Every day there are thousands of new blogs launched, but only a few get read by more than a several hundred people.  What is it that makes the most successful blogs a success?  There are many variables to that equation.  One thing's for sure, the most successful blogs don't become a hit overnight.  The most successful blogs require creativity, consistency, and just plain hard work. 

A blog can be your company's hub for communicating with its' target audience.  It is where ideas and opinions are exchanged.  Think of it as your opportunity for gaining feedback directly from your customers on your products and services.  A blog can be your vehicle to gain valuable insight into your customers' wants, needs and desires.

When used strategically, blogs can exponentially amplify the effectiveness of your offline advertising.  Your blog is an integral part of your online presence and allows you to demonstrate thought leadership in your industry.  Your blog is a platform that allows you to add value to your online community and be perceived as a trusted resource.

Successful blogging is just as much an art as it is a science.  At Proteus Design Studio, we have put together a guide to building a successful blog.  In the guide you'll find tips for creating useful content, strategies to maximize content distribution, and valuable resources for making social connections.  Please share this information with anyone you know that may find it beneficial.       

I can’t think of anything to blog about today! This is a very frustrating feeling that most everyone who writes has experienced at one time or another. Your blog already has a general theme, but for your next post, where do you begin? Coming up with the right topic can be the toughest part of writing. Blogging is supposed to be an enjoyable experience, not a nightmare that you avoid. Yesterday you came up with a great topic, what about tomorrow and then the next day? Does this have to be a constant battle?

When we speak with our clients, we find this to be the biggest killer of what should otherwise be successful blogs. In this post I am going to provide you with a strategy that you can use over and over again to create "Great Blog Post Topics". I’m sure people may have other names for this approach, but I’m going to call it the “Opposites” Chart. The concept here is to draft two lists at the same time, side-by-side of each other. The lists should be based on opposites. Here are some examples to explain better:

Like/Dislike - things you like and dislike about your career, hobbies, or personal life

Usual/Unusual - Things that happen all the time and things that happen rarely.

Fun Things/Things that Suck - Things you do that are enjoyable and things that suck.

Your lists should help to quickly produce enough topics to last an entire year. Just make sure you save them for future reference. Not all topics are going to be clear winners. Remember to ask yourself these 4 questions when choosing your next Blog Post Topic:

1. Do you have extensive knowledge on the subject?
2. Do you feel strongly about this topic?
3. Do you think your audience will relate with this topic?
4. Is the topic providing something of value to your readers?

I wish you much success with your blog. As with everything in life, you will only get better with practice. If you would like more information on blogging or the use of social media for business, please contact our web design company.

I hope this list gives you some useful ideas so that you can create an amazing blog.

1. Create a good, unique design
2. Easy to navigate site
3. Posts that are Consistent and regular
4. Content that is helpful and useful
5. Create blog posts on niche topics that aren’t oversaturated
6. Original content using your, unique voice
7. Easy to share content- social media sharing tools/widgets
8. Comment on other blogs to become known
9. Make it easy for readers to subscribe
10. Organization with categories and sub-categories
11. Content variety including multimedia
12. Functionality- the ability to interact
13. Announce your latest blog posts on Twitter
14. Write powerful headlines for your articles
15. Don’t sensor yourself- Be You!
16. Monetize your blog- Banner Ads, Text Ads, etc.
17. Reference and link to other blogs
18. Engage with commenter’s
19. Who, what , where, why, when format
20. Use storytelling
21. Conciseness and brevity
22. Inspirational thoughts and ideas
23. Accuracy, sourcing, and references
24. Provide examples and demonstrations
25. Blog Post Topic diversity
26. Imagery and Illustration
27. Humor and occasional fun
28. Quotes and Acknowledgement
29. Controversial discussion
30. Sticky CTA’s (Call-to-Action) Entice visitors to return
31. Participate on LinkedIn “Answers”
32. Distribute posts using social bookmark sites (Digg, StumbleUpon, Reddit, Etc.)
33. Proofread, Proofread, Proofread
34. Scannable Posts
35. Create relevant “Top 10” Lists
36. Create “How To” articles
37. Write a “series” post
38. Don’t duplicate other people’s content
39. Provide a picture of yourself and an “About Me”
40. Optimize the blog for the Search Engines (SEO practices)
41. Use Squidoo and Hubspot to write articles that point back to your blog
42. Use Youtube to host and embed video to your blog
43. Use Google Analytics to Analyze and Improve Traffic Demographics
44. Write content that will still be relevant tomorrow
45. Offer a download (free E-book or Guide) to build a e-mail distribution list
46. Develop a personal brand
47. Add your Blog Link in your E-mail Signature
48. Tweet useful news articles on Twitter besides your blog posts
49. Don’t over promote yourself or your products
50. Submit your blog to blog directories

If you have questions on blogs, blogging, or social media in general, please contact our website design company.

Are you ready to get busy and build a nice stream of blog traffic? Just remember that in social media, meaningful content is king. The following is a list of actions of what you’ll need to do to see the first 100,000 blog visitors in 30 days and hopefully many more thereafter!

1. Make profiles on each social bookmarking site listed at SocialMarker - The initial setup of these profiles will be time consuming, but it will save you hours of manually bookmarking your blog posts on all the bookmarking sites.

2. Complete at least two (2) high quality, relevant blog posts that are meaningful to your audience a day.
   Helpful Hint: Write several blogs in advance and schedule them to be time released with your blog administrator software.

3. Make profiles on all the video sharing sites listed on TubeMogul -The initial setup of these profiles will be time consuming, but it will save you hours of manually uploading your videos on all the bookmarking sites.

4. Produce one (1) video a day using either a camera or video editing software such as Microsoft Movie Maker. You can even make a Powerpoint presentation and upload the slides into Movie Maker. Write a script and record your voice or use music for a nice touch. Embed the finished product to your blog.

5. Distribute each blog post using SocialMarker on a daily basis.

6. Distribute each video file produced using TubeMogul on a daily basis.

7. Create profiles on social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.  Both Facebook and LinkedIn have a feature that will allow you to setup a news feed from your blog. Each time your blog is updated, the friends in your network across these sites will receive your post.

8. Use SEO strategies and tactics that are explained in detail on SEOmoz and make sure to apply these techniques to your blog site.

9. Ensure to install some sort of sharing widget on your blog. There are many available depending on your blog technology. One of my favorites can be obtained at Share This and is feature rich. This will allow your viewers to distribute your blog posts virally.

10. Rinse and Repeat!

Helpful Hint: Good, high quality, content is essential to other people finding it useful and wanting to share it! If you have any questions regarding web design, web strategy or internet marketing, don’t hesitate to contact Proteus Design Studio.