Writing Irresistible Blog Posts

blogging.jpgIf you knew you could guarantee targetted traffic for your blog I’m sure you’d jump at the chance .

If someone wrote an article or blog post specifically about you you’d want to read it wouldn’t you?

This post isn’t a formula for instant traffic but it may just help you find your own formula for attracting visitors to your blog.

I don’t usually write posts about blogging. I generally just get on with the job of posting and interacting with the small community of readers that frequent my blog but I was reminded of a very clever way of attracting attention during the past week.

What’s in it for me?

Our state newspaper recently ran a feature on house prices around the metro area. They do it every six months or so. In the feature they list the average price of houses in each suburb around Perth. They give an indication of how prices have risen or dropped over the past few months. They essentially tell readers what their home is worth. When your family home is your biggest investment you’re pretty interested when someone wants to talk to you about how much it’s worth. I’d be very surprised if they don’t see a spike in circulation whenever they run such features.

A couple of weeks ago they did something similar with Valentine’s Day. They published their ‘Book of Love’ as part of the newspaper. They essentially sell space to hundreds of people who want to declare their love. They make money from those placing the messages and then on the big day those who’ve paid to say ‘I love you’ are sure to buy a copy. Of course their loved ones will also buy a copy to read their message. Added to that you get many people buying the paper to search through to see if anyone has left them a message. Brilliant marketing.

The key is that they’re publishing something that doesn’t just interest the reader, it involves them.

Creating an audience.

It’s the same principle that some some people use when putting on a local concert or production. The easiest way to get lots of backsides on seats is to invite the local school choir or drama group to perform. They might only get five minutes on stage but you can guarantee that their parents, grandparents, uncles and aunties will all turn up to see the little darlings perform. If there’s 20 kids in the choir you’re likely to fill an extra 40 seats or more.

What’s that got to do with blogging?

So how do you apply the principal to blogging? You find something with which people feel passionately involved. You write about them or something with which they are very closely connected. That’s easier said than done but it’s possible. Can you suggest a couple of ideas in the comments section of this post that use this idea? Maybe there’s something you feel passionate about. If that’s the case, write passionately about it but with your audience in mind. Talk about how it applies to them, not just your situation.

I’ve seen it in action when I’ve posted details of some of my radio interviews. If I’ve interviewed a celebrity or musician it’s not too long before fans will find the post. Often fans will add details to a fan forum and then I’ll get a rush of passionate readers wanting to hear their favourite singer talking about their latest album. Fans like that have more than a passing interest in their ‘idols’.

It’s not all about you.

You might think that writing about specific groups will narrow your reading audience but find the right target, write something that they can’t resist, and you’ll find the readers. I suppose it’s simply about taking our eyes off ourselves and focussing on our audience.

I’m no blogging expert but I’m hoping that we can get a conversation going in the comments of this post to better define how we can harness the principle.



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About the author

Rodney Olsen

Rodney is a husband, father, cyclist, blogger and podcaster from Perth Western Australia.

He previously worked in radio for about 25 years but these days he spends his time at Compassion Australia, working towards releasing children from poverty in Jesus' name.

The views he expresses here are his own.

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12 Comments

  • Interesting post! Have you read about The Great Interview Experiment over at the Citizen of the Month blog? People sign up, and the blog owner, Neil, pairs you off. Person 1 interviews Person 2, who interviews Person 3, etc. Hundreds of people have signed up! When my interviewee posted the interview I did on her sight, I had several visitors who clicked over from her site to check mine out. I returned the favor by posting it on mine too. And I liked the person I was interviewing so much that I signed up for her RSS feed … and the RSS feed of one of her commenters, too.

    It’s not quite the same thing that you are describing, but I thought it was an interesting experiment in making blogging more interactive. :o)

    P.S. I’m signed on for making this comment from my writing blog, DropsofBlood.com. But I posted the interview at my other blog, CarolynBahm.com. FYI.

  • Thanks Carolyn, I’m definitely going to check that out.

    It’s great to get extra hits on our blogs but I’d be happy to trade a few hundred hits for a couple of extra regular readers. Sounds like this idea helps you find readers that stick. 🙂

  • Hi Rodney,

    I agree with your premise. I get the most comments when I write about something people are interested in discussing.

    Believe it or not – my post that I am in the progress of writing today is about….

    YOU!

    I started it earlier but never finished it. Be looking for it.

  • Hi Rodney from a fellow Aussie in South Australia. I have just read Barbara’s post about you and couldn’t resist coming over to see what another Aussie has to say in this wonderful blogging world.

    I find I get the most comments when I write a post with a question element. It isn’t my intention to recruit readers by doing this but it does seem to work.

    Another blogger I know used to have a thing called One Question Wednesday which was good fun. Her readers could ask her anything they wanted each Wednesday with the only catch being that she could ask them a question in return. Everyone had to post their answers on their blogs and link back to the original blogger. It was a great way to get to know other bloggers especially those who don’t let it all hang out like I do….lol.

    Great post Rodney and I will certainly be back to read more.

    Have a great weekend.

  • Me again Rodney….I just thought of something else. Participating in things like Sunday Scribblings, Writers Island etc will bring new readers to your blog because they are following your link from the respective sites. I participate in Mute Monday which is a post purely done in pictures and I get heaps of new people to my site for that. This weeks theme is Weird…..but good. It’s something different and I really enjoy it. It also makes a change for me to be quiet…..lol. Funnily enough I get the most comments when I don’t say anything. There might be a message there I think.

  • Wow, Gypsy, you’ve got some great ideas there. I’m going to have to spend some time following up on a few of your suggestions.

    Thanks for dropping in. I do hope that you’ll be back.

    I just checked out your blog. Some great posts. I loved your photo collection posted on ‘Sorry Day’.

  • Rodney this is great advice. I’ve started writing my content towards a community of gamers that play a massive multiplayer online game called EverQuest. Don’t get me wrong I still like to write about other topics but the social apsect of EverQuest will help drive people to the site. At least that’s what I’m hoping for.

  • I don’t have anything to add. I have been too busy these last several months to post with any regularity. I just found your post to be irresistible, so I had to post.

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