: Standing out and handling negative comments >
How do you get your site noticed?How do you get loads of traffic?
How do you keep people coming back?
Three big questions that I'm not going to answer directly. Instead, I'm going to pose a question to you.
What do you do that others don't?
If you do something unique that people have an interest in, the three questions I asked at the start of this blog entry may be easier to address.Sell yourself.
There are loads of bloggers, photographers and musicians on the Internet, all hoping to get people reading, viewing or hearing their creations.Saying that you blog, take photos or write music is not enough. So what? Other people do it, why should anyone check out your stuff?
Think of your about page as a CV / resume. You have to sell yourself to grab someone's attention.
One thing or lots of things?
Remember the phrase, "jack of all trades, master of none". Don't try to do too much. (I should probably follow my own advice there.)However, if you do more than one thing well, that's another thing that could attract people to your site. Better still, people who come for one thing may check out your other stuff too. I've already noticed a few people reading my blog who later find my music.
Can you link all of your things together?
This is tricky. In my case, blogging and website tips don't really go with music. But both the blog and the other music form part of my website. The blog may have a focus, but the music is still there.I could blog about music (as I have done from time to time) but it probably won't be of interest to the people who come here for blogging and website tips. All it means is that I now put the tracks online and announce them in my Music Blog rather than on the home page.
If you can link a number of things together, your blog can be very diverse and rich in content. I sometimes mention Injader, my web business, when it's relevant to the blog entry. It keeps you all informed of what I'm up to in that area.
If you're good, people will notice.
So if you write consistently good blog entries, post great photos or write enjoyable music, people should keep coming back. Granted, you can't please everyone all of the time, but if you keep doing what you're doing, you'll get there in the end.Publish something good every time you update.
There's more to being a blogger than writing daily or weekly posts just to keep the dialogue flowing. I have read some blogs where the author aims for a few really good posts each month. I think that could be a sensible way to start, but if you're well-established, why write a post that isn't all that good?Personally, I try to make every post worth reading. It's hard work, but I think it is starting to pay off. People outside of my target audience might not find the blog all that interesting, but I'm writing primarily for my target audience, i.e. non-technical people who want to learn about blogging and website building but are confused by the jargon.
If people outside my target audience enjoy the blog, then that's a bonus. It's great to see established bloggers checking out the site and adding their comments, as it reinforces the value of what I'm doing and it often adds even more valuable information for bloggers who are starting out.
This philosophy extends to my music too. I am much more strict on what I put online than I used to be. Some tracks will always be better than others, but I am trying to avoid "filler" tracks - any such tracks either return to the studio for a rewrite, or they are archived. If it's not that good, I don't want to put it online.
The things I do
So, what do I do that others don't? I explain technical topics without using jargon, or I explain the jargon as I go. I also provide free music purely for the listening enjoyment of my readers. Finally, I try to make every post worth reading. These things are helping to attract new readers to my blog.What do you think?
What do you do that others don't?Do you have any other comments?
Tags: be unique, sell yourself, good blogging, target audience, quality content, free music
Posted by Ben on December 05, 2007 21:46 / Edited: April 24, 2008 20:39
Comments
2
Hi Ivy - thanks for the long and very useful comment! I have just added a comment to your blog. I have to admit I've fallen a bit behind with a few blogs, yours included. I will catch up eventually. Your blog is not something I can read quickly or gloss over because it's very detailed. This is a good thing though!
That's an excellent idea re: linking to my music in each blog entry. I don't have a way to randomise tracks yet but I could just rotate the link every so often, either using Feedburner or my site templates. I'll find a way.
Advertising the CMS on my blog - actually, I mentioned this to my wife yesterday, so it seems like you had the same idea as me! Meanwhile, the blogging and website tips forum should be good for potential and existing CMS users.
Again, thanks so much for the great feedback - I really appreciate it. :)
Hi Ben,
I think you actually have a great advantage over others, though you do not know it yet! :)
If you read my latest entry where I mentioned targeting at a segment within your target audience and how that can actually build up your credibility and authority as a blogger, you will find that you already have the "product diversification" in place to do that.
Your main blog audience is non-technical people who want to learn about blogging and building websites. With your music, you can target non-technical people who want to learn about blogging and building websites + who love music. Also, with your CMS product Majestic, you can target your audience non-technical people who want to learn about blogging and building websites + who use CMS systems .
How to get that done? For one, I will insert a fixed fixture on each post that says "Enjoy music while you read" and provide a link to a random track. I don't know how to create this technically but am sure it can be done. I've seen other sites that have something similar. So while your regular audience will still come back to your blog to read, you are at the same time appealing to a particular segment of your audience who love music and might possibly subscribe just because reading at your blog gives them a different experience - listening music while they read. Its a great combination.
As for CMS users, I'm surprised you didn't put up a banner ad for Majestic on this blog. You want to do as much cross linking and cross marketing as much as possible. And occasionally post about the benefits of using CMS or review sites that use CMS features and how what they have done works or does not work. Or create a forum for CMS users (which I believe you have done).
In any case, I think you have a lot going for you. Differing interests might not necessary work against you, but help you instead if you know how to integrate them into a marketing strategy ;)