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Justin Wright

Blogging With Purpose

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One of the most important things you can do as a blogger is blog with purpose. In other words, you need to know what you hope to accomplish with your blog. Do you want to make money? Do you want to land a job? These questions control what actions you should take when blogging.

It’s also important to have a specific point that you want to make with each of your blog posts. Before you publish your next post, make it a point to read through it and make sure that the post makes a clear and concise point. This main point is often referred to as your thesis when writing papers, articles, or documents.

I personally think a lot of people struggle to find purpose, especially when just beginning. When I first started my personal blog, it did not have a specific purpose other than giving me the ability to write out my thoughts and adventures. This made it rather difficult for me because it was hard to monetize it since it did not have any specific goal.

Once I realized that, I knew how important it is to create a goal from the start. This makes it much easier to make a plan of attack since you know where you are trying to get to. So the best advice I can give a new blogger is make sure to sit down and think about your purpose. Figure out exactly what you want to do with your blog and you will make the road ahead much easier for yourself.

How Well Do You Know Your Readers?

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If you have a blog, you most likely have at least a few readers that love to check out your new content. You might even have a few thousand devoted daily readers. Regardless of the number, my question to you is how well do you know your readers?

Have you ever set some time aside to scan through and read all of your comments? What about visiting the blogs of your fellow commentators? By doing this, you can get a really good idea of WHO your readers are and what they are about.

Another great tool is analytics software. You can see where your readers are from, how they found your blog, and how long they typically spend there. This is a ton of useful information that can really help understand your readers.

Why Is This Important?

The main reason why it’s important to know your readers is because they are the people that benefit from your blog. These are the people that use your content in some way, shape, or form. If you know who they are, then you can target your content directly at them.

If you plan to monetize your blog, knowing who your readers are is crucial. Not only will you know your demographics for potential advertisers, but you will also know what type of products and services would benefit your readers. That way you can target your advertising directly at your readers.

This works way better than pasting some random ads into your sidebar or below your blog posts.

So take the time to get to know your readers. It will not only make your blog better, but they will appreciate the fact that you took the time to do so.

Do Your Post Titles Attract Readers?

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It’s no secret that great content can make or break your blog. A few solid pillar articles can drive traffic to your blog for months, even years. But one thing that is often overlooked is the title of blog posts. People spend a lot of time putting together a great post, then throw in a generic sounding title and hit the publish button.

This is a big mistake and something that we all do. I’ve done it many times without even thinking about it. But the truth is, a great title can get a few people to read just about anything. A bad title however, can make people skip over your article that’s actually full of great stuff.

What Makes A Good Title?

So you’re probably wondering what makes a good post title. For me, anything that attracts people to your posts is a good title. A lot of people are attracted to short and precise titles, while others are attracted to titles that include numbers. The main reason list style titles attract people is because they know exactly what they are getting and how much of it.

Just take a look at these two titles and think in your head which one you would most likely click on:

  • A Few Blog Tips For Traffic
  • 7 Killer Tips To Explode Your Blog Traffic

Which one is more attractive? If you’re like me, the second one is far more impressive. It’s a unique title that differs just enough from what I’m used to seeing that I would be tempted to click on it. The number 7 lets me know right way what I can expect in terms of length and content.

It doesn’t matter if the actual content of the two articles above are exactly the same, it’s just a matter of getting as many eyes on it as possible. From there, you can use the body of your post to keep the readers attention. If they like what they see, they’ll most likely check out some more of your posts.

What type of titles are you attracted to?

7 Quick Blog Post Ideas

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If you’re like me, you’ll run in to writers block from time to time. Coming up with a new blog post idea everyday can really be difficult, especially if your blog covers a very specific niche. So here’s a few quick ideas for your next blog post:

1. Build Off An Existing Post

One thing that I find really effective is writing a post that builds off of another one. It could be one of your old posts from your own archive or it could be a post someone else has written on a different blog. Basically, you start off where you (or they) left off and build from it.

2. Answer A Question

Nothing is more effective than answering a question. It could be something one of your readers left in a comment, something you found on Yahoo answers, or simply a general question that a lot of people ask. Not only will it make a good post but it will also help your readers.

3. Ask Your Readers A Question

If you don’t want to answer a question, you can also ask your readers a question. This helps generate comments since a lot of your readers will want to submit their answers.

4. Create A List Of Something

Of all the blog posts I’ve ever written on my personal blog, the majority of them were lists. Such as 10 ways to do this or 7 tools to make this easier. They make for really catchy titles and often spread like wildfire across the web.

5. Review A Product (Or A Blog)

If you’re in to software or gadgets, writing a review can be an easy way to come up with a new blog post. Don’t forget to look at the basic things like an application you may have downloaded. You can also write a review of your favorite blog. This not only gives the other blogger some recognition, but it also gives your readers a valuable resource.

6.  Interview Someone

Nothing gains credibility faster than interviewing someone in your niche. If you’re a writer, seek out to find an author you can interview. If you run a local blog, find someone in your area that will sit down and answer some of your questions.

7. Tell A Story

While it’s true that not everyone likes reading your stories, they can sometimes be very useful for your readers. Especially if you write about a struggle you had or an obstacle that you’ve overcome. This will help your readers avoid the problems you’ve run in to.

Have any more ideas? Feel free to share them below!

Don’t Forget To Respond To Your Readers

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If you currently run a blog, my guess is that you allow comments on your blog posts. If you dont, you should! Not only does it give your readers an easy way to leave feedback, but it also allows you to build a community around your blog.

However, many bloggers forget (or don’t take the time) to respond to the comments people leave. This is not a good way to build your blogs readership. There’s nothing worst from a readers standpoint than leaving a comment, specifically a question, that never gets a response. I’ve personally left a few questions in the past that never got answered, which gave me the impression that the blogger did not want to take the time to respond.

Make It A Habit

So from now on, make it a goal to always respond to your readers. Not only will it build up your blogs comment section, but it will also let your readers know you care. Depending on the amount of comments you get, it may only take a few minutes every day to go in and respond to any open comments.

Once you implement this strategy, you will start to see more readers leaving comments because they are reassured that they will get a response back. Plus it’s a great way to build up the trust from your daily readers.

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A Proofreading Tool For WordPress

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You’ve just finished typing up a great post for your blog and you’ve made sure all your links work. You’ve also made sure to break up the text using various heading sizes so the readers can easy scan through your document. Now you’re ready to click the publish button and send it out to the world. But wait! Did you proofread your post?

And I don’t mean scanning through it using the spellchecker to make sure all your spelling is correct. Did you actually go through and make sure your sentences make sense? Did you use the proper instance of every word (there, write, etc.)?

Proofreading Is Important

While spending a lot of time reading blogs, one thing I often notice is poor grammar. It can make the best post in the world seem less credible. Luckily, there is an awesome tool for WordPress that can help you. After the Deadline is an easy to use plugin that will scan through your post and look for any spelling or grammar mistakes. If it finds any, it will underline it with the appropriate color.

Here’s a screenshot of the plugin in action:

After the Deadline

As you can see, it’s easy to use. Simply click on an underlined word and it will give you recommendations.

It doesn’t catch everything, but it definitly helps find things you normally would overlook. I highly recommend using it on your WordPress powered blog. If you blog with WordPress.com, you already have the tool built in to your blog. You just need to click the green check mark to start using it.