The Foundation of Blogging Success – Part 3: Be Interesting

In part 3 of my comments on a really good post from ProBlogger written by Tony Hung of DeepJiveInterests about what he calls “the five prerequisites for having a successful blog.” One key…be interesting.

“Interesting” doesn't mean being something your not. Nor does it mean trying to be “funny” or “clever”. Interesting, is relative, and is relative in particular, to your readers. If you're writing about a given topic, hopefully you'll know something about the people who are similarly interested; these are the people who you should be writing for. The content you write should be fresh, unique, passionate and relevant. And it can take many forms (variety, as they say is the spice of blogs). Interviews, lists, news, it goes on. If you're writing about the same old stuff every day, in the same way every day, or, echoing what everyone else is saying, then stop. Because you need to give people a reason to read your blog once they've actually heard about your blog.

I, myself, am learning what it means to be more interesting as a blogger. I know that the most interesting blog posts I read are engaging, passionate and alive. They seem fresh – even if the topic is well covered.

This writing style seems to develop, so don’t feel as thought you need to knock it out of the ballpark with the first post. First, give yourself time to find your own voice. This comes with practice (e.g. blogging). Then, in time, as you have readership, get to know how to reach those drawn to reading your blog. Learn everything you can and try new things until you’ve found your niche.
Blogs are ultimately about building relationships. The relationship with your readers is what grows your blog. And you build this relationship the same way you would any relationship: be reliable, trustworthy, and caring. Use your blog to show that you know what you’re talking about. Encourage commenting by writing as though you’re having a conversation. Continue that conversation by responding to comments as comments so that other readers can see and, perhaps, want to join in.

With anything on the web, it’s all about content. So think outside the box when you consider what post on your blog. Tony talks about interviews, lists, news, etc. Yes. Also interesting photos, exciting products, video, how-to’s and audio clips – all these add interest to your blog. Periodically post articles from guest writers. Inform of events (teleclasses, workshops, conferences, product launches, etc) coming up that you think your audience might be intersted in. None of this you have to produce yourself. Use your blog, rather, to link your readers to items that may interest them – just as I’m doing with this series from ProBlogger.

What ideas do you have for creating interesting blog posts? Please leave a comment.