write at a rate that outpaces our ideas. We don’t always get it right, but having some rules to guide our posts really helps.
You’re right about the readers too, Aaron… they will find you. Somehow new readers discover your blog everyday. Chances that your blog will be what they are looking for is low, but many will stick. Write what you wish and your audience will find you.
In agreement with every word you said.
Unlike your blog, I don’t have any real structure for mine, and chaos rules. It is a grab bag type of blog. I consider that part of the flavor. Most people that stumble onto this blog will never come back. A few will like the flavor though and come back for whatever reason made them like it (or just a portion of it)
I also have a couple blogs that are very structured. There is some crossover in readership, but really not much.
Even with the same writer the readership differs because of subject matter, visuals, and the way information is offered up.
It all just personal taste.