5 Ways to Make Your Blog Content Better, Cooler and More Linkable

When you visit a blog, what do you look for? Good design, great photos? How about content? Without great content it’s pretty hard to get your readers to make return visits to your blog, even if you have an impeccable design. Luckily, there are some basic things that you can do to make your blog content better and possibly even get more links from readers who like what you’re blogging about. Here are some suggestions:

1. Proofread. Would you trust a blog that was riddled with spelling and grammar errors? While everyone makes the occasional mistake when it comes to typing or just knowing the rules of the language, in general, your content should be relatively error free. This means actually reading it over, at least once, before you post it.
2. Pick a topic. There are few truly successful blogs out there that talk about everything. Most focus on a topic like technology, productivity, celebrity gossip or even cats who want cheeseburgers. No matter what kind of things you’re interested in, you’ll be much more successful narrowing your content down to a few central topics or themes.
3. Work on titles. Much like a newspaper, your headlines are what sell the rest of your content. Coming up with titles that are effective and will draw in readers to find out more is essential to becoming a successful blogger. You can write all the great content in the world but if no one reads it, it’s all for naught.
4. Be relevant. While you may still have several poignant things to say about the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, the fact is that the rest of the world could probably care less. Make sure that your content is fresh and up-to-date and not simply rehashing old issues that are no longer relevant.
5. Have a point of view. You could simply report on events, news and happenings but your readers can get that from a much more authoritative source: a newspaper. No matter what you choose to talk about, put your own spin on things and offer your opinion, even gently, on issues. You have to figure out a way to make your blog unique, and without a point of view that might be hard.

Think about the blogs you visit regularly and what makes their content interesting or worth adding to an RSS feed. Intelligence, humor and an interesting point of view will go a long way in getting repeat visits to your site.

This post was contributed by Meredith Walker, who writes about the online associate degree. She welcomes your feedback at MeredithWalker1983 at gmail.com