Four Tips for Successful Blogs
With a new year comes new year’s resolutions. Many of which include blogging more. Here are some of my thoughts to kick start your blog in 2009:
After setting up blogs for a handful of developers and other companies, here are my Four Tips for a Successful Blog*:
- Post on a consistent schedule. In high school, my week would revolve around the facts that simcity.com was updated Tuesday and drcsite.org updated Thursday. Keeping a consistent schedule of posts will bring a consistent stream of people coming back. I know it’s tough, but it’s worth it.
- Be human and humorous. My favorite blogs show that their authors are real people I can relate to. The best blogs make me laugh or learn. Also, ending the post with a question is a great way to draw in user feedback and grow the discussion.
- Descriptive titles are awesome. My first blog only used one word from each post as the title. Although it was poetical, it wasn’t helpful for users–or search engines–to tell what the post is about.
- Each post should have at least one image. We’re visual creatures and a great image will draw people in and also instantly provide an idea of what the post is about.
Currently my favorite blog to read is Tim Schafer’s Double Fine Action News. For more examples, check out my links page.
*Successful can be defined in numerous ways. For many, it’s an increasing number of readers. For some, it’s a small but dedicated community of readers. For others, it’s something else entirely.
What do you think? Do you like blogging? Do you read a lot of blogs? Do you prefer to write in a paper journal? What are the reasons you blog? Share your comments!