chrisbrogan.com» linkbait http://www.chrisbrogan.com Learn How Human Business Works - Beyond Social Media Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:30:05 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 The Subtle Art of Linkbaiting http://www.chrisbrogan.com/the-subtle-art-of-linkbaiting/ http://www.chrisbrogan.com/the-subtle-art-of-linkbaiting/#comments Tue, 27 Jan 2009 06:01:00 +0000 ceb http://www.chrisbrogan.com/?p=3179 fish hook If you don’t know the term, linkbaiting is when you write a blog post that causes people to generate links to it. For example, when I write a post like 27 Blogging Secrets to Power Your Community, I know that the post is at once useful, but also great linkbait. The thing is, I think it has to be a subtlety, not a hard press.

I read a great post somewhere (forget where) that said there are seven basic types of linkbait. I loved it so much that I wrote down all 7 types, but forgot to save the URL. So, whoever you are, sorry: you deserve credit.

7 Basic Types of Linkbaiting

  1. Attack Hook – “Why I’m Not Following Chris Brogan on Twitter Anymore”
  2. Humor Hook – Uncle! Why I Quit Following Chris Brogan (pretty good post)
  3. Contrary Hook – Chris Brogan might be wrong.
  4. Incentive Hook – Win an Hour with Chris Brogan (don’t ever try this)
  5. News Hook – Chris Brogan is in Billings, Montana. What?
  6. Ego Hook – Why Chris Brogan is so Awesome
  7. Resource Hook – 100 Blog Posts Mentioning Chris Brogan

Again, that’s not my list.

The thing is, it’s got to be subtle. The people who try the hardest always come off like they’re trying, and it’s just a loud clunking sound from over here. I mean, your audience realizes you’re doing linkbait. You know that, right?

And I’m talking to myself a bit here, too. I know the types of posts that I write that will draw links, and I use that tactic if I’m trying to grow my audience or shift the needle a bit. But if all I did was write posts that attempted to draw attention, it’s like hanging out with the really loud kid in High School. You know what I mean?

As a blogging tactic, relying on linkbait to keep your content relevant feels like cooking fajitas every night. It might sizzle, but is it still magic? You might disagree.

Photo credit L Marie

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