40 Ways to Deliver Killer Blog Content

December 4, 2008 · Comments

rock scream You’ve got a chance right now. While everyone else has their eyes on celebrating the holidays and doing all their year end rituals, you can make a commitment. You can make your New Year’s resolution almost a full month early. Here’s what you can commit to for 2009: you’re going to have a killer blog. You’re going to write the kind of blog people post, tweet, link, and even print to stick up on their office wall. Your blog in 2009 is going to be the kind of blog that people use to power their own change. This is your chance to get out there and kick ass.

You can do this. You can deliver with the impact you want, and build on the work you’ve already done. I don’t claim that I know every little secret, but I tell you this: I get a lot of decent results with what I’m doing so far. You want some ideas from my side of the page? Here: take 40 of them. And if you want, add to them in your own blog post (pointing back to here). Ready?

40 Ways to Deliver Killer Blog Content

The Basics

  1. Brevity rules. Can you say it briefly?
  2. Start at the main point, then work the story up. (Make the main point in the first paragraph.)
  3. Use small words. You don’t have to impress people. You have to be clear.
  4. Analogies help people understand things better.
  5. So do stories.
  6. You don’t have to write complete sentences, even though your teacher taught you to do that. But treat it sparingly. Like this. Like a condiment.
  7. Keep paragraphs small, if possible. We balk at large blocks of text.
  8. Make your point from the reader’s side of the fence. Who is your audience?
  9. Depending on how you write, go back and see if you can cut out more. Reduce. Reduce. Reduce.
  10. Use the word you’re thinking about, not a fancier, or more polite word.


Concepts and the Bigger Picture

  1. Set up series of posts, even if you don’t call them a series. Make a post that brings up follow-on points from a previous post, and link back to that post to reinforce the original content.
  2. Get your inspiration from reading. #1 source for my ideas comes from other blogs not in my space. Not sure what to read that’s NOT in your space? Alltop, my friend. ( see also).
  3. Think strategically, if this is for business or a cause. Ask yourself what you want your reader to do next. Try to write from that point of view.
  4. Theme-wise, writing very helpful things that people can use is way better than writing thoughtful things that make people think and just walk away. You can have thoughtful but not helpful, but you’re striving for helpful and thoughtful in the same piece.
  5. Never write the me-too blog. Look to be ahead of the wave and feeding backwards, not behind the wave and eating someone’s wake.
  6. Look for ways to think forward, but that tie to your business interests. When I write about the future, I’m also inviting someone to make that future with me.
  7. Mix it up. Keep an editorial calendar and note what kinds of posts you’ve written lately. Thought posts? Lists? Interviews? Make sure you’re mixing up the type of post you’ve written lately.
  8. Consider the occasional dip into Google Trends to write a story that might draw new audience to your conversation. Don’t do this all the time, because the gimmick can wear off quick. Again, think condiments, not meals.
  9. If you don’t have anything interesting to blog, skip a day. Don’t skip many days.
  10. And never never never (raise your hand and repeat this with me) “I” (state your name) “solemnly swear never never never never ever to post another ‘I’m sorry I haven’t blogged lately’ posts ever again. Ever.”


Overdrive

  1. Consider your audience but write from your passion.
  2. Don’t mince words. If it’s a “pissing match,” it’s not a disagreement.
  3. Ask questions. Blogs are conversations starting and flowing. Ask. Questions.
  4. Link to people. If you write about Steve Garfield, link to Steve Garfield.
  5. It’s not all about your blog. Get out and comment on other people’s blogs. Often.
  6. Leave a few ideas unfinished. Ask for input. It always improves a piece. Blogs are great for that.
  7. Use tags. Lots of tags. Make sure you claim your blog with Technorati, and submit it with Alltop.
  8. Make sure your blog’s URL is everywhere: in your email signature, in Facebook, in Flickr, in Twitter, in every outpost you can think about.
  9. Don’t email, DM, and otherwise push every blog post you write to other people. Share the best ones. Let the others be found on their own merits.
  10. Always know why you’re doing what you’re doing. Question yourself often. Look for ways to improve the game.

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Encore

  1. Comment back to the people who have left comments.
  2. Follow those people’s links sometimes and go explore their blog.
  3. Look for ways to empower the community you inspire.
  4. If you haven’t found your community yet, keep looking, searching, and connecting.
  5. Learn about Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM). It’s no longer okay not to know even the most basic things.
  6. Find great Creative Commons photos and use them for your post (with attribution).
  7. Deconstruct what your favorite writers do, and try it your own way.
  8. Occasionally, try something completely different.
  9. Don’t be afraid to fail. Be afraid of not being interesting enough.
  10. Write as if someone believes in you, because someone does. (me!)

And if that’s not enough, here’s my best advice about blogging.

What do you think? Any questions? Anything I left out?

Photo credit, motorpsykhos

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  • Re: "#39. Don't be afraid to fail. Be afraid of not being interesting enough." If you can focus on being yourself, you'll be interesting. It's too hard being someone you're not. And people take notice of that. Your passion doesn't show.

    I think that if you can focus on being yourself, you'll gain far more success than you otherwise could have.

    As always, thanks for the tips! Here's to being a Rockstar in 2009!
  • Great post! I will definitely try out a lot of these suggestions and surprisingly I feel like I already do a few. Thanks again
  • Chris - Sage words of advice. Everyone a gem, more so for the fact that the post itself adhered to so many of your own suggestions.

    The one that jumped out at me though, was number 30 "Always know why you’re doing what you’re doing. Question yourself often. Look for ways to improve the game." I think there's far too little of that in the 'blogosphere' (hate that word!). The best blogs are those that question themselves often and know why they are doing what they are doing.

    Those are the ones I seek out.

    Thanks for the post, Chris. You can bet it's going to get re-tweeted often!
  • #41: Find another writer you trust -- and who gets your style -- and have him/her review a post once a week. Or, even better, read it beforehand.

    It's easy sometimes to fall in love with your own voice, only to have your favorite giggle line fall flat with an audience. A peer review will save you from yourself, as well as catch other bad writing habits it's easy to fall into.
  • Chris,

    Thanks for great tips! It will surely help especially when I get a writer's block!

    On a sidenote Chris, that photo you have on the top right does have a resemblance to Terry Fator. Heh heh! Are you two related somehow? =P
  • Number 1 hits me the hardest. Still working on it after all these years...

    Thanks for the list! It's always good to know from suggestion what I'm doing right as well as what I'm doing wrong.

    Again, thank you, Chris!
  • Raj
    This is a great list. I particularly liked #19. I do feel guilty at times if I don't blog for a day. Isn't saying something better than saying nothing at all?
  • Re: #9 Reduce...yes, the tough one, but sound journalism advice. I like the editorial calendar idea too. Another one that works is: write in advance. That's a tough one. And that takes scheduling, and a personal commitment to your schedule.
  • The n° 1 rule of all should be : write about something that grabs you !
    My blog (in french) about management : www.managementetmoi.blogspot.com
  • Interesting post. I stumbled on a list with suggestions for adjusting writing for dyslexic people the other day and I realized that these guidelines should be applied to all audiences. Pretty much what you've written in The Basics.
  • There's a lot of good stuff here--but I find myself going back to your first point. Why 40 points when 10 or 12 would cover most of what's here? This is an honest question humbly offered--I see these lists proliferating everywhere. 60 points. 100 points. Many not really points at all, just bits. I get the fragmentation motif, but I find myself thinking you might have more value to add to, say #30, that gets left out in name of driving a list. Just asking. I do like the content.
  • Thank you, Chris, for the CONSTANT great content. You don't stop. This is valuable, BIG time. I like that you said don't push every single post. Saw a guru who only tweets blog posts. Where's the love?
  • I'm really really sorry that I haven't commented lately...
  • Chris - we have just started writing a blog for work (slow adapters here on the UK Coastal outposts!). You were referred to me by a friend as the guru of all things social networking wise, and this is a very timely post for me. Thank you.
  • Wow!! What a post! Like it very much and recommended it to my Twitter followers.
  • Great tips! As an illustrator I noticed many of your tips apply to drawing and illustrating as well, especially the "reduce, reduce, reduce" one (or in other words, simplify, simplify, simplify)
  • I love number 10 in The Basics list.
  • This should be an article "must read before starting a blog".

    Chris, thanks! :-)
  • Thanks for sharing these useful tips
  • Adam Helweh
    Excellent points and very timely. My goal for January 1st 2009 is to have my blog launched and by December 31st 2009 have it chock full of "killer content". This is the second time this month you have read my mind and posted something timely for what I was doing at the time.

    Regards,
    Adam
  • "36. Find great Creative Commons photos and use them for your post (with attribution). "

    That's what I've been looking for.

    Also, THANKS! I'm a new blogger, and this info helps, a LOT...really.. thank you, I will try to incorporate these 40 ways from now on.....
  • Thanks for sharing your ideas. It is very useful list. I will try to implement as much as I can into my blogging work flow. Thanks
  • Well this was the kind of blog that I did print out and have now stuck on my office wall - thank you
  • Fantastic post-- this is one of the best list of blogging tips I've seen-- you really cover everything! I shall heed your wisdom :-)
  • What can I say but, Wow! That's a lot of useful information. Do you sleep?

    Several items I find myself using already, but I picked up three pointers on content and technique I did not think about. The rest? Well, I better get started.

    Thank you.
  • Love this mornings post! The greenie in me that tries to not even hook up my printer may need to to print this one! For now going to hit my Yahoo groups and link to this!!
    Jen
    http://eco-officegals.com
  • Great post. I printed out the list of 40 and plan to refer to it frequently as I ramp up the quality of my blog posts in 2009. Off to RT. Thanks so much!
  • Very informative. Certainly connecting with readers is one of the most important thing. Picked up four points from this post. It's a gem...
  • Awesome post! Really great advice. Like everyone else I'm going to print the list out and keep it handy. Thanks!
  • gacconsultants
    Being completely new to this; all of these tips are very helpful - I appreciate you work very much.

    Mark
  • Chris:

    This is SUCH great advice. I write an online column(not really a blog) as we've already discussed and, in it, I always write with PASSION. This is what I hear back from my readers-they love the passion that comes through and the ...generosity. I ALWAYS try to be generous and help others who need help.

    The other thing I do is to write a headline that hopefully entices people to read further. Headlines are so critical for me. If someone is going to email my column to someone else, the headline has to be compelling enough to get them to click through..

    For instance, I recently wrote a column (and I write for the FURNITURE industry at www.furnituretoday.com "Retail Ideas") and titled it " Weight Loss." I am sure NO ONE was expecting to read a serious furniture industry column entitled WEIGHT LOSS. It worked... My readers wanted to know why in the world Ms.Serious Furniture Writer would write about THAT. And, the whole column used another piece of your advice-use analogies and stories. CRITICAL.

    Thanks, Chris, for elucidating(I mean stating) so clearly what we need to consider. It is such great advice!

    on twitter at tkpleslie
  • This is a fantastic list, Chris, and the timing is perfect! But then, according to #30, the timing should always be perfect. You're such an inspiration.

    p.s., Thanks for the World AIDS Day love!
  • Nice!
    I would add that not only should you write from your passion, but use your blog as a place to explore your passion(s) as well. Often times the best stuff happens in the comments. Write your posts in such a way that you encourage people to talk. In my opinion, conversation is king. :-)
  • Looks like I know what I'll be doing this Christmas break. Thanks for the ideas and the push!
  • stevenmilstein
    Classic Chris, once again! Thanks for all of them but especially #27 & #35.
  • Wow, that is a LOT of great content. Thanks, Chris, for an incredibly helpful list.

    I like the way you even format your blog -- double spacing (or 1.5?), lots of lists, short paragraphs, lots of subheads. Very easy to read.

    Thanks for always being willing to share info with the rest of us.

    Diana Scimone
    Born to Fly International, Inc.
    www.born2fly.org
    www.dianascimone.com (blog)
  • As usual, great advice Chris. I always look at blogging as telling a story - offering readers the occasional escape from lives that have everyday problems and issues to deal with.

    If blogs can offer something that interests and entertains while remaining positive, then I consider that to be a success. So far, I haven't been too disappointed with the people I read, new and existing. :)
  • Fantastic tips here Chris!
    Ok, working my way down the list now. Actually this may be one to print out and stick in front of me :)
  • Great article and fantastic tips! You said something that stuck with me, and that was that I needed to stay passionate and don't "mince words." This feels important to me because without passion we have nothing.
  • You inspire folks to reach for the rock star status you so freely give away by bringing people into your practice, your posture, in this space. My mind goes back to your opening up your desktop at #NMS08 and giving us a glimpse at ten minutes of "being Chris Brogan."

    The google trends thought new to me as a way to riff off the collective concerns and build community (once in awhile, like you say).
  • This is the best compilation of good blogging advice I've run across. Good job.
  • Superb list. It's about the context of your post. I think in relation to killer content is the ability to be transparent in your post. Erasing the barrier between being a company and customer and giving your blog/posts some personality.
  • Thanks so much for coming up with this list. A lot of these things are common sense, but sometimes you need to see it in someone else's words for it to sink in.
  • Great list - nice piece of work.

    Is it only me ho finds it mildly amusing that eight points out of the first ten apply EXACTLY to writing of good old-fashioned press releases, no?

    Steve Walker
  • I disagree with point 7.

    "Keep paragraphs small, if possible. We balk at large blocks of text."

    That's what most blogs do. Another opportunity is to be thorough. Look at what Maki does @ http://DoshDosh.com.

    There is a good audience of quite intellectual people who read blogs that have no problems with lots of information. It's typical to have brevity in blogs. Sure, it works - but if you've got a lot to say I wouldn't hold back just because it creates a popular site. Potentially you can go the other route and be authoritative.
  • This is a great list! Thanks for the pep talk!
  • Absolutely great list, Chris. I'm thinking of pinning *this* to my wall. I've got some time off from work coming up, and I'm really looking forward to organizing a gameplan for 2009 that takes much of what you've written here into account.

    Thanks, so much!
  • You reminded me of the writing principles I learned in J school - They are all so true. Thanks for this post. I'm sending it on to all my clients who are contemplating blogs in 2009!
  • Great tips Chris! (love your name BTW-hee hee)
    I just started my blog last month and I have much honing to do before it can be even close to being "killer"! These will help. Thanks for reminding me about the beauty of "brevity" - I'm a rambler :) Have a great day!!

    Chris
  • Rob
    As I'm relatively new to blogging, I found your list to be really useful and informative. Now it's time to put some of these useful tips to practice. Thanks.
  • Thanks for the great list.
    Re #39 - recent favorite quote:'I succeed because I fail'
  • Lovely.
  • Yes Chris, I have printed this off. I am going to carry it around with me, so whenever I have to wait some where I have PAPER in my hands to READ this over and over. (When I print something I am more likely to commit and 'buy-in' to it- I know ME!!)

    I am excited that you wrote this especially considering I just was discussing this VERY thing with people at our company (Sephone). I am in seclusion and in the planning of this very thing!! I LOVE YOU, Man!
  • Excellent and very timely. My students in a college course on Social Media & Business (http://sixdegrees.wikidot.com) just completed an assignment where they had to create a list of tips for blogging. We'll compare their lists with your list for a great discussion. Thanks, Chris!
  • I loved this! Better than a blog school & so easy to pass along to others just starting out. I just tweeted it to my followers. Thanks once again Chris!
  • Great info for new bloggers. Pieced together very well, I have read umteen articles like this, but this one is very
  • Excellent tips. You inspire me to keep on blogging and to improve every day. Thanks for sharing!
  • Thanks. Working on it all.
  • Great tips! You inspire me to keep blogging and to get better at it. Thanks for sharing.
  • 41. Traffic bait posts about how to blog still seem to work!
  • 2 Ideas come to mind:

    1. Be Bold!
    Don't be afraid to disagree with the status quo.

    2. Know your audience! Speak to them directly. You are not trying to appeal to everyone. Find your niche and stay home.

    anyone have other ideas to add to this list?
  • Nice post - lots of sound advice - like the bit about not being afraid to fail and dont worry about not being interesting (two pretty big stumbling blocks for most people)

    Ive got lots of work to do on mine - but that list will give some serious food for thought.
  • Great post...I will definitely use this.
  • Great post and since we just started a blog, something I've been thinking (and reading about) quite a bit. Brian Clark from Copyblogger has a great, related article that's worth checking out: "5 Simple Ways to Open Your Blog Post With a Bang" -- he actually has a lot of helpful advice about writing content for blogs. Here's the link:
    http://www.copyblogger.com/5-simple-ways-to-ope...

    Cheers,
    Anna
  • these are some great tips to pass along to the other staff members on the website. this was an excellent post with some great advice.

    we have been hanging in there for 2 years now, and we just keep learning more and more about managing a site.

    thanks.
  • Chris - Excellent advice as usual. I especially think number 32 is important - I've found lots of useful, interesting information/opinions online just by following links from comments on other blogs.

    On #36 - there are a number of great tools online that let you search Flickr for CC licensed images. http://color.slightlyblue.com/ (no affiliation to me!) is one that lets you search based on colors, which is great for finding images that match your theme. And of course, Flickr's own advanced search at http://www.flickr.com/search/advanced/
  • Good post, thanks. I DID print it & put it on my wall! :)
  • Thanks for the wonderful ideas. For those of us who don't feel comfortable writing your post takes some of the fear out of it and provides a great starting point.
  • Hi Chris!

    #1 Extremely important and sometimes not easy to do it!

    #7 How many times I see biggg paragraphs completely inedible and worst, without any type of formatting, colors or subheadings!
    As a foodie the same must be utterly appealing to the eyes…like your favorite dish ;)

    # I want to remark the social media aspects of blogging, engage in your specific communities and/or use social media sites like stumbleupon, digg, mixx, sphinn, twitter and the list can continue…depending of your niche :)

    Congrats for this excellent article, bookmarked for future reference!

    Gera .:. sweetsfoods
  • Great post. Especially about learning about SEO. There are a ton of great blogs out there that will allow you to learn about it slowly but completely. And writing a blog helps your SEO if you do things the right way.
  • As always, very informative and helpful to the blogging community.

    Great post
  • inspirational!
    will pass it on!
  • Hey, Chris -- Great post! So clearly laid out and broken down into manageable sections. I'm a baby-blogger (just stared a little over a month ago) and feel overwhelmed by all there is to learn. Thanks for making the process slightly easier! Michele
  • I practice many of the points you have mentioned. One huge bullet point for me is showing drafts of my posts to a group of people in your circle who will give you very candid feedback. You are what you post on the web, so why not make sure you are showing your best side.
    It is also very important to constantly question yourself about motivation for your articles. Are you writing to stroke your own ego or to share real knowledge with the world?

    Apolinaras "Apollo" Sinkevicius
  • Great tips Chris-- I would add, from my experience, if you feel you don;t have time to blog MAKE the time, and use tools that help you. that's why I post from mobile quite often, because I think of topics on morning walks/drives, then post via Utterli.com. It changes the form of the posts, but it often dislodges bigger ideas for longer posts as well. More importantly, it creates a bigger stream of content, and sparks conversations.
  • Hi Chris, thank you for this great list, it answers many of the questions I had for a while! I love your point about brevity and using simple words. One of my all time favorite writing teachers, William Zinsser "On Writing Well", makes this point over and over: be brief, keep it real. Not as easy as it sounds, sometimes.
  • I'll be sending you an invoice for paper and toner, as I print and save YET ANOTHER Brogan post.
  • Ann
    Thanks for the tips. I'll pass this along.
  • Great stuff. I plan to print it out and put it on my wall. I've been blogging for about a month and a half now and the benefits are not just in having people find me for consulting work. What I really like about it is that it helps me move through my own ideas faster -- like being back in grad school where I had to defend every stray thought.

    Blogging makes me smarter ...
  • One question I have though is what's the difference between categories and tags and is it really necessary to use both?
  • Yet another amazing post and worth printing for constant reinforcement. thx for putting it together in easy to comprehend format.
  • Hi Chris,

    Just found you and added you to my blogroll. As a newbie to the world of blogging this post is really helpful. Thanks for all the well communicated tips! Happy holidays.
  • Awesome, Chris! You are so right on. Thank you.
  • "Don’t be afraid to fail. Be afraid of not being interesting enough."
    Thanks for this reminder and many other great insights. It's easy to be interesting with so many fascinating people and conversations in the world today.
  • #3 Use small words. You don’t have to impress people. You have to be clear.

    It's amazing what big complicated ideas can be communicated with small simple words. (I learned this living in China when people knew very little english but we were able to dialogue about big world issues)

    If there were such thing as blog church, I'd nominate you as the teaching pastor.
  • Interesting points, that I will read again and see which ones fit. But I think it's also possible to have a blog as a hobby, and allow yourself not to spend all your time on it as if it was a job. I worry about the "not being interesting enough" - I worry about being too ecclectic. Since I sell jewelry, and have entries about Steampunk, Biblical exegesis, and sushi, am I really going to get an audience that wants to buy my jewelry? But I want to talk about everything that interests me. Hopefully the right people will come.
  • Hi,

    Seeing how many people posted comments here I'm sure that you know what you are talking about. It's obvious that you know your staff and I'm sure you worked hard for this community.

    The only thing I have to add is this :
    - Repeat all these steps at least 3 times per week.

    That's all for now. See you on Twitter.
    PS : I'm WebOptimization :)
  • Chris
    BRILLIANT!
    So concise, so precisely what I needed this evening.
    Thanks so much for sharing all of this with the rest of us!
    I'll be adding you to my reader.
    Take care,
    Karenne
  • Thanks for this timely post. I like it when through synchronicity I read something I had just be thinking about. Will post a link to the article from my blog.
  • Chris, thanks for the comprehensive list.

    One point about internal blogging at businesses, especially for those companies that are not active in social media. Introduce a blog about customers and what problems your products are solving. Everyone likes to hear about customers and their stories can be fascinating. It also becomes great content for an eventual external company blog.
  • #36 with Zemanta and Firefox there is no reason not to have a picture in every post. Also great for finding other related articles and linking important concepts/people to wikipedia entries etc.
  • Thanks,, Chris! My blog just went live about a week ago, and I am posting this list on my wall to refer to!

    Another really great help to me in my fledgling bloggery has been Havi Brooks series on Blogging Therapy, which she writes every Tuesday. You'll find her at FluentSelf.com.

    I can use all the help I can get!
  • Going with the condiments! You could have said reduce one less time. Also could you give me an analogy to help me understand #4? ;-) Seriously, this was a good read/refresher - thanks.
  • Thanks for the tips - some of it really fits right in with journalism 101.
  • I'm in! I vow to make my blog suck less in the New Year.
  • Rocking hot post as usual Chris. A TON of great ideas that I will use for sure. Love the one about complete sentences. We don't talk in complete sentences, so why write in complete sentences? amen! PREACH!
  • If people wrote as you suggest, then even I would read their blogs! You have reassured my belief in what writing is about.
  • Fabulous post! Thanks for the inspiration. I must admit that I am in awe of the number of comments that you receive. You must be doing something right.
  • That. Says. It. All.
  • Last nite as I watched Chrysler ask for government help to build more internal combusiton cars -- I used a few of this tips to send out the news about Better Place's roll-out of real change in Hawaii - very effective

    Will use all your other tips too.
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