Top 10 Tips: How to Write a Blog Post People Will Notice

Everyone wants to get noticed online. Everyone wants more readers to their blog. Everyone wants to be quoted, shared, and connected. How do you create content that fulfills those goals?

Here are a few ideas...

1. Be provocative. Maybe your blog isn't designed to be provocative - but you can create blog posts that support issues and concerns in the news - and generate more attention. For instance, Maggie at Oh My Dog! wants to get people to helpoverturn the BSL law in Denver. She's passionate about this and has gained a lot of attention from other pet bloggers who support this idea (including us). So, be provocative but be true to your values, also.

2. Educate. What do you know that few others know? Or can you share a unique way to train dogs, walk cats, find a job, write a book? How much expertise on a particular topic can you share? Do lists (like this one), create screen shots for more visual attention, and share the best ways to do... whatever: scrapbooking, walking your dog, adopting a ferret, introducing your cat to a new member of the family. What's your expertise in?

3. Repurpose your newsletter. Far from being 'wrong' - repurposing already existing content is a great way to reach more readers. Take your newsletter announcements and repeat them on your blog - but add more information or links to landing pages or testimonials. Be focused on how the announcement helps readers - not on how it helps you. (vice-versa works, also)

4. Share headline news. People are busy today. Too busy to read the news, sometimes. If you can gather important information about your industry, information YOU find valuable and which would serve your readers, create headline news links, with a short reason why you're sharing. (sometimes the headline news sites will link back!)

Come back Wednesday for the last 5 tips on how to create a blog post people will notice.

Comments

[Gary the Dog Trainer]

Very good post on providing quality content and making a better reader experience. This results in more readers for your site and your newsletter. I've found it to be true time and time again.

[Yvonne DiVita]

Gary, thanks for the kind words. I hope you like the next five, also. Creating a better reader experience is key to building traffic and encouraging comments.

[Jen]

I love this idea! I am new to blogging and I just started to do a post once a week that contains a link to something that has caught my attention and that I would like to share with my readers. This week I did a post on The Canine Cancer Foundation.
Thanks for all this great information.

[Peggy @Peggy's Pet Place]

Great points. If it's interesting...they will come.
I like the last point about headline news.

[Maggie]

Great post! And thanks for the mention! I sometimes have a hard time focusing on reader-driven content, especially when I get really busy and just want to get a post up. I'm going to think about working in some more headline news... great idea!

[Helen Woodward Animal Center]

Hey Maggie, totally hear you about being too busy and just throwing up some reader-driven content. At the Center, we use Google Alerts, and that really helps us in finding news and interesting content of our choice.

For example, you could create a Google Alert for "animal welfare" and decide how many times a day you want to receive alerts. Google aggregates the information for you and delivers everything in a convenient email! Works wonderfully for us!

Great post, by the way, looking forward to reading the next 5!