If you’ve been a blogger for any reasonable amount of time, one of the things you’ve probably picked up on is the massive surge of new blogs that seem to be appearing. If, as a blogger, you’re serious about making a successful blog with good, sustainable traffic, you now have to compete with all these extra blogs.
So, how do you do that? Easy! You give yourself an EDGE!
Firstly, what do I mean by this? Well, quite simply the ‘edge’ I’m referring to here is something that separates you from all the other blogs and makes readers want to see YOUR blog rather than your competitors’. It could be anything, as long as it means that you have that extra something that attracts readers to your blog.
Now, here’s the disappointing bit to the article: I can’t tell you what your edge should be. Sad, I know, but it just means you might have to work a bit harder to gain that extra little something. The reason for this is that the edge is very particular to your site, your niche, and you as a blogger.
That said, I can give you some examples of what other people are already using as their edge:
- An Amazing Design – Having an incredible design is a real edge. People will link to you to illustrate your theme, and it will also make you memorable.
- A Product – You could make a product to make people want to visit your site. If people know by coming to your site (or indeed joining your list) they’re going to receive a product, they’re much more likely to go to you.
- Offer Something Groundbreaking – You have the option of giving away a product, but something that’s equally effective is to give away a solution to a massive problem. This is the main why that sites in niches such as ‘weight loss’ do so well – they all say they’ve got a new way of losing pounds!
- Quality Writing – This is the simplest option. To achieve this, you should try and get writers in that are experts in your niche. If you have someone well known on your blog, you’re bound to get lots of extra traffic. Imagine the impact if someone like Darren Rowse was posting on regularly on your blog!
Like I say though, an edge can be anything and it should be personal to you. For example, the edge I’ve got on my blog is the branding. Due to extensive commenting on others’ blogs, people who I’ve never even heard of recognise my mascot! I have no figures to back this up, but I have a feeling a lot of my direct traffic comes from the branding, and I know for a fact that a lot of the links I get are from sites I don’t know!
So, give it a try, and let me know how it goes by leaving a comment below!
This is a guest post by Simon Rogers, a 15 year old blogger from Teenius.com. He is currently running a contest where you can win some awesome prizes, click here for more details!
First point is often the most important. When a new visitors comes, the first thing he notices is the design. If there is something good in this department, the chances of him/her staying longer are increased.
Although other three are also very important and come into play right after design.
Mr. I´s last blog ..Welcome To All New Blogging With Success
Good point, Tom. And as time goes on, this truth will be more and more vital. Seems like I read something once about being remarkable… like a purple cow or something…
Brandon Cox´s last blog ..If You’re Not On Twitter, You May Not Exist
Yeah, the design is really important for success! Thanks for the comment.
And, Tom, thanks for publishing this guest post! :)
Simon | Teenius´s last blog ..Contest: Great Prizes Up For Grabs!
Good points. However, IMO, I think quality writing is a must. The other three are great to have but fresh, new content is key.
Gabe | freebloghelp.com´s last blog ..Do Unto Others’ Blogs As You Would Have Them Do Unto Yours
I believe that the best way to give an edge to a site is with the title. For the branding, comment on sites with commentluv enabled. I came across this site from another blog after seeing a comment and the last post with the edgy title
John Samuel ´s last blog ..Browse Easy now on Twitter
cool post! but i’ll go for number 1 and 4. i’m just starting to learn how to blog and still can’t go further with offering a product of some sort. i just share my experiences and everyday views of a college student.
Quality content is critical. I’ve come across multiple blogs which are poorly designed, however the blogger has insight into the subject matter, which attracted me to the blog. The rest should follow after the basic is achieved.
Muzi Mohale´s last blog ..Emzini Tours contributes to community development in Knysna township
Very interesting points about the branding. It’s something i always struggle with. I don’t know whether to use my real name, a nickname, my photo, a logo… I am always changing my mind! Probably not helping to brand my site.
Ruth – Web Career Girl´s last blog ..Why Positive Thinking and Writing is Essential to Your Success
I don’t have an amazing design, nor a product, nor something groundbreaking. All I rely is the quality of my compositions. I hope this will do. Forgive me. :-)
I’ve been through three layout on blogs over the years. Each one has been a drastic improvement over the first and i can honestly say a good site design is first and foremost in building a good community around your site. Other than that content is key, but i’d definitely take the time to find a good wordpress layout in the beginning as you work to establish regular viewer ship and provide content to the blogging community
Thanks these are some excellent tips indeed – I am still trying to get the design part of my blog down, it looks ok but not great yet…
dave@home improvements´s last blog ..How To Fix a Leaking Faucet
Hi, Tom thanks for such a informative article, I do agree to the point that the people who visit the site majorly get attracted by the design, but in my opinion the content is the next thing people look for