Wishing your blog had more visitors? One of the best ways to attract more visitors is consistently writing exciting blog posts. Writing an exciting blog post often requires picking a fresh, original topic, including awe-inspiring images, and creating enough controversy that readers will want to discuss the blog in the comments section (you do have comments on your blog, don't you?).
Picking a Fresh, Original Topic
Picking a fresh topic might be one of the hardest aspects of writing an exciting blog post. Everything must have been written about at this point, right?
Not entirely. News happens just about every day, and provides for many great blog topics. For example, if your blog focuses on politics, flip on the TV to a news station or check out your favorite news site for the latest current events. The key to making a blog post about current events exciting is to be one of the first people to write about it. This might mean occasionally having the inside scoop on a news story, or following Twitter and forums that are constantly being updated with new information. Be careful, however; publishing a half-baked blog with news that lacks substance can easily lead to readers tearing it apart.
Being original does not always require one to be the first to write about something. Sometimes, it may simply take looking at something in a new way. For instance, if you write for a movie review blog, an exciting blog entry might examine a film in a different or unpopular way. Regardless of how many previous reviews have been dedicated to the film, a review that describes, in detail, the great cinematography in a previously unexamined scene may win over a few followers. Or, try giving a negative review to a movie that you hate but everyone else loves. By doing so, you might also benefit from another aspect of an exciting blog post: controversy.
Creating Controversy
Everyone wants to put their two cents in. Thus, it's really important to create blog entries that incite some kind of controversy or emotional response. The result is that visitors will be debating (arguing) over your blog's contents in the comments. Many times, this will result in more visitors being recruited to comment on your blog.
How does one draw controversy? For some people, especially those with extremely personal or flippant viewpoints, creating controversy comes naturally. Others really have to try to create controversy. Truly, starting a controversy is as simple as taking an unpopular side. For instance, try writing a blog about how cookies can be healthy for a health food website. If you can somehow find a way to argue this point effectively, you will definitely have an exciting blog post on your hands.
Keep in mind, controversy can be a double-edged sword, as some visitors might be offended by controversial content and stop visiting your site. Try to keep any controversial posts appropriate for your general audience.
Awe Inspiring Images
Images really help break up the wordy nature of blog entries. They provide a visual point of fixation, and, when taken well, can improve the content quality of a blog immensely.
Of course, taking a quality photograph might require a trained photographer. Using DSLRs and other high end cameras is a whole different topic. On the other hand, many sites on the internet offer photos for Fair Use for free. Flickr.com, for example, hosts a variety of user submitted photos, some of which are available for republishing. Always make sure to check a photo's licensing policy and give credit to the original publisher.
For high quality photographs, bloggers might need to pay for images at sites like GettyImages.com. Prices depend on the quality, size, popularity, and subject of the photo.
Finding an exciting photo depends on the content of your blog. Obviously, sports and landscape photos can be fairly exciting. On the other hand, if your blog focuses on more mundane topics, try taking photos of everyday objects with a bit of humor in mind. For instance, if your blog post is about awesome ties, take or find photos of ties with bizarre designs or outrageous statements on them.
Finally, always ensure that photos published to a blog have appropriate anchor text and descriptions that relate to the blog's topic. Search engines can use this data to rank your blog entries for certain keywords.
Conclusion
Writing exciting blog posts certainly takes some thought and planning, but understanding these tips may certainly help blog entries jump right off the computer screen.
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