23 Blogging Rules to Follow
Written by: Eric Brantner on December 11, 2009 – 7:25 am
A few weeks ago, I wrote a post outlining the top 23 copywriting rules. The post was pretty successful, so I thought I’d continue the theme by offering up what I believe to be 23 essential blogging rules. Feel free to add to this list by leaving a comment.
- Write the way you talk
- Don’t just copy what everyone else in your niche is doing
- Always proofread your posts
- Do your best to respond to comments in a timely manner
- Don’t fight with commenters who disagree with you. Respect their opinions.
- Optimize your posts for maximum search engine performance
- Create a strong internal linking structure
- Link to other blogs as well
- Focus on writing headlines that beg to be clicked
- Always deliver on the promise of your headline
- Hold reader interest by posting on a regular basis
- Have a place where you jot down ideas for new posts so you never suffer from writer’s block
- Make sure every post is the best work you’re capable of producing
- Don’t ignore proven formulas like top 10 lists and how-to posts
- Make your posts easy to scan by using bullet points and numbered lists
- Fact check your content before posting. Failure to do so could cause a permanent loss of credibility.
- Spend time promoting your blog. Just because you build it doesn’t mean they will automatically come.
- Give and receive guest posts
- Don’t overlook the design of your blog. People do judge a book (your blog) by its cover (its design).
- Place a subscribe link above the fold to attract more blog subscribers
- Use pictures to spice up your posts
- Break really long posts into a blog series whenever possible
- Never stop trying to improve your blogging skills
Which blogging rules would you add to this list? Leave your best rule in the replies.
December 11th, 2009 at 3:20 pm
As usual all great tips.
Regarding number #18 guest blogging. The are so many benefits to guest blogging that every blogger should try to do at least some guest posting. For anyone that is serious about guest blogging, there is a new community My Blog Guest which is a place where guest bloggers and content provider can meet up. .
December 17th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
Gerald–
Thanks for that link for the guest blogging community. I didn’t know that existed. Great resource!