Have you ever noticed that some blogs seem to rise to the top of Digg over and over again?
You might think that they’ve discovered some magic formula for getting attention, built a “Digg culture” on their blog, or they just get all of their friends to Digg their posts.
And they might.
Though, many of them took the most important step before they even started their blog. They chose a niche that the social media crowd already loves.
The Secret: Give Them What They Want
The most successful blogs don’t try to manipulate readers into voting for their posts. They just give them what they want.
It’s all about focusing on your audience. If you want to be on the front page of Digg, write about topics that Diggers love, such as Ron Paul, Apple, or blogging.
What if your blog doesn’t cover these types of subjects? What if you’re passionate about a “mundane” subject like gardening?
The traditional advice is to slant some posts to get attention. For example:
It works. The only question is, do you really want to slant all of your posts just to attract attention? Doesn’t that kind of take away the point of blogging about gardening?
Sure. You could end up writing about something that doesn’t really interest you and quit.
The Secret to Long-Term Social Media Success
The best solution isn’t to slant your posts. It’s to find the overlap between your passions and the topics social media users already love.
Let’s get back to the gardening example.
If you’re a fanatic, you might be tempted to ruminate about the history of different types of plants, but unless it involves sex, murder, or politics, you won’t get much attention from social media. Instead, look to your passions.
For instance, you might believe that gardening makes the world a better place. It just so happens that Digg loves stories about helping the environment and saving the world.
So, you decide to start a blog called “GreenThumbing.org: Changing the World, One Green Thumb at a Time.” You write posts like:
- Warning: You’re Consuming 2 Gallons of Pesticides per Year
- How Do We End World Hunger? The Answer Is in Your Own Backyard
- 21 Ways That Gardening Makes You a Happier Person
I don’t know for sure that all of those titles would make the front page of Digg, but I think they would have a shot. More importantly though, you’d be writing about something both you and people around the world adore.
The result? A blog that’s successful for a long, long time.
If you hate get rich quick schemes, penny pinching, and advice without substance, you might just love Jon’s blog, On Moneymaking. Subscribe here.
Sponsored By: Add Copyblogger to your Technorati Favorites today!
Download the Free Teaching Sells Report
Forget Everything You Know About Making Money Online... And Start Making Some
Like this article? Click “Recommend” to let others know your interest.
Click "Tool Box"-> "Save" to add this article as your favourite.