15 Ways to a Killer Blog w/ the Scobles

It was day three at the Robert Scoble and I'll recap the Fifteen Ways here with some comments mixed in: 1. Blog because you want to Robert pushed Maryam to blog for quite a while and she resisted because she felt she wasn't a geek. She didn't start blogging until she really wanted to, and now Robert complains about what she blogs about. She compared it to a parent who can't wait for their baby to start talking, and then when they're a kid chatting away they want them to be quiet. Robert said if he didn't want to be writing about what he does, he wouldn't be able to stay up until 2 am writing posts and interacting with his audience. "If I was doing it for $20 a post without an interest in my subject I couldn't do it." 2. Read other blogs Find the blogs you like and read them for inspiration. Those blogs also will be the ones you're most likely to build link relationships with. Maryam: "Another reason I started blogging is because I'd go to conferences or meet people and they'd tell me they'd want to read my blog, and I enjoyed reading theirs so it made sense to start my own." Robert suggested becoming an authority in the subjects and blogs you like to read about. He'd read blogs about Microsoft, Apple, and then link to all those blogs. 3. Pick a niche you can own (be different) Robert said "It's a Google world". He noticed that while he was in Montana meeting with a lot of non-geek people that people used the computers by just using the search field to interact with the computer. Matt Cutts told him that one of Google's most popular search terms is "Yahoo". And the same situation is true that one of Yahoo's top search terms is "Google". What this means to Robert is that mainstream users are finding sites through search, and by focusing on a niche you can gain traction in search engines to get traffic. He used the example of a user who has broken pipes in Seattle coming to Google and typing in "seattle plumbing". If you can blog often about plumbing in Seattle you'd very likely be the top search results. An audience member pointed out to Robert that his blog is in a very difficult niche being that it's about technology where there are many early adopter models. But Robert responded giving BlogHer that was writing a 4. Link to other blogs Robert led this off talking about Apple having some problems, and Robert using linking to get their attention by linking to them and them seeing it in their referrer logs. Maryam pointed out that bloggers are generally egotistical, so they look at their referrer list and see who's writing about them. If you want to get a blogger's attention and potentially get a link, write about them and they'll notice it. Dave Taylor of Jason Calacanis talked about that people can become an A-list blogger if they want and have some talent, and how if you're not on it you suck. Dave asked Robert if there is an A-list, and Robert said there was, and that it's okay because anyone can get on it if they have interesting things to say. It led to a mini-discussion where people debated if someone can get on the A-list being a one-hit wonder. Finally another audience member pointed out that the A-list doesn't matter if your blog is near the top of your topic. Robert agreed and pointed out that a plumber doesn't want to be on the Halley Suitt pointed out 11. Write well Use spellchecking and proof your post before actually publishing it. Make sure your thoughts make sense. An audience member said writing well is hard for some people, so at their company they suggest that if people struggle with writing that they do a linkblog, photoblog, or videoblog to still get some thoughts out and publish. Robert also pointed out a crazy idea that people could try and get educational help on becoming a better writer by taking a class, reading books about writing, and working at improving. 12. Expose yourself Don't just write a safe blog. Blogs that read like press releases aren't engaging or interesting. Spice it up by showing some personality and maybe a little bit of your personal life. Robert said if a few posts out of 100 are about your interests, it lets your readers get to know you without boring them as well. Move the needle towards the "interesting" over the "safe". 13. Help other people blog Robert pointed out that 25 Ways To Increase Conversion Rate from LunaMetrics Google Base's First Usage? Learning at Wordcamp Right Media, the business unit owner for Conversion Rater blog.