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When you create a blog there are three ways you can approach your subject matter.

Which approach you choose will have a big impact on how fast you grow awareness and audience, plus will be decisive in how easy you find the actual writing.

It is something worth thinking about but people rarely do until after their blog is launched.

1. Write about whatever interests you - You will always have something to write about because you can just turn to your current fancy, but the blog will be unfocused, hard to define and find gaining traction difficult.
2. Decide on an identified, focused subject - Audiences love when you are ultra-specific in your blog goal and articulate it well. It works especially well when you identify a pressing need. Sometimes it can be difficult to maintain the blog past a certain point if you exhaust all your material early.
3. Attract a specific audience - Rather than focus your topic you can focus your audience. This is a compromise between the above two choices. You identify a motivated audience, cater your blog specifically to them, then can select anything that interests you that will interest that audience too.

You will find type 1 blogs are the slowest to grow. Type 2 blogs take off like a rocket once awareness is raised, you can get across the benefits immediately, they are easier to spread virally and are the simplest to brand and position. Type 3 blogs tend to fall between the two and depend on niche, amount of focus and breadth of audience.

As you might have guessed, this is a type 3 blog.

• Can you think of examples for the other two types?
• Which type does your blog come under?
• What does the picture have to do with this article?
• What other benefits do type 3 blogs have …?

Most people will know by now that I offer a free ebook on this blog. Fact is, I am not the only one offering free resources that are useful to bloggers. Here are some of the best.

1. Develop mini-sites using WordPress with Caroline Middlebrook
2. Aaron and Giovanna offer their SEO for Bloggers guide
3. Remarkabloggers 12-step Business Blogging ebook
4. Rich Schefren offers the Web2.0 Marketing “Attention Age” guide
5. Brian Clark’s free ebook shows you how to forget everything you know about making money … and start making some
6. Yaro shows you how to make money with blogs in his free Blog Profits Blueprint ebook
7. Want to know the SEO benefits of Press Releases? Check out this free ebook.
8. Make a more profitable website with Five times profits by Dr Mani
9. Authority Black Book guide to social media marketing
10. The Chitika Blog Bash eBook featuring Darren Rowse and Chris Pirillo amongst others

Added: Here is a bonus resource Brian just posted up a killer 5-part keyword research series for bloggers - check it out

If bait is so good at delivering traffic, why would you not want to post bait all the time? People love to link it, read it and bookmark it, right?

Actually long term, they don’t.

Bait is great used tactically, but not effective at growing a loyal audience if over used. You need a mixture of posting to maintain a readership and I believe there is such a thing as “bait fatigue”.

What happens when you post a bait is quite like a shot of espresso with 9 sugars. You get an enormous high.

As anyone who has had a few espressos in a row will tell you, the effects of each are diminished, the first hit is the greatest, and the after effects are not at all pleasant either.

I will always repeat this. We have to understand the readers needs. I don’t know about you but if I visit a blog that has bait day after day after day I don’t feel valued. Where is the discussion? Where is the three dimensional human being behind the blog? Are readers just traffic or more?

As well as attracting new readers you have to keep your current audience happy, otherwise you end up with a revolving door of new replacing the old. That means not riding the caffeinated highs and lows but keeping them nourished with consistently good stuff.

How can you get good strong links? What can you do to get big name blogs to take notice of you?

Yesterday I got lucky and was linked to by Duncan at Techcrunch which led to Techmeme taking notice of our Google Hijacking 404 Pages story at the Codswallop blog.

This all came about from a tip-off from Wendy (a generous act when you consider she could have written about it herself, just shows how nice she really is!).

Getting a scoop is the top way to get big sites to notice you with least writing effort. It is just a case of presenting the facts clearly, let a few people know, then get out of the way.

The story came to me via direct message and got to Duncan via my Twitter feed.

You might be surprised how little traffic we got. We only got a link as a source. Still, we were pleased. The benefits of a link from those two sites is enormous for credibility, Google juice and awareness. A few more of those can put you on the map.

Content to Get You Noticed

There are three types of content that get noticed by the big boys:

1. News scoops - Stories like mine that are just breaking. The person who brings the story to the top blogs attention will get the majority of the links but make sure you reference your source. Even though many people will go back to the original source and not even mention you that is the fair thing to do. The only way to stop that happening is to report it better than the source. Any news site like Techcrunch will be constantly on the look out for breaking news.
2. Original ideas - If your idea is truly inspired and valuable to pass on then you might just get linked to. Even better if your idea is something the blogger can build on and reference as part of their own post. Bloggers like Darren and Brian often link as part of their articles.
3. Top resources - Being original is harder than it sounds so an alternative is to just put in more effort. Lots of bloggers have founded entire blogs on the back of collecting existing information together to create the ultimate collection of tips or links. You post an original “top ten” list and think you have done a good job then weeks later your top ten is combined with someone else’s and someone else’s until it becomes a top 100 and gets to the front page of Digg. It’s all in the research. Make it bookmarkable and bring it to the attention of those people who can spread it and you can have a hit on your hands.

So now you have something worthwhile to share, how do you bring it to the top bloggers attention?

Approaching Bloggers

1. Network - It is no good trying to get someone to do you a favor when they don’t even know who you are, so get to know people now before you need their help. Even better, do them a favor first.
2. Use social tools - I was lucky in that Duncan was watching my Twitter feed. This tells me that Twitter is a great way to spread your links. Get a good group of followers and use catchy headlines that will get noticed amongst the noise and chatter.
3. Pitch stories - If your approach is right, your story is good and you use appropriate channels, you can just pitch the story and have it taken up.

Once the big blogs link you then you can sure you will get a ton of links off the back of it. The best referrers by far are strong blogs in your niche because you get better comments, more consistent traffic and best of all, new subscribers.

How have you managed to get linked to by prominent blogs? Please share your tips in the comments …

A common frustration from bloggers is they get to a certain level of momentum then stall. It’s like there is a ceiling that they can not break through.

Rather than steaming ahead toward your goal, do you feel like you are going round in circles?

How can we keep driving our growth?

I often see patterns in blog growth. Rather than being a straight line or even an upwards curve most bloggers grow their audience in spurts. It is like a series of small hills, two steps forward, one step back. The same is true for RSS subscriptions and for traffic.

After a while though we get stuck in patterns. We keep going round the roundabout without getting off and going anywhere. It is just easy to keep doing the minimum amount of effort. We go into “maintain” rather than “expansion” mode.

When was the last time you …

• Emailed another blogger?
• Had a Skype conversation with another blogger?
• Started or joined a blog carnival or blog meme?
• Created a killer bookmarkable post?
• Commented on more than the same three friends blogs?
• Experimented with a new traffic tactic?
• Analyzed your stats?
• Queried keyword tools?
• Generated links?
• Networked at Twitter rather than posting messages about your lunch?
• Joined a blogging forum?

Just like a pushing a broken down car, getting started takes more effort than maintaining a speed. If you stop pushing then you have to put in more effort to get going again than if you kept the thing moving.

This very blog has stalled twice, both times because of my own distractions. Once because of a vacation and once because I prioritized a book project over my blogging. Doing “enough” is never enough, you have to put in 100% and always be looking for ways you can improve.

There are two reasons why blogs stop growing

1. You stop doing what works - Once you work out which tactics work for you don’t stop doing them
2. You stop experimenting - If all you ever do is what you always did you will always get the same results. Try new things, mix things up, experiment and tweak.

Stalled growth is a sign that sooner or later your blog is going to stagnate. If your blog is still growing then keep up the momentum and take it to even greater heights. Make it good then make it better.

Someone on Twitter remarked that they were sick of all the “Why blogging is like …” posts. To be honest I like them, and I will continue to write posts like that, but I am not surprised this particular person is sick of them. It is like top ten lists and all the other formula style posts, once they hit some success they get used a lot.

As I say, I will continue writing them. I still do top ten lists. Heck, I am not going to say “never again” for any style of blog post. Why? If I think you will enjoy it and get something out of it then I will write it.

There are two types of blogs out there. One type is written to trick people into visiting. The other type has real worth and will last long term. While initially the former will get a lot of attention and will seem to gain success by using every trick in the book, every fashionable technique and every monetization scheme, at some point they will have to either get real or find an exit.

The latter type is the one people return to because they want to not because they feel they should. You might have guessed from my photographs I don’t really go in for fashion in clothing or blogging

Real blogs have genuine intentions behind them. They are written with an authentic desire to provide value.

It doesn’t matter if the format of the post is a top ten list, an interview, or a fairy tale. The intention is there to give the reader what they were promised, something the reader will gain from. If your head is in the right place I don’t think any type of post should be off-limits.

I know you read at least read one blog. You would be surprised though how many people want to be successful bloggers without bothering to read what it is they are meant to be writing.

As you might have guessed from the title, this brings to mind cooking. How can you create an excellent dish without being a lover of food? Top chefs live for food. They love flavors, aromas, the look of the finished plate, and they also get a kick out of seeing people enjoy it.

Can you say the same about your blogging? Do you love blogs? Do you love to blog?

When they are cooking all the time they are taking tastes. I am sure you are aware that when you go to a decent restaurant someone will have taken many tastes of the food before you get to it. People have told me that revolts them but if you think about it, how else would they know they have prepared it correctly? While I am sure someone will find me a story of a chef born without taste buds I have to believe a chef who tastes their food does a better job.

When was the last time you re-read your own posts? After time has gone by you can be more objective about your own writing. How good is it really? What could you improve? Was it really the best it could be? One of the reasons chefs get a reputation as being ogres is they have exacting standards, that mixed with the high pressure environment of a Michelin starred kitchen means there is a lot of shouting. I don’t expect you to shout at your fellow bloggers but how critical are you of what you produce?

Like a chef also you need to have an eye for mixing the best ingredients and be willing to experiment. If all you ever turn out is the same old stuff then people will get bored. Lately I have seen some bloggers hit on a formula that has given them good results and they have stuck to their formula. That’s great, but if every post looks the same, reads the same, or if all they are creating is pretty lists time after time, engagement will drop even while bookmarks stay high.

Do you want to create a reference or a community? Personally I would prefer fewer links and lower traffic in return for readers who actually want to communicate with me. That means providing surprises, delights and treats, along with the familiar.

One reason I could never work in a restaurant is the amount of criticism and abuse people in the food industry have to accept. I guess though with most endeavors we have to be prepared to take abuse in search of improvement. I get my own fair share of “you suck” emails right here Chefs are constantly criticized, by the public and by reviews, but they are prepared for it and grow a thick skin. As bloggers we open ourselves up to criticism too. If we want the plaudits we have to accept sometimes there will be rotten tomatos too. How well do you deal with criticism?

I expect there are many other similarities but I didn’t want to force this into being yet another top ten list Do you think good bloggers are like chefs? Am I just mad? Do you still read blogs or is this the only blog you read? Please share in the comments - talk to me

Original Lego People photograph by Joe Shlabotnik and market by ximenatapia

Lately I haven’t watched a lot of television, for a couple of years actually now I think about it. But, thanks to my handy satellite dish and DVR (Sky+ for the locals) I do keep up with some of the latest geek viewing.

This is lucky because Ben over at Blogging Experiment has got a meme started that combines your fave TV shows and blogging. What geek could pass up that?

post one lesson bloggers can learn from their favorite TV show. Each person then tags another 5 people and the chain continues.

OK, let’s have a think. What can I learn from my current viewing on the telly tubes?

Battlestar Galactica

As a kid I loved the original, for me it was the Star Wars TV show that never was. The new series is more grown up (sexy Cylons!).

What can bloggers learn? Careful how you mess with a winning formula.

First there was Galactica 80, a terrible idea that I shudder to think about even now, the characters found earth and the stories became educational and full of kids. We tuned in to watch space ships shoot each other and instead were given super kids playing basket ball. Woeful.

Then there was the new BSG series reboot at the end of Season 2 where they settled on a planet and called it home. I actually enjoyed the New Caprica storyline but many fans were appalled and felt betrayed. Many said the writers were changing things just to mess with the fans heads. For many the whole idea was a fleet of spaceships trying to find Earth and battling the Cylon enemy, this was too big a change and not what they signed on for.

If you are considering a radical shift in your blog, think carefully. Would it be more appropriate to start a new blog for a different audience rather than disenfranchise your current readers? You might well believe you are doing the right thing but it could be a disaster unless you explain the changes well. It is so easy to just stop reading (or viewing) and many will not give your new scheme a chance.

Journeyman

Journeyman is a new series where the main character travels through time helping people. Kind of like a new version of Quantum Leap without the body snatching.

What can bloggers learn? Sometimes you can be too niche.

I love the how but apparently not enough people agree with me. They have chosen not to buy more episodes, effectively killing it before it got going. Fans are trying to petition for a reprieve but even the writer isn’t optimistic.

Sometimes even the best implemented ideas do not garner a massive following. You have to work out what success means for you, is it a small but passionate fan base or a huge but more loosely affiliated audience?

Heroes

Heroes is a TV series about ordinary people who discover they have extraordinary abilities.

What can bloggers learn? If you build anticipation, make sure you deliver.

With each episode of the first season the anticipation and expectations about the finale built. Excitement was at its maximum right up to the supposed climax … which turned out to be a huge disappointment. Fans were very upset and the boards were alight with a backlash. The new season started badly too which added to the bad vibe in forums. Personally I can forgive the poor season 1 finale and actually enjoyed what I have seen of the second season, but many fans see it as fumbled opportunity.

I always recommend under promising and over delivering. Many bloggers want to create excitement, anticipation and hype. Just remember that huge expectations require massive rewards. Can you deliver the goods to live up to the build up?

Those are my lessons from favorite TV shows. What are yours? Do you agree with me or disagree? Do you hate my choice of viewing? Share your thoughts in the comments

A popular gripe of bloggers is the scraper scum. You know, the people who copy your content then slap ads around it or use it as search engine fodder so they can pimp their spam. It might be apparent that these gits annoy me too.

Today I am installing a solution which I hope will go some way to mitigating the problem. Damian has updated his WP_RssSticky plugin that I use to put the free ebook download link into my feed to allow you to insert the title and URL of the current post.

If wish to insert the post title or post url into the sticky message put @@post_title@@ or @@post_url@@ in the sticky message, this will be replaced when the message is displayed.

Why is this important? Well now when scrapers steal your content at least they will be linking back to you. The more they promote their copied and pasted spam, the more weight those backlinks will provide you. I’m hoping also it might hint to Google and co that your post is the original.

… Becomes …

It won’t stop them scraping, it won’t make you feel better, but at least it might give you a small amount of satisfaction that you are gaining something out of it.

Is your blog Reader-Centric? Yuk, I know, horrible buzz word, but stay with me!

What I am asking is important to your blog success; how well do you cater for your reader when working on your blog?

In the programming world people talk about “user centric” where the users needs are elevated and in customer service people like to think of their systems and procedures as being “customer centric” where the needs of customers come first. It’s all about prioritizing the end user, the person who you wanted to attract and serve in the first place.

We might think we are being reader centric with our blogs, but there are tensions and motivations in blogging that pull us away from this goal.

Of course there are many types of blog. My personal blog is written with no audience goals, no monetization goals, no agenda. It just is what it is. As Lorelle says, some people build blogs for their own needs.

Most of us though are looking to attract and entertain, inform or communicate with an audience. This means the audience has to be priority number one. What might get in the way of this?

• Money - You may have seen the many complaints about the loud audio, distracting animations and effects, and general in-your-faceness of the advertising at Digg? It got to the point where Kevin Rose had to step in and pledge to sort it out. If a site of the scale of Digg can have a member revolt over advertising, you can be sure a blog is not going to survive anti-reader advertising. Rip-off affiliate links and insincere reviews are also a real danger.
• Ego - When it is all me-me-me rather than focused on what readers need, want, enjoy, then you have slipped away from what attracted your readers in the first place. It’s simple, give them what they want
• Promotion - Are those link-swaps in your blogroll helping your reader? Did that linkbait attract abusive comments along with the spike in traffic? Will that headline mislead people into clicking? Do you really need those sexy avatar pictures? It sometimes amazes me what people will do to attract new visitors without a concern for their existing subscribers.
• Widgets - Some bloggers are like magpies - ooh, shiny! Yes, by all means experiment with the latest doodad, but do not fill your blog with them to the detriment of your content.

There are probably many more distractions that you can think of. The fact is most blogs are started with a goal in mind, to make money, market a business, personal branding, etc. Our initial motivation might not be to “attract and appeal to an audience”, that challenge is often just the means to an end. Without working for our audience though we will never achieve what we set out to do.

Before you reap any rewards, with blogging you have to serve your audience. That means putting readers first.