MelvinBlog

A blog that chronicles my journey on online marketing, blogging, social media, technology and life.

What Makes Your Blog “Not Just Another Blog”

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As almost all of you know, there are about over 100 million blogs in the blogosphere. And there will be more in the coming future as most kids/wives/other people will take interest into that especially with over a million blogs telling you can really make money online with your blog. Before school started I have been pretty much reading a lot of blogs related to my niche and alth0ugh I do read many, only few were able to catch my attention. Of course as old adage says “first impression lasts”. Most of the blogs that have caught my attention before are the same blogs that I keep on following so it speaks so much about it.

I would really like to make an emphasis on the importance of leaving a “sticking impression” with the brand of your blog. An impression that doesn’t just make a reader say “just another blog”. In any niche you can see its importance as they normally determine your future followers, subscribers or even customers. So now I put up some things here that make me think a blog is “not just another blog” and is worth following for. Please take note these are all aside from posting a good content which has been rehashed over and over again. 😉 Here they are:

  • RSS Subscribers – Now this is always hard to achieve when starting out thats why most people will tell you that the hardest part is when starting. But for most sites, I think seeing a blog with over 500+ feed readers make sense to me a lot. It goes to say people are following that blog and for a reason. Last year I was wondering why people are working so much growing their rss subscribers. I even never cared about my blog’s feed fluctuating just between 50-100 before. But now I have realized a lot of things about its importance. So try growing your rss subscribers first then a ton of conversion from curious readers to loyal readers will follow.
  • Nice layout and design – Design is an integral part of everything. Whether you are promoting a brand or what. Believe me, nowadays design is overcoming good content. There are many blogs right now that just have a “unique custom blog design” and yet they are followed well. I’m not really saying go ahead and go a custom theme (because I myself doesn’t have one), but you see there is always a distinction between a nice theme, simple and minimalistic from ugly and cookie-cluterred one. 🙂
  • About Page – When I visit a blog and I see a great post, the first thing I do is read the about page of that certain site. Although most people have their own About Me page, not a lot take effort to make it more than just being readable. Personally the About Page means “Why should I subscribe” to me.
  • Non – Intrusiveness – Ok lets face it, every douche blogger puts an ad on their blog whether its a sponsorship or maybe referral/affiliate links or so. But that doesn’t mean your site is intrusive and not user friendly. Sometimes when I see a blog with a lot of ads (especially in IM niche) and I mean really a lot I come to think  “Is this guy really want to make his readers learn making money online, or he just wants to make money from them?”
  • Interaction – Or more familiarly known as comments. I run a couple of blogs outside this dirty niche and I really love the interaction on some posts. I mean originally a blog really is a form to communicate and share each others views on certain things right? So basically getting to see some interaction in posts really makes a blog a better one. Let’s be honest, we are skeptic to comment if we don’t see a comment before us right? But then its a different case for bigger blogs.

Are you missing out those things? Start working for it now! It may be hard (for some its not seriously) but the rewards are so big! With all the blogs giving their best effort to stand out and gain traction, you may not want to go far behind…

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Content is everything! If you have good content and you let google bot (and others) index your page you would basically not have to do anything, because people will like and link your articles.

    Of course this will take too long, so doing some off page optimization is necessary.

    ninom’s last blog post..Twitter is the new RSS?

  3. I also do believe that content is still king. I believe that if you want a long lasting brand, then you need content. Look at drudgereport (www.drudgereport.com) it is probably one of the most ugliest websites on the net, yet it receives 25million readers/24 hours. Pretty impressive, uh ?

    Cheers,

    The Moneyac

    The Moneyac’s last blog post..16 Interesting Internet Facts You Should Know About

  4. I agree wholeheartedly with your post. After reading, I think I need to reevaluate my “about me” page. I definitely agree that content is king. There are a lot of blogs out there simply repost others’ content. That’s not a winner in my opinion and I trust that one day, through a process of natural selection, only the best blogs will survive.

    T

    T Edwards’s last blog post..First 5 Things I Learned About Blogging

  5. I agree wholeheartedly with your post. After reading, I think I need to reevaluate my “about me” page. I definitely agree that content is king. There are a lot of blogs out there simply repost others’ content. That’s not a winner in my opinion and I trust that one day, through a process of natural selection, only the best blogs will survive.

    T

  6. I guess these are some of the usual things pointed out, but I think there is more two it. Even if you are doing well in all of the categories, a reader might not really want to stick around. Sometimes it just depends on what people like, as far as the theme and content. I would say the biggest factors for me are the content and the theme. If they have a few great posts on the homepage, and seem really nice, I will stick with that blog.

    Nathaniel’s last blog post..Super Green Blogging

  7. Great point! I think I have to rewrite my about me page, cuz I realized that it was unfinished and doesn’t really have the spunk we oh so need in standing out in the blogosphere. I think you’re connection with your reader matters as well, and not sound too expertish. It’s easier to connect with someone when you know you are on the same level. 🙂

    Mikhail’s last blog post..Someone Bribed me $12,000 to forget about Yanik’s Underground Online Seminar and I Accepted it!

  8. Hmmm, that’s a great point as well. But again for me as things started to change so quick, I think those other factors also start to come. I mean a lot of time I see a blog that isn’t really that nce of a read but has a lot of followers.

  9. I agree. Bigger people tend to jive to other big people only but on some cases if the content is nice enough, you can maybe drive big people to your blog.

  10. again as what I mentioned above, good content is always a given. If you look at all list, there is always a “good content” included. But when people do not know your site exist, then great content is futile.

  11. I agree with Tom – 2009 Trek Bikes,a good Blog Design is important too. It shows that blogger want to make his blog nice and accessible. I agree with all of you points specially 4th one. I also agree with About Me Page. It is really required. I so far have been neglecting it. But now I have decided to put a nice About me page in my blog as well.

  13. I still think that the most important thing is how your theme looks. A nice custom, professional, clean theme is usually vital if you ever hope to make money off of your blog and convert visitors into readers.

    That’s why I took the time and effort to spend $1000 on my blog design. I’ve been complemented on it time after time on how nice it is.

    I recommend anyone who wants readers get a nice looking theme 🙂 .

    Robin Haney’s last blog post..What Kinds Of Posts Generate The Most Traffic?

  14. I like your point number 3. About page is also important to show the visitor who we are. Some advertiser is look at about page 1st. So i will change the description for my blog

  15. Hey Melvin. Great post! The key to success is having the right balance of all the above ingredients to ensure that you can optimally monetize your blog. Also, did you receive your ML t-shirt yet? I’d love to see a post about it! 😉

  16. I’m not sure my blog have what it takes, but one thing I learn from top copywriters is this, “You first job is not to get your prospect to read your post, you first job is to get them to see your post.

    It’s just like if he see the structure of the blog is not nice, hardly he will even read any words of the post.
    .-= The Bad Blogger´s last blog ..At 25 Kilometers Per Second The Deadliest Natural Destruction In This Universe Is Going To End All Human Race That Walks The Face Of The Earth ! =-.

  17. I’m trying to make my blog stand out from others by actually having two of us posting, and being in a constant competition which the user can monitor (and soon even take part in some of it!). Through this we’ll be actually sharing how we are making our money, instead of running speculation; as well as showing our profit and loss.
    .-= Dan´s last blog ..I Can Has iPhone Money? =-.

  18. The Ultimate Question! Originality, Marketability, and Creativity, are a must for any blogs today. Blogs are no longer a new thing, becoming original in this over crowded blogosphere is a must. These are good tips are staying new.
    .-= Jonathan Muller´s last blog ..The Keys to Online Success =-.

  20. Nice post Melvin.based on your points here, do you think my blog passed your taste? It has a customized theme but I feel that I need to change the theme already. What do you think? Can you suggest a good one?

    Also, many say that I have a good and quality content but the thing is, I am not generating a lot of traffic. I’ve been trying to promote my blog online and offline. And through the course, I developed some returning visitors too. But the traffic is not yet spectacular compared to the ones doing SEO posts.

    Do I bore my readers? Am I being too technical with my posts?
    .-= Tyrone | Millionaire Acts´s last blog ..On Network Marketing and Multi Level Marketing =-.

  21. Thanks Melvin,

    Excellent post and a few points that I am doing wrong! My about page still has the details from the old owner!!!

    Hopefully I will be back online full time soon so I can sort out the blog and start making myself stand out from the crowd.
    .-= Forest´s last blog ..10 Tips To Kickstart A New Blog =-.

  22. Design attracts Melvin, bang on! I agree. About me is an awesome idea. I am going to work out on my own on.
    But magnificent ones are
    Non – intrusiveness & Interaction
    Even I hesitate be first to comment & its truly simple yet perfectly mind-blogging idea. I loved it completely.

    I am just plainly impressed by this post by the fact that 1. you are the individual you can take advice from. You won’t intrude. I can trust your content & its genuineness

    2. Your style…………Cool
    3. Amazing & simple to implement insights
    .-= Chris Peterson´s last blog ..Tips To Become A Successful Business-man =-.

  24. Cool observation. I think the best distinction will be the layout and the design, after all, first impression last. 🙂

  25. Hi Melvin, First off I w onder why all your comment dates are listed as January 09, not quite sure what is going on here oh well. I do believe that the about page should be a really good overall bio and something that really tells people about you and where you intend to take your blog. Content is definitely king and the interaction with one’s readers is also very important, overall what makes a blog not just another blog is how you make your blog an individual blog and make it your own!!
    .-= jj-momscashblog´s last blog ..Make Money Selling Used Books =-.

  26. Very helpful. As a new blogger looking to expand my following I appreciate the advice. I can’t stand the blogs with ads everywhere, it just screams how desperate they are to make a buck.

    Thanks
    .-= Paddy´s last blog ..Benign Minutia IV. =-.

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