Blogs, short for web logs, are the heavy trend in a revolution that the media has been facing in the past couple of years.
They've become mainstream. They're here to stay. Everyone and his dog is blogging nowadays.
The real question are why, and how.
individuals that range from genuine experts who run a site or two on
their field of interest, to marketers who run large numbers of sites on
topics that they don't always fully grasp.
They blog to drive more traffic to their site. Depending on their
revenue model, more traffic can mean more ad or affiliate revenue; or
more prospects. It also means that, in a way, they're gaining
celebrity. More than experts, they're becoming opinion leaders.
Setting aside those who breed armies of low quality sites, I've yet to
bump into an internet marketer who isn't — at least to an extent —
blogging to position himself as an opinion leader in his field. As a
result, I'll be assuming your goal is no different in what follows.
1. Celebrity
When you're a celebrity, no matter what you write, do, or say, someone
out there will mention you, and contribute further press to what you're
writing, doing, or saying. It's that simple. And there is no such thing
as bad press — it's still press.
From a social psychologist's standpoint, celebrity goes down to
labeling and conformism. In broad terms, Joe labeled you as worth
watching. Jack assumes you are because Joe told him you were. Things
then conveniently snowball once you beat a certain threshold.
But this is a goal. Probably not an asset you're starting with. It's
nice to have it in mind, though, because as your site grows, so will
your celebrity. Plus, the blogosphere tends to exacerbate the way you
gain celebrity.
2. Looks
The guy on TV who selling you toothpaste is just an actor with a bright
smile. Yet, he is dressed up like a dentist. He conveys his message
with more authority as a result. Closer to our topic, you'll find a
coder tip on rentacoder.com that goes: Choose a photo of yourself in a
business suit rather than one from your last vacation; you'll get 25%
more business.
A professional-looking site is good enough. Perfect-looking is arguably
better, but you'll quickly have more important things to be spending
your energy on. In particular, generating new streams of traffic, and
increasing your conversion rate.
When it comes to a web site, professional-looking means things like
minding your copy, removing animated gizmos, and making your site
navigable. Running a mailing list will also help. As might having a few advertisements around.
As you create your site, ask yourself two questions:
If you were a visitor who landed on the site for the first time, would
you want to stay on it for more than a few seconds? One sec'… Look at
your competition's web sites. Now answer. (That's why professional is
good enough for our sake.)
Next, consider what else that visitor could possibly be looking for.
Can he immediately spot where you've hidden it? If not, you might be
missing a web page. Or a section. Or some related links within — or
immediately after — your content. Or a proper search function. In short, your site could be made more navigable.
Navigability conveys trust. Related Widgets, Silo Widgets and Nav Menu Widgets
all contribute towards this. If you've a site with moderate traffic,
you've certainly spotted those exceptional visitors that read 10 pages
upon landing on it. Their number is a good indicator of your site's
quality and navigability.
3. Consistency
Social psychological research on consistency is both abundant and entertaining.
Of interest to us is that you do not want to be writing everything and
its opposite on your site. No expert in his right mind can afford to be
inconsistent. If his audience comes to suspect he has a doubt, he
looses his status (credible expert) on the spot.
Thus, pick a topic. Try to stay focused as a rule. Pick a position. Stick to it. And write authoritatively.
As you know from watching politicians on TV, you're allowed to
contradict yourself. Just, not on the same web page — and preferably
not on the same web site.
While we're on the topic of consistency, keep our fondness for familiar
things in mind. The more visitors read your site, the more familiar
they are with the points you're making. Eventually, they'll take them
for granted. They'll even find them likable; and, as the conveyor of a
likable message, they'll find you likable.
Also, keep in mind that your visitors — like you and I — are generally
consistent with their commitments. The implication for you is
tremendous. As a visitor starts reading your site; clicks a link;
subscribes to your feed or list; he commits himself to thinking you've
with some level of credibility.
From that point onwards, the question no longer is "How do I convince
this visitor that I might be a credible authority?". You've just
succeeded. The question is "How do I convince this visitor that he made the right decision by assuming I am?".
Surely you're aware that a TV ad's purpose has as much to do with
reassuring existing customers that they made the right decision than
with acquiring new ones. The same holds for web sites. And this is
where the quality of your message comes in.
4. Use Of Jargon
the use of jargon will serve you if your audience makes no effort to properly analyze what you're saying or writing.
Incidentally, that's exactly what most web visitors do. Research suggests that web pages are scanned more than they're read.
There is a twist. When you write copy for your web site, you're not
merely seeking to gain the recognition of Joe users. You're also
seeking to gain the recognition of other experts in your field. After
all, the more experts link to your site, the more credible you become.
For this, your use of jargon is crucial. Experts use it for two
reasons. On the one hand side, it helps them exchange ideas using
specialized vocabulary. On the other, it allows them to recognize their
peers on the spot. Enter posers.
As you investigate your competition, spot those who know what they're
talking about; and the obvious posers. Go after the latter first.
They'll drive less traffic to your site; but they're a lot easier
impress. As you do, keep Joe users in mind. They'll stay around if you
enunciate your conclusions in terms that everyone and his dog can understand. Things will snowball thereafter.
If what they do is any indicator, successful bloggers tend to keep
posts personal, granular, and to the point. It's not uncommon to see
little analysis and argumentation. You'll find quoted material, images,
links to other sites, and cosmetic thoughts on the latter.
There's arguably nothing wrong with this. It's a web log, after all;
not a newspaper column run by high profile journalists and academics.
There are smarter ways to do it, however.
Here's a list of things to keep in mind when you write blog posts (and static pages):
readership than you are in getting a low quality site indexed. In this
case, there is only one guideline: use keywords, keywords, and keywords!
To Your Success
They've become mainstream. They're here to stay. Everyone and his dog is blogging nowadays.
The real question are why, and how.
Why Blog?
Why is answered easily enough. Most bloggers belong to one or more of several groups:- Those who are write about their every day life.
- Those who are run a rumor mill.
- Those who like express their opinion on this, that and everything.
- Those who blog to get their site indexed — search engines love blogs.
individuals that range from genuine experts who run a site or two on
their field of interest, to marketers who run large numbers of sites on
topics that they don't always fully grasp.
They blog to drive more traffic to their site. Depending on their
revenue model, more traffic can mean more ad or affiliate revenue; or
more prospects. It also means that, in a way, they're gaining
celebrity. More than experts, they're becoming opinion leaders.
Setting aside those who breed armies of low quality sites, I've yet to
bump into an internet marketer who isn't — at least to an extent —
blogging to position himself as an opinion leader in his field. As a
result, I'll be assuming your goal is no different in what follows.
Key Success Factors
The difference between an expert and a non-expert goes down to four points:1. Celebrity
When you're a celebrity, no matter what you write, do, or say, someone
out there will mention you, and contribute further press to what you're
writing, doing, or saying. It's that simple. And there is no such thing
as bad press — it's still press.
From a social psychologist's standpoint, celebrity goes down to
labeling and conformism. In broad terms, Joe labeled you as worth
watching. Jack assumes you are because Joe told him you were. Things
then conveniently snowball once you beat a certain threshold.
But this is a goal. Probably not an asset you're starting with. It's
nice to have it in mind, though, because as your site grows, so will
your celebrity. Plus, the blogosphere tends to exacerbate the way you
gain celebrity.
2. Looks
The guy on TV who selling you toothpaste is just an actor with a bright
smile. Yet, he is dressed up like a dentist. He conveys his message
with more authority as a result. Closer to our topic, you'll find a
coder tip on rentacoder.com that goes: Choose a photo of yourself in a
business suit rather than one from your last vacation; you'll get 25%
more business.
A professional-looking site is good enough. Perfect-looking is arguably
better, but you'll quickly have more important things to be spending
your energy on. In particular, generating new streams of traffic, and
increasing your conversion rate.
When it comes to a web site, professional-looking means things like
minding your copy, removing animated gizmos, and making your site
navigable. Running a mailing list will also help. As might having a few advertisements around.
As you create your site, ask yourself two questions:
If you were a visitor who landed on the site for the first time, would
you want to stay on it for more than a few seconds? One sec'… Look at
your competition's web sites. Now answer. (That's why professional is
good enough for our sake.)
Next, consider what else that visitor could possibly be looking for.
Can he immediately spot where you've hidden it? If not, you might be
missing a web page. Or a section. Or some related links within — or
immediately after — your content. Or a proper search function. In short, your site could be made more navigable.
Navigability conveys trust. Related Widgets, Silo Widgets and Nav Menu Widgets
all contribute towards this. If you've a site with moderate traffic,
you've certainly spotted those exceptional visitors that read 10 pages
upon landing on it. Their number is a good indicator of your site's
quality and navigability.
3. Consistency
Social psychological research on consistency is both abundant and entertaining.
Of interest to us is that you do not want to be writing everything and
its opposite on your site. No expert in his right mind can afford to be
inconsistent. If his audience comes to suspect he has a doubt, he
looses his status (credible expert) on the spot.
Thus, pick a topic. Try to stay focused as a rule. Pick a position. Stick to it. And write authoritatively.
As you know from watching politicians on TV, you're allowed to
contradict yourself. Just, not on the same web page — and preferably
not on the same web site.
While we're on the topic of consistency, keep our fondness for familiar
things in mind. The more visitors read your site, the more familiar
they are with the points you're making. Eventually, they'll take them
for granted. They'll even find them likable; and, as the conveyor of a
likable message, they'll find you likable.
Also, keep in mind that your visitors — like you and I — are generally
consistent with their commitments. The implication for you is
tremendous. As a visitor starts reading your site; clicks a link;
subscribes to your feed or list; he commits himself to thinking you've
with some level of credibility.
From that point onwards, the question no longer is "How do I convince
this visitor that I might be a credible authority?". You've just
succeeded. The question is "How do I convince this visitor that he made the right decision by assuming I am?".
Surely you're aware that a TV ad's purpose has as much to do with
reassuring existing customers that they made the right decision than
with acquiring new ones. The same holds for web sites. And this is
where the quality of your message comes in.
4. Use Of Jargon
the use of jargon will serve you if your audience makes no effort to properly analyze what you're saying or writing.
Incidentally, that's exactly what most web visitors do. Research suggests that web pages are scanned more than they're read.
There is a twist. When you write copy for your web site, you're not
merely seeking to gain the recognition of Joe users. You're also
seeking to gain the recognition of other experts in your field. After
all, the more experts link to your site, the more credible you become.
For this, your use of jargon is crucial. Experts use it for two
reasons. On the one hand side, it helps them exchange ideas using
specialized vocabulary. On the other, it allows them to recognize their
peers on the spot. Enter posers.
As you investigate your competition, spot those who know what they're
talking about; and the obvious posers. Go after the latter first.
They'll drive less traffic to your site; but they're a lot easier
impress. As you do, keep Joe users in mind. They'll stay around if you
enunciate your conclusions in terms that everyone and his dog can understand. Things will snowball thereafter.
How To Write Blog Posts
If what they do is any indicator, successful bloggers tend to keep
posts personal, granular, and to the point. It's not uncommon to see
little analysis and argumentation. You'll find quoted material, images,
links to other sites, and cosmetic thoughts on the latter.
There's arguably nothing wrong with this. It's a web log, after all;
not a newspaper column run by high profile journalists and academics.
There are smarter ways to do it, however.
Here's a list of things to keep in mind when you write blog posts (and static pages):
- Good usability guidelines related to writing for the web exist. They apply to blog posts too.
- In today's world of RSS feeds, you've a single line to convince your readers. That line is your post's title; not its excerpt or its meta description tag.
- Generating volume works if you're breeding armies of sites for AdSense clicks; if not, keep in mind that all good writing is rewritten.
- Keeping a well-maintained list of quality material in your link manager (use Link widgets) is a great way to generate loyal visitors. Take Bob Bly's blog as a great example.
- Using static pages to publish in-depth content
on your site (or maintaining a separate, legacy site with quality
material) is another great way to do so. This is good SEO practice,
too. Don't miss the Silo Widgets feature in Semiologic Pro if you do.
readership than you are in getting a low quality site indexed. In this
case, there is only one guideline: use keywords, keywords, and keywords!
To Your Success
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