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Recipe for Blog Success

Recipe for Blog Success

A presentation on making a successful blog - creating good content, gaining a follower community, and enjoying blogging.

From my debut talk at Port80 LocalHost in Newport

Laura Sanders

November 29, 2012
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Transcript

  1. Writing entertaining posts Gaining a follower community Enjoying blogging In

    is Talk Tuesday, 4 December 12 There are lots of ways for a blog to be successful. One of those is making money. I don’t make money from my blog and never set out to. Count my blog as successful - followers, positive feedback/comments, my own enjoyment.This will be sharing my tips and experience that I’ve learnt in the past 3 years of blogging
  2. Tuesday, 4 December 12 So this is my blog. Used

    a standard template and customised it a little. The content is the most important thing.
  3. 1796f ds.com Started January 1st 2010 Two ‘1001 Foods to

    Eat Before You Die’ books Challenge to eat them all Tuesday, 4 December 12 Most frequent question I get is why 1796foods - tell story of the random foolish idea. I love food and I love lists so it seemed like a perfect pairing of the two. Bane of my friends lives. Started as a vague idea and has pretty much taken over
  4. Tuesday, 4 December 12 This is my crazy spreadsheet. Has

    all the foods on it. There’s a bunch more columns you can’t see for cuisine type etc. Massive organisation nerd so I actually love this part.
  5. Couple of hundred after first few months Now 62,000 followers

    Organic growth from reblogs Promoted on Tumblr Spotlight Fo ower Growth Tuesday, 4 December 12 Most of my followers discover me from people reblogging my posts - like retweets on Twitter. I have done almost no specific promotion or marketing besides spending $9 way back when. So my followers have really come entirely from my content being something that people want to share
  6. Tuesday, 4 December 12 Because I couldn’t do this talk

    without getting a dinosaur slide in here somewhere, here is trex trying to chart exponential growth. When I post more often I get more followers, when I post what I think of as my best posts, I get more followers. Create good content that people want to share and you’re golden
  7. They can provide brilliant advice They can also be terrifying

    Pro Blogs Tuesday, 4 December 12 If you read them a lot blogging starts to seem like this monster chore. You have to pick a totally original subject, pick the perfect headline, pepper it with keywords, write at least 2000 words, include a video, market it everywhere you can, and think about how to put it into that ebook that you really should be writing. It can be SO much easier
  8. Startin your blog Choose your topic Choose a platform Write

    something Tuesday, 4 December 12 It should really be that simple. Pick the platform that suits you - I use tumblr as I like community, photo posts etc. Pick a topic that you really want to write about, not something you think you should be writing about. Then start writing posts.
  9. Popular topic Take a slightly different angle Gives you a

    USP Popular but Ni e Tuesday, 4 December 12 One of the reasons my blog is popular is because it took probably the most popular topic - food, then came at it from a niche angle with the challenge. Loads of people already interested, but a reason to read yours over someone elses
  10. Be Yourself Clichéd advice, but very true Don’t try to

    project someone else’s persona Use your personality, your words, your interests, your opinions, your writing style Tuesday, 4 December 12 You don’t have to be a leading expert or a stand-up comedian for your blog to be interesting. People like hearing what other normal people have to say. Chances are your friends like you because of your personality so you should be true to it and people online will like it too. I started writing for myself, and I’ve continued that and just settled into my writing style
  11. Give your real opinions Your readers are smart, they like

    to hear real reviews and ideas Not being honest is doing yourself a disservice Be Honest Tuesday, 4 December 12 Your honest opinions are much more valuable than pretending to like something. One of the reasons people often read blogs is because they think reviews etc will be more fair and honest than reading about the same thing from a more ‘official’ place where it may well have been promoted.
  12. Tuesday, 4 December 12 If I don’t like a food,

    I sure as hell say so. I try not to be insulting, but I just give my honest opinion on how I found it
  13. If you try something and it doesn’t work, you can

    still write about it Helps people who’ve done the same thing Be Relatable Tuesday, 4 December 12 Talking about times when you fuck up can be just as valuable as times when you do something awesome. Help people who’ve done the same feel they’re not alone. Helps others not to fall into the same trap. If I make something and it turns out bad I still write about it, and I say how I could do better next time. Sometimes I get advice offered back from people on their tips to improve it too. Makes you seem like a real person rather than an ‘expert’
  14. Interact with your readers Don’t rely on people commenting of

    their own accord, ask questions Ask for suggestions Talk To People Tuesday, 4 December 12 One of my most popular ever posts was a simple question asking what cuisine people would choose if they could only eat one for the rest of their life. It got over 200 responses over a couple of days. You can also ask for suggestions, it’s a free way of getting new post ideas! Plus readers like to feel they’re contributing
  15. Tuesday, 4 December 12 And if anyone’s interested, Italian won

    by a mile, with Indian coming in second. I of course made a pie chart out of the results...
  16. Enjo Blo ing If you don’t enjoy writing your blog,

    there isn’t much point doing it It should be a pleasure not a chore Tuesday, 4 December 12 Blogging should not be this chore that you resent doing every time you sit down to write something. There are lots of ways to make it much more enjoyable, and if you like doing it, that will come across in your posts
  17. You can add a lot more than just writing Include

    photos, videos, illustrations, playlists Use Your Ski s Tuesday, 4 December 12 I use a lot of photos. I enjoy doing a bit of photography, and they make the posts much more interesting than if I just described everything. It can really enhance your posts
  18. Don’t force yourself to write If you feel inspired, take

    advantage Keep notes Write When In ired Tuesday, 4 December 12 Forcing yourself to write when you’re not in the flow will make you miserable, and probably result in you writing crap, or nothing. Plenty of times I’ve stared at my laptop for an hour and written a sentence. The next day I’ll sit for an hour and write 6 entries. Make use of queue and draft facilities
  19. Not every post has to be long Short posts can

    be just as interesting Make use of more of your ideas If you’re short on time, they help to keep regular posts coming Short Can Be G d T Tuesday, 4 December 12 Most of my posts would be considered pretty short. They’re generally 2-3 paragraphs unless I’m doing a recipe or restaurant review. Not every idea you have is going to merit a long post, and fleshing out a short idea is just going to make it dull but don’t throw those ideas away, you can create great posts by sticking to a couple of paragraphs. A key aspect of good content is being concise