Monday, June 1, 2009

Launching a new blog - Part 2

[Overstuff your blogs]

The problem with new bloggers is mostly not about the quality, but about the quantity. Remember a reader is like a client visiting a shop. He wants to see it stuffed, he wants to see variety, he wants to see crowd of other costumers. Which shop gathers your attention in the market? The one that is sparsely occupied with stuff or the one that is completely overstuffed?

Nothing is more disappointing for a reader then having to close your blog because there’s nothing left to read. And if you are an irregular blogger, you increase the chances of loosing the reader even more. If you are interesting, you have to be addictive. Consider a new reader finds your blog extremely interesting and visits again tomorrow and finds nothing new. Will he be delighted?

Imagine if popular TV series Friends or How I met your mother were screened irregularily, will they be able to reach this level of popularity? So there are two ways, either one has to be a regular blogger, OR has to create a huge pile before going to the readers OR both.

So overstuff your blog shop before opening it up to customers. How many is enough? I’d say when you have 100 posts, a new reader will certainly never have to quit because he is finished reading. But practically it is good to have at least 20 posts before you start worrying about readership at all.
Posted by Ujjwal Trivedi at 15:09:39 | Permalink | No Comments »

Launching a new blog - Part 1

[How to get readers to my blog?]

Every week there is a new person asking this question in online forums. Perhaps they are dazzled by the popularity of a few online authors, bloggers & marketers. And want to reach same levels of popularity fast. I already explained some essential steps to get started with your self-branding excercise. But there is one thing everyone should keep in mind. 

 What is in it for readers?

Sure your blog is interesting. Everyone finds their stuff interesting enough, but does it cater to the real problems of their readers. I find many interesting blogs everyday. But the ones I hook on to are certainly the ones that solve my current problems, and look like potentially solving my future problems as well. 

 Choose your readers!

Who do you want to read your blog? You have to carefully choose your readers and identify their requirements. OR you may carefully choose things that you wish to write and then focus on how you can erach teh interested lot. Many a times bloggers are confused about these two very different things. Either you write for some “specific” lot of readers OR you have to find the specific lot interested in your thoughts.

So if you want a certain category of readers, think about their requirements.

If you rather want to get readers who just like ‘your’ stuff, focus on finding the right people. It’s apparently gonna take more time.  
Posted by Ujjwal Trivedi at 14:29:00 | Permalink | No Comments »