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The 7 Secrets of Running a Wildly Popular Blog

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Did you ever wonder why some blogs attracts tons of readers and others don’t? Of course you’ve wondered. We all have. Because if you’re reading this blog, you almost certainly have a blog of your own. You think it’s great, and you want lots of other people to think it’s great too. So what’s the answer? Why do some blogs become more popular than others? There are lots of reasons why people flock to certain blogs, but I think one of the most important is that popular blogs are written by popular people — the sort of people who attract others. And becoming a popular person isn’t just a matter of fate or genes. It’s something you can work on. I’m not saying content isn’t important when you’re creating a popular blog. Content for the best blogs is almost always top-notch, interesting, and informative — and that takes work. But a blog isn’t just about work or great content. Think about the most popular person you know in your personal life. What is it about them that attracts other people? Brains? Skill? Knowledge? These things could be part of it, but don’t you also know popular people who aren’t the smartest, the most skilled, or the best-educated? When giving the commencement speech to the Vassar class of 1983, Meryl Streep said this: Real Life is actually a lot more like high school. The common denominator prevails. Excellence is not always recognized or rewarded. What we watch on our screens, whom we elect, are determined to a large extent by public polls. Looks count. A lot. And unlike the best of the college experience, when ideas and solutions somehow seem attainable if you just get up early, stay up late, try hard enough, and find the right source or method, things on the outside sometimes seem vast and impossible … In other words, success isn’t necessarily about competence. It’s often about likeability. People like to spend time with people they like. The same applies to blogs. Success often depends on likeability. How you come across. Your vibe. Your attitude and personality. And if I were to break this down into specific tips, I’d say there are 7 secrets for making your blog (and you) more popular. 1. Have a conversation People don’t like to be lectured or talked down to. They just like to talk. And a blog is really a form of conversation between you and your readers. Even if people don’t always directly communicate with you or leave comments, the tone of your posts should be more or less conversational. Don’t write like you’re delivering a sermon. Write like you’re chatting with a friend. Keep it easy and informal. 2. Lighten up You don’t have to tell jokes, but it’s smart to keep things light-hearted. Consider the Men with Pens blog. James always has a lot of fun when writing a post, and her sense of humor makes the information more readable and entertaining. Your readers are probably having a tough day. Their desk is groaning under the weight of all their projects. The economy is crappy and their life is full of responsibility. If they read your blog and come away feeling just a little happier, they’ll keep coming back. 3. Be yourself After all, people are not coming to your blog just to acquire knowledge. They’re dropping by to visit you . Which means you have to be there. That means revealing a little about yourself, sharing the occasional personal photo, posting videos where you talk to your readers, letting people know what’s going on with you. For example, in a recent Pro Copy Tips post, I mentioned that I visited Las Vegas for my sister’s wedding. I show a photo of me standing in front of the famous welcome sign on a sweltering afternoon. I mention playing the slots and losing a little money. (Only a buck. I’m not much of a gambler.) And all this served as an introduction to thoughts about how writers take risks, so it remained informative and focused on the reader. 4. Be nice Yes, your mom was right. You have to be nice. Don’t be a diva. Answer your emails. Respond to comments. Be polite even when a reader makes the occasional stupid remark or a troll flames you for no good reason. The people who are rude to you are having a bad day, or a bad life, and they want to share their frustration and anger with you. But it’s their problem, not yours. They want to provoke you. Don’t let them. If anyone gets out of control on your blog, don’t bicker about it. Just delete the comment and move on. 5. Get over yourself When you think about it, blogs are really kind of egotistical . You have to think pretty highly of yourself to assume other people want to hear what you have to say day after day. There’s nothing wrong with a healthy ego, but your blog really isn’t about you. It’s about your readers. It may seem counterintuitive, but the more you cater to your readers needs, the more popular and profitable your blog can become. The more you give, the more you get. The world is full of self-centered and stingy bloggers. Don’t be one of them. (I realize this might seem to contradict #3. There’s a delicate balance there. You want to share enough of yourself to make a connection, but still keep your focus on your audience.) 6. Help people Isn’t this the whole point of a blog, especially one that’s wildly popular? Why do you visit Copyblogger or Lifehacker or Chris Brogan , or any of the other top blogs? Because they offer you lots of stuff without necessarily expecting something in return. The people who run these blogs are constantly thinking about how they can help you. Again, think about the people in your personal life. You probably know that one person who is always willing to help, no matter what you need. Why do you keep going back to that person? Because you know they’ll say “yes” when most others will say no. Helpful people are popular people. 7. Stop trying so hard Yes, you need to work at your blog. You should write good posts. You should offer solid information. You might even put in long hours. But don’t push too hard. Relax. Enjoy it. Make it part of your life. If you’re desperate for success, that desperation will show. It’s like dating: there’s a fine line between wooing someone and stalking them. I mean, have you ever had someone get a crush on you and start trailing you like a puppy? It’s annoying. And a little creepy. No matter how much you want success, just remember that it comes fast for some and slower for others. There’s a moderately popular blog I used to enjoy. Then the people who run it announced a product. From that day forward, every post was about their product. Every link pointed to a sales page. The blog was no longer a conversation. It was a relentless sales pitch. I don’t visit any more. Meryl Streep was right. Life is like high school. And success has a lot to do with being popular. So … be popular. About the Author: Dean Rieck is one of America’s top direct marketing copywriters. He shares his writing and freelancing know-how at the wildly popular Pro Copy Tips .

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We’re Taking the Summer Off…

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Well, not the whole summer. But we are giving ourselves a break. We spend a lot of time teaching people how to build smart, sustainable businesses with content. The kind of businesses that give us enough free time to have some decent work-life balance. After all, working your own schedule, to suit your own life, is one of the biggest benefits of running a business, right? Then it occurred to us — hm, maybe we should take some of our own advice. Many folks in the U.S. are taking today off for the Independence Day holiday, and we’re going to join them. And tomorrow we start our official summer schedule. We’ll post three terrific articles a week: Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Then from Thursday through Sunday, enjoy a long summer weekend. Go for a bike ride, have lunch with friends, go to the zoo with your kids, maybe throw in a picnic or two. Yes, continue to work on and grow your business . But balance that out with all the other great stuff in your life. In other words, have a terrific summer — we only get so many of them. (Special note for our readers in Australia, where it is currently winter. Um, sorry. Maybe go for some relaxing sleigh rides on the beach?) Already pining for your Copyblogger fix? Feed your addiction by subscribing to the free Internet Marketing for Smart People newsletter. It’s all the cutting-edge marketing advice you’ve been craving, delivered hot and fresh to your email in-box. Even if you live in Australia. About the Author : Sonia Simone is Senior Editor of Copyblogger and the founder of Remarkable Communication .

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What All Content Creators Need to Learn From Roger Ebert

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Roger Ebert’s name is synonymous with movie reviews. Many of us remember him bantering with Gene Siskel on the TV shows Sneak Previews and At the Movies . But he doesn’t banter much anymore. He lost his ability to speak due to complications of thyroid cancer in 2006. Ebert may have lost the lower part of his jaw, but he hasn’t lost his voice. He continues to receive new acclaim and appreciation for the quality and feeling of his writing in books, newspaper reviews, and criticism. It shows a deep sense of character. But it also shows a few other valuable traits we as content creators would be wise to develop in ourselves. Keep a sense of humor I’m sure Ebert must have some bad days. He can’t speak, eat, or drink. But it never affects the quality of his writing. His words continue to sparkle and shine with life. He receives continual praise for the power of his insights and the humor sprinkled within his work. Ebert’s recent criticism of Glenn Beck show that his wit and sensibility are still strong. He doesn’t go for the laugh-out-loud moment, but he uses sharp observation and quiet humor to pull the reader in, as he does in The London Perambulator . Lesson: There is little in life that’s more valuable (to you and to your readers) than a sense of humor. Focus on what you can do well Ebert was a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer before becoming a famous film critic. Some people think his writing is even better since he lost the ability to speak. His ability to analyze and reflect on movies (or virtually any topic) is strong. He writes in a way that reaches both the average person and his peers. Ebert is rarely in front of cameras any more (his recent appearance on Oprah is a memorable exception), but he remains a prolific writer. He uses notepad and pen to communicate in person and the keyboard for larger audiences, and he communicates constantly. Profiled recently in Esquire magazine , Ebert offered up a journal entry to explain the power of writing: When I am writing my problems become invisible and I am the same person I always was. All is well. I am as I should be. Lesson: Be thankful for what you can do well. Do it as long and as vigorously as you can. Be honest Ebert has plenty to complain about. For that matter, so would a couple of other smart guys like, say, Jon Morrow or Stephen Hawking. None of them is wasting his time whining, though. They’ve had their fair share of happiness and fulfillment. They all enjoy what they do and they are damned good at it. They don’t look for pity. They are sincere when they say that they are doing what they love to do. The Esquire article features a small picture of a Post It note written by Ebert: There is no need to pity me. Look how happy I am. This has led to an exploring of writing. In his post Putting a Better Face on Things , Ebert gives a frank and insightful look into his feelings about reconstructive surgery and prosthetics. Ebert’s journal has produced close to half a million words of honesty that are touching thousands, if not millions, of readers. Lesson: Use your life experiences to fuel your work and offer others education and inspiration. Be forthright and frank whenever you talk about yourself. Let your passion save and sustain you Ebert makes this point loud and clear in the Esquire article: Writing is what saves him. His journaling has led to a gripping and moving exploration of the art of writing. Writing provides him with continued purpose in trying circumstances. How many people is he inspiring with this new phase of work? Millions? Can you do the same? It’s worth thinking about, isn’t it? Lesson: Your passion can carry you through hardships. If even a fraction of that passion spills into your content, the potential to build your audience and develop true fans is huge. Don’t phone it in. Bare your soul. Engage. And follow the examples set by the greats like Ebert. They know how it’s done. About the Author: Mark Dykeman is the founder and main brain of Thoughtwrestling , a blog devoted to developing ideas and bringing them to life. He is the author of the award-winning blog Broadcasting Brain . His work has appeared in numerous blogs, including Mashable.com, Dumb Little Man, Pick The Brain, Copyblogger, and more.

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Johnny’s Copyblogger Wrap-Up: Week of May 31, 2010

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Last week , Brian threatened to replace me as the writer of the Copyblogger Weekly Wrap-Up. All because I left for vacation without writing up the second post from last Friday, and chose instead to lay on the beach ogling bikini girls. The ensuing confrontation on Monday was quite heated. “Yeah, I ditched … what are you going to do about it?” “I MADE you and I can BREAK you,” Brian responded, frothing angrily. “It’s JOHNNY’S wrap-up,” I yelled back. “That name has mindshare, baby. You can’t fire me now because then there will be no JOHNNY. Check and mate!” Unfortunately, he outfoxed me and I will retire after writing this intro. I hope you enjoy the remainder of this Wrap-Up, which has been written by the former guitarist for The Smiths, Johnny Marr . Here’s what happened this week on Copyblogger: Tuesday: How to Dominate Your Niche Without Apology This rollicking post was written by one Nathan Hangen, who explains why apology is bollocks when you’re trying to do your internet bloggery thing. Why stop in advance of trying to make a point to tell your readers, “Right-o, this is just my own opinion, and I’m not trying to convince you that it’s totally on the mark – you can just take it as being my own thoughts on the matter.” That’s rubbish, and much too British for most of you. If you want to dominate your niche, you say what you have to say as if it’s fact, and you don’t pussy-foot about it. Consider that Morrissey wanted us to play “Lifeguard Sleeping, Girl Drowning” and that several of us said, “Steven, honestly … what’s with you saying, ‘Hooray’ repeatedly while the girl is going under?” Do you think he knuckled under and said, “It’s my opinion that this lifeguard is lazy and might do such a thing?” No. He said, “Shut up and play, Johnny … I have a hair appointment.” Read the full post here . Wednesday: 8 Reasons Rich People Hate Their Lives I have to say that I didn’t initially agree with the title of this post. Smiths money has me richer than the queen, and now I’m in Modest Mouse and they pay okay too, and I don’t hate my life nearly as much as I hated playing “Vicar in a Tutu,” which, when you think about it, very few rich people are required to do. Yet, some bird named Sonia wrote a whole report on the topic, and I see where she’s going with it. There are successful people like me who love their lives, and people like Morrissey who seem miserable with everything including success. So what makes the difference? You should read her report to find out. (Honestly, Morrissey was a downer even in the best of times, and I’m pretty sure his lawn cuts itself because it’s so emo. So I’d wager that one of the 8 reasons rich people hate their lives is “because they’re Morrissey” — that depressive wank.) Read the full post here . Wednesday part 2: Scribe: New Versions & Better Features I can’t wait to get my proper new website and use Scribe on it. Then when people use Google to find out “ who wrote the greatest Smiths song ever ,” they’ll know it was me, not that miserable fop Morrissey. In fact, let me ring up my web designer this instant. “Hullo? See here chap, is my website live yet?” “You’ve said that before … that joke isn’t funny anymore. I bloody well need an answer!” “Look here – when you say it’s gonna happen now , well when exactly do you mean?” click Bloody web designers. Read the full post here . Thursday: 10 Surefire Ways to Land More Customers This post by David Brim explains how to treat your customers as if they were fish, even if they aren’t fish. If you want them to bite on your offers, you have to “bait the hook properly.” If you want better odds of landing customers, you should “go where the fish are.” If you want to get more business out of existing clients, you “roll them in beer batter and deep fry them.” And if you’re working an upsell, you “serve them with chips and a pint.” So if you want to land more customers, read this post. You could even do it while eating those fish and chips. Just don’t go crazy with the vinegar on the chips, because then you’ll stink and your customers will just say, “Bugger off; You Reek-A!!” Read the full post here . Friday: How to Build a Successful Business with a Small Audience It’s a shame that Truant got sacked because I understand he has some sort of fixation with gnomes, and this post about “small audiences” was cheekily topped with a photo of lawn gnomes. (Lawn gnomes are diminutive, hence a brilliant play on the synonym “small.” Get it? Jolly good fun!) The post itself by Jonathan Mead (who I understand is not diminutive) is about creating a profitable business without having scads of subscribers and readers. Essentially (and Jonathan explains how this is done) you do this by making that small audience very loyal. Which makes sense, really, because though The Smiths weren’t as massively successful as say, the Rolling Stones, our fans would hop into wood chippers on our command. Even the ones who weren’t suicidal already, and I’d guess that was at least 25 percent of them. Read the full post here . About the Author: Johnny Marr is the critically-acclaimed former guitarist for The Smiths , a current member of Modest Mouse , and the composer of “How Soon is Now?,” the greatest Smiths song ever written.

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8 Reasons Rich People Hate Their Lives

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A young woman discovers in college that she is driven by a burning desire to succeed. She starts a business, struggles, goes through some lean years. Eventually her hard work begins to pay off. She has a good year. Then, a great year. The year after that blows the doors off. She gets everything she’s worked so hard for. The prestigious client list. The Armani wardrobe. The BMW. The gorgeous house in the most expensive part of town. The money pours in, almost effortlessly. More money than she ever dreamed she could have. How do you fill in the end of this story? Most of us end this one with: But the more she succeeded, the less fulfilled she became. She shortchanged all of her personal relationships. The harder she worked, the less happy she became. Finally, she realized that her success was hollow. But by now she was addicted to the high income, and it was too late to turn back. But what if we could write a better ending? Early on, she refused to become a captive of her business. Even in the tough times, she took six weeks of vacation a year, knowing that when she made time for herself, she became an ever-sharper businessperson. As the business became more successful, she traveled the world with her family and friends. She was profoundly grateful never to have had a “normal” job, which would have made it hard to spend serious time with her family. The harder she worked, the happier she became. She launched a foundation to help kids from poor backgrounds create businesses of their own. She became a serious painter. She went back to school and earned a master’s in philosophy. Everything she did to nurture her life seemed to strengthen her business. She was terribly grateful to have caught that initial spark early, and to have acted on it. The first story makes a better made-for-TV movie It feeds our stereotypes. It reinforces our fear of success . It reassures us that we were right never to act on those dreams we had. The second story is a lot more enjoyable to live. Both stories are realistic. If you choose to create a business, large or small, you get to write the story. You decide where you’ll put your focus, what you’ll spend your time and attention on. I’d love to help you write a better story These two stories fascinate me. I’ve known both of these women. I’ve watched them work, watched what they struggle with and what seems to come easily to them. I’ve made an obsessive study of what makes some successful people love their lives, and what makes some utterly miserable. This obsession, like most of my obsessions, ended up as an extended piece of writing, which I’d like to share with you. It’s called The 8 Reasons Rich People Hate Their Lives (PDF) . The report explores some questions that fascinate me: Why taking ethical shortcuts won’t just make you hate yourself, it can also tank your business. Why improving your weaknesses is a loser’s game. How being driven by your ideals can wreck your life, and what to focus on instead. Why some multi-millionaires are still poor, and how you can become wealthy no matter what your income. The reason so many smart and talented people are miserable, and the simple mindset shift that would make them happy again. How to deal with the loneliness that success can bring. Why a wise entrepreneur puts family and friends first. The self-destructive behavior that’s as dangerous as driving drunk, and why it can destroy your business and your life. The report could just as easily be called The 8 Reasons (Some) Rich People Love Their Lives . Because that’s the part that really interests me. How to play the whole game to win — not just the financial part, but the living part as well. If this is a topic that interests you, I hope you’ll check out the report. It’s totally free, you don’t even have to leave your email address. And if you find the report valuable, please share it with people you care about. Rather than writing your business story as a sappy melodrama, let’s write something for you that’s a lot more satisfying, a lot more appealing, and a lot more fun. Download The 8 Reasons Rich People Hate Their Lives. About the Author : Sonia Simone is Senior Editor of Copyblogger and co-founder of Inside the Third Tribe .

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