Blogging Tips: 52 Different Ideas!

Earlier this year, I found Jeff Bullas and his blog and devoured his content. What initially caught my attention was “30 Tips To Make Your Company’s Blog Rock,” to which I added a few more tips. I blogged about it here.

Then, last week, he compiled tips from his comments and came up with “50 Ways to Optimize Your Blog.”

So, shamelessly stealing from him, I have compiled his tips, my tips, and your tips to come up with 52 different blogging tips.  Check it out!

My original list

1. Ask your readers what they want you to write about

2. Let your readers pimp their own blogs in your comments section

3. Ask questions

4. Create contests

5. Install the SEO All In One pack on your WordPress blog

6. Use StumbleUpon and AllTop to increase your readership

7. Create content for Associated Content by republishing your blog posts there (it helps with readership and news outlets will republish your content on their sites)

8.Comment on other blogs and news articles to show your thinking/expertise, but also link people back to your blog

9. Make sure, when you use Twitter to promote your blog post, that you’re tweeting about it more than once a day

10. Subscribe to SmartBrief newsletters, RSS feeds, and Google alerts in order to find ideas for new content (that’s how I found Jeff’s blog!)

11. Post and link your content on the Delicious social bookmarking site. (This will again help spread your content by placing it on a highly trafficked site)

From Jeff Bullas

12. Industry News – whats happening this week, this month

13. Industry Trends – where is the industry going, what are the emerging hot segments

14. Customers Pain Points – Write posts that provide solutions for your customers problems

15. Customers successes – Write up a case study about a clients successful project, they will often let you publish their name

16. What not to do – highlighting where something hasn’t worked (the names shall remain anonymous of course)

17. Create a video blog post by interviewing a successful client – this can a powerful providing authentic evidence of authority and credibility for both you and the client

18. Write articles for the different types of customers that are relevant for each of  your vertical markets

19. Brainstorm blog post topics with colleagues and management and create a list for future reference and planning

20. Subscribe to the top industry blogs in your market, both company blogs and personal blogs for ideas

21. Look through your latest news releases for ideas

22. Sign up other staff to write on topics in your industry or market that they are passionate about

23. Develop a series of how to blog posts

24. Turn the “how to” blog posts into short videos

25. When you have a great idea, go straight to your “add new” button and write the headline and save it as a draft or write it down before you forget it.

26. Include a great iconic image at the start of the blog that catches the eye

27. Case Studies are always popular to write about and not just your own

28. Place Powerpoint presentations on your blog by posting  and then embedding links from Slideshare

29.  Run polls and surveys on your blog

30. Create great headlines that catch people attention and makes them want to read the rest of the article

31. Add credbility banners such as how many subscribers, number of hits, blog grade and any awards

32. Provide “share this” buttons to Facebook and Twitter as a minimum

33. Implement “subscribe” buttons via RSS and Email

34. Write in bite size chunks and use bullet points so readers can quickly and easy consumption

35. Break up large blocks of text with iconic and interesting images

36. Take screen shots to place in your post using Software like Snagit to highlight points .. a picture is worth a 1000 words

37. Be yourself even if it is a company blog.. be authentic.

38. Optimize your blog for SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

39. Promote and distribute your posts on to other social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

40. Make the blog easy to find on your company’s web page with a large bannner or button

41. Have fun, mix up the types of posts and add some humour occasionally

42. When people write a comment actually take the time to email them directly and thank them for the comment and if they ask a question, then answer it. You will find that this will create a WOW factor and spread the word about the blog. If you took 10-15 minutes a day to respond to 5 comments via email you would make great impact on over 1,500 people during a year who would each spread the word to potentially 1000′s more. This could be the making of a tribe!

43. Comment appropriately on the top blogs ranked by Google on the major key word or phrase you are trying to optimize for SEO. This will create a a link back to your site and linking is key to increasing your own rankings with search engines

44. Write a blog post listing some important bloggers in your industry (such as the top 5) and point out how they make their blogs successful and you might find they return the love!

45 Interlink to other posts in your blog when writing a post especially those that are relevant and have been successful (this again is great for SEO)

46. Outsource content development for sections of your blog that are appropriate such resource sections.

47. Update an original post that provides more value to your readers (this post is an example)

48. Take readers comments and include and promote them in your blog  (like we have just done)

Courtney Wiley of  iNgage Networks also made this suggestion:

49. Try your hat at a guest blogger or two, this could add credibility to your site , especially if the person is influential in his or her space.

Dave Heinrich from WebTechUniverse.com also contributed with this tip which is vital and I do this with every image in my posts

50.In the meta tags for your photos, make sure the labels/words are what you want them to be – search engines can’t “read” photos, only the labels/meta tags.

Tim Brownson from The Discomfort Zone suggests:

51. Use video to engage different audiences

Beatriz Alemar also suggests guest blogging:

52. One thing I’m doing to set up my blog for success is finding other blogs on the topic and seeing what they have to say. I plan on reaching out to a few of them to ask what tips they would give a new blogger in their field. People love to know that others admire them and consider them experts – most will be more than willing to help. You can never go wrong with good old fashioned networking.

What makes your blog kick butt ? Let’s see if we can get to 100 tips between Jeff’s blog and Spin Sucks!

About Gini Dietrich

Gini Dietrich is the founder and CEO of Arment Dietrich, a Chicago-based integrated marketing communications firm. She is the lead blogger here at Spin Sucks and is the founder of Spin Sucks Pro. She is the co-author of Marketing in the Round and co-host of Inside PR. Her second book, Spin Sucks, is due out in November 2013

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