With a new blog being started every second it can be hard to stand out from the crowd. Following are some tips on how to differentiate your blog from the millions of others out there.
Image by c.a. muller
1. Pick a unique topic – it is easier said than done to choose a topic that is unique from everyone else today in a blogosphere as crowded as we’re currently in – however opportunities do arise to start blogs on topics that are new trends, products or ideas. Being first doesn’t guarantee success – but it can help.
2. Develop a Unique Voice – while it may not always be possible to choose a unique topic it can sometimes be easier to cover that topic in a way that others do not. Whether it be by using humor, blogging as a character (think Fake Steve Jobs blog), blogging in the 3rd Person (Manolo the Shoe Blogger) or some other way – finding a unique voice or style can set you apart from the rest.
3. Design – having a unique blog design doesn’t mean you need to pay big dollars for a custom design – start with a default one (or a premium design like Thesis) and tweak it with a unique logo, colors and layout. Visual first impressions count and can be the deciding factor as to whether people subscribe to your blog or not.
4. Useful Content – perhaps the best way to stand out from the crowd and make an impression upon people is to produce content that impacts them in some way. Write something that matters, that helps people, that solves a problem, that enhances people’s lives and you drastically increase the chances of them coming back and bringing a friend with them.
5. Be Prolific – something that can make a real impression on people is when they keep ‘bumping into you’. Predict where your potential readers will be going online and position yourself there as a prolific contributor. It might be social media sites, it might be the comments section of another blog or it could be a forum on your topic – wherever it is – make sure you have an active presence there. If people keep seeing you in the places that they hang out they’ll eventually take note and want to know more about you.
6. Love Your Readers to Death – this is key in the early days of a blog when readers seem scarce. The reality is that the 10 readers that you DO have already are a powerful resource – focuse upon them rather than the thousands of readers that you DON’T have. Love them – thank them for their comments – involve them in your blogging – promote them and the sites that they have and in doing so you’ll be building loyalty, trust and relationship that one day will pay off. Each reader you have has their own network and can open up new audiences to you.
7. Be Original – there’s nothing more dry than coming to a blog that has much the same content as every other blog that you’ve already read that day. Don’t just rehash news and talk about things in the same way that others are – dare to be different, play devils advocate, look for new angles in stories, translate the news for your readers and help them to work out how it impacts them etc
8. Express an Opinion – people who express opinions seem to get more attention than those who simply report news. Tell people what YOU think and you’re bound to get discussion between those who agree with you and those who do not.
9. Get Visual – whether it be by using eye catching pictures, diagrams and charts or even using video – when you add a visual element to your posts you will grab the attention of those who are more visually oriented. Images draw the eye, illustrate points and add new dimension to what is largely a text based medium.
10. Use Titles with Bling – post titles that draw people to read your post are essential and can be the difference between someone visiting your blog from a search engine, social media site or another blog and visiting someone else’s blog that has a more intriguing title.
11. Longevity Counts – many blog readers are looking to journey with someone and can be a little suspicious of new blogs and wonder how long they’ll last. Blog consistently for the long term and you build credibility, trust and profile in your industry.
12. Build Momentum – one mistake that many blogs make is that there is a sense that the blog is not really going anywhere. Posts appear on the blog that rarely relate to one another. I find that when I’m in the middle of a series or writing content that builds upon something that I’ve written before that readers really respond well. Its also this momentum that builds a sense of anticipation on a blog – which in turn builds subscriber numbers.
13. Drive People to Your Archives – one of the weaknesses of blogs as a medium is that in they often hide their best content. The content that gets most attention is the latest post – whether it is good or not. Blogs that not only highly what is NEW but find ways to highlight what is BEST in their archives draw readers to the content that is most likely to convince them to stay around for more.
Alone the 13 points above will have some impact upon helping your blog to stand out from the crowd – however the key is to work on more than one because together they make a significant difference.
This is the best blog post I’ve read for ages. After feeling down about no found adviced to be original for ages, along comes this!
THANK YOU.
Hi everyone,
I wonder do you guys comment on lots of blog or focus on a few and type quality comments over those blogs. What is your take?
Cheers
Vincent
Personal Development Blogger
Darren,
You rock dude! Dang, I am trying to find something I disagree with but how do you argue with a pro? lol.. great job as always. I am starting to lean on problogger all the time now.
Glen
http://twitter.com/glencumbie
Great tips! 100 % agree :)
This is such a true statement. The image really says it all. For success, you must appeal to your readers and differentiate yourself from your competitors. Great work as usual. Thanks for the information.
I think your comment about worrying about treating your 10 readers like gold instead of complaining that you only have 10 readers is probably the best part of this post. It doesn’t matter if you have 10,000 readers if there is no level of interaction and they never reader your blog. I would take 10 readers who read and comment every day versus that 10k. Also, you never know *who* is reading your blog…those 10 people represent the 10 major brands, magazines, editors, etc in your niche area.
Hello, I’m learning to express my opinion (#8) on my blog, but it’s not easy because what I think is objective somehow ends up sounding critical.
I like to create comparable analysis responses because it helps people to make up their own minds.
Basically, everyday is an analysis of what we want to do and what it is that is best for us.
Thank you for sharing your advice with us on how to be successful.
Great Tips, thank you very much
Good, necessary, blogging mechanics fundamentals.
Tumblemoose you have a good point, but Darren I appreciate your explanation. I should have realized Problogger.net has such a huge newbie blogger audience.
It’s a blessing to have someone like you Darren holding the door open for others as they enter the world of blogging. Thanks so much for your generosity.
Nice tip. Thanks for share !
Thanks for the great advices. One that caught my attention, and that I’d really like to see elaborated is 12th, building the momentum. That’s a tricky thing to do with blogging. Unlike any media that has its natural ending, blog can go ad infinitum. Whether one posts daily or weekly or with any other frequency, there will always be the next episode. Likewise, it can stop almost any time.
How to make oneself thinking differently, i.e. to lead the story in some direction? And then, how to communicate that to the readers? Though, I guess when the first is solved later will come more or less naturally.
After two years of blogging, I see that my blog has a story that develops. Questions and the approach to them is changing. But I see that now, after it happened. I could not predict it, and even if I could hardly that I could write it in that way.
It would be great if you write a bit about this issue.
I agree design is important. It’s part of your brand. All the top companies in the world have a unique look to their websites.
I’ve spent many hours changing my standard template to get just the right look for my news site.
I like the “love your readers” tip. I’m only just beginning to realise the importance of being interactive with them. It does keep them coming back.
Very good post. I’ve been struggling for over a year now to get a following. I’m looking forward to reading all your post in the hopes it helps me.
Jeff
Love # 6 Love your readers many bloggers miss on this point.
This is a very useful post. Thanks for the advices. I’m a new blogger and these tips will help me out :)
Thanks for the solid info. Sometimes when I find myself in a slump for keeping my content fresh & the blog interesting, it’s because I’ve started to ignore the basics.
Following tips like these 13 can quickly get your game back into focus again.
-Jack
The only one I haven’t thought about much was building momentum. My posts often jump around; I really need to do more series. I love when the blogs I read do series… so why wouldn’t my readers like it too?
I am a new reader of your blog. I loved this post [also the older posts that I read], especially, point #13. People often forget to introduce new readers to older posts in the blog which might be of interest to the new readers.
These tips just gave me some new ideas for repositioning my blog. Thanks for the great post.
Wow you’re good :-)
when do you sleep?
best wishes……. great blog
Great reading again…but how do you market your blog when its a niche that is hard to advertize through digg or places like that? My blog is a little like LolCats or Failblog, in that it’s not an article that people can find through key words…my blog http://mylifeiscrap.com is about everyday anecdotes that people send in and get published. People don’t really come to my blog through search engines…I need to advertise through facebook, twitter and leaving my URL everywhere…I do get decent traffic…16000 visits last month and 60000 page views but it’s slow, very slow to build…how do you make people talk about your blog, word of mouth and all??? I’ve got all the sharethispost links and all…help???
Hi Darren,
Great article. I really think that the second point you mentioned is the critical one. I mean in today’s times, it’s important to develop your unique voice – especially when the meat of the news travels faster than light.
It’s difficult to get a unique topic for sure, but if you can present it in a new light – it’s invaluable.
Thanks for the great article once again!
Cheers!
Thanks you for the great tips. I’m always looking for way to make my blog stand out. I will definitely all this to the arsenal.
I’m also about to add a new feature to my Hutto Women’s Fitness Boot Camp site that will allow me to feature specials that I have and other featured content…so this article helped to reaffirm that that is a very important mark on a site.
Thanks you,
Donovan
Great stuff, mate!
Thank you for the tips. I know some are obvious, but others are very insightful!
Great stuff, mate!
Thank you for the tips. I know some are obvious, but others are very insightful! I will certainly implement the tips to my blog.
Great tips – I think some of the more important ones have to do with constancy of the posts both on subject and frequency.
i think useful content is number one
Someone told me about your blog, so I’m now a subscriber, look forward to more tips and advice.
a prosperous, I hope you will be able to receive visits me, this blog useful for me as a beginner
Hi there,
I just started a blog and would like to make some money from it.
http://grancanarias.wordpress.com/
I want to sell advertising space and use affiliate programs
Im using wordpress but dont know if I can incorporate affiliate programs
all help appreciated THANKS
great stips .. but when i validate my html design I found too many mistakes ..does that effect on my site at search engine results??
and thanks again
#1 is so right. Picking an unique niche 10 years ago would be much easier than now itself but people have crazy ideas. Perhaps someone can come up with a totally new niche no one has ever done.
Great post! I will definitely put into practice! I highly agree with having a catchy blog design & logo combined with good content. Some bloggers are too lazy to tweak their blogs or invest in them and then wonder why traffic is no where near their route. I’m constantly searching for ways to improve mine and little by little it will get there. Maybe I’ll drop my whole income tax return on it! What the heck! Then have my wife smash my head into the monitor. That’s what I look for when I’m Stumbling around Blog world. If it doesn’t catch my attention the first 5 seconds, I’m GONE! Peace! See ya later!
13! I love that you chose to feature 13 tips and not just 12. Awesome, thanks for the great post!
#13: One thing I have done to drive readers to my other posts is to add a separate box with links to some of my better or more popular posts. I think this has helped to keep the bounce traffic down and keep readers on the site a wee bit longer.
This is a great resource for beginners and a refresher for professionals.
I think you alredy know but I have found this blog in a list of the “most succesfull blogs in internet”
So your tips are more than welcome!
Regards
Melisa
Always good advice to be found at this site. I think this site is a prime example of how all the above tips and advice really do help.
As a beginner in blogging this article really has helped me a lot especially that I’m at a point that i’m starting to be overwhelmed with information like sitemaps, webmasters, ad sense, hit counters and all. Thanks for this! Keep up the good work!
I would like to ad the importance of combining Point “4. Useful Content” and Point “11. Longevity Counts” to “Usefull & Timeless” content. With that in mind Point 13. “Drive People to Your Archives” can easily be achieved. Good Example: Steve Pavlina’s Blog!
These tips have been the most useful to me as I continue to build my blog. Thanks problogger. You have a new fan in gizmophile.
http://www.thegizmophile.com
This is one of the best videos I have seen on blogging. I especially liked the reference to commenting on blogs goes on forever.
If people in general show interest in your blogs then you can be sure to have repeat visitors commenting on any future posts.
I appreciate this post. The tips on longevity and the archives struck me.
The archives are a testament to my longevity and depth of content. I intentionally put a lot of my content on the front page.
This may sound crazy, but my strategy was to password protect my entire site for the first six months. So when I introduced it to people in the industry which cover, I already had an archive.
Original content is coming in the form of Conversations with the sector’s leaders and personalities. That starts next week.
Stay tuned…
new blog visitor here, just wanted to say that this post is an inspiration to me. I will definitely be subscribing to your blog, keep those good posts coming…
This post is fabulous. I am going to show it to my Journalism Special Issues class. Thanks for all your hard work.
Thank you!! I am trying to find a rhythm with my new blog and how to approach it. I love your ideas!! Really good point on having good post titles!! I personally will click on something that has a different looking title that catches my attention!!
Content is also good. Since the beginning of my blog I have tried to write good content that is always consistent. I think it’s paying off as I’m finding more people linking to my posts.Some cool tips here which i would certainly be making a note of.
Blogging is like a passion..more your explore more u will learn…!!I have seen people getting board of blogging but I can’t ever justify them. If you love something you will never be bored.