The Udder Truth about Gaining Blog Traffic
Posted on January 22nd, 2008 by Jason Boom under Guest BloggersMaking Mooney online can be troublesome when our blog resides in a far off pasture where no one can see it. If you are like me, then starting a new blog means a lot of man (or cow) hours refining the design, networking with other site owners, and writing content. But how exactly should we go about gaining reader traffic? We can join the latest blog network and hope to become famous overnight, or we can create content that sparks an interest in a wide audience. Here is one secret to increasing blog traffic.
Tell the udder truth.
What does this mean, exactly? This may mean we completely disagree with the current posting meme in the blogging world. This may mean we see a money making opportunity where others see a scam, and we say so on our blogs. This may mean we scream like feral animals in our blog posts about the blog network others are swooning over. This may mean we moan and complain throughout the blogosphere and direct people to our posts on the subject.
Why do we do this? Controversy breeds traffic.
What topics do we love to read? Does the same trite content from one blog somehow trump the same trite content of another? What about when we surf from blog to blog and see everyone glad-handing the same service, software, new blogging network, etc? Doesn’t it get old? Give them the teet, herd. The teet. Let them know the udder truth. It may not be easy, but we will learn and grow a community from our own fearlessness.
What if they hate us, you ask? Well, we have thick hide. We can communicate and defend our hatred of whatever might need exposed. Take a look at The Cow’s post on the Entrecard system. He stomped down on the heart of the Entrecard discussion, and look how many comments came of it. 126. That’s 126 compared to the average twenty to thirty on other topics.
Take a look at everything in the blogosphere. Use a critical eye and expose the udder truth. You may not begin to see a traffic spike immediately, but over time you will gain the respect of fellow bloggers, develop discussions, and boost readership.
Jason Boom is a long-time blogger with a new home at www.jasonboom.com. Visit his blog to watch as he explodes on the internet with information regarding blog writing, networking, and marketing. Give him a herd welcome!
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January 22nd, 2008 at 2:53 am
Nice post. You’re really milkin’ the guest post terminology for all it’s worth while Cow is away, huh? Good job!
January 22nd, 2008 at 2:56 am
Definitely true. That post got a lot of comments.
January 22nd, 2008 at 3:10 am
I can’t agree more, and would like to clarify “What about when we surf from blog to blog and see everyone glad-handing the same” also includes affiliate programs … how many times can you read about some of these?!
January 22nd, 2008 at 4:33 am
Wow! This is my read of the day
Keep up the good work!
-Mike
January 22nd, 2008 at 4:36 am
My kinda post.
January 22nd, 2008 at 6:05 am
Nice guest post, you’ve mentioned some useful points here too
January 22nd, 2008 at 6:29 am
I really like how you stay true to your ideas and aren’t afraid of some good ole fashioned controversy. I’m liking the blog, and continuing to dropping my exitcard
January 22nd, 2008 at 8:45 am
Good post, Im starting out in blogging too, launching tomorrow
January 22nd, 2008 at 8:46 am
I need a new Mama and Papa
January 22nd, 2008 at 10:47 am
Good reading. “create content that sparks an interest”, this is the golden nugget. Another way I have found to get traffic is to get involved with an open source project, for example create a nice new WP skin, create a WP plugin, something people need
January 22nd, 2008 at 1:05 pm
Thanks, everyone! I’m glad you liked the post. I hope I didn’t go overboard with milkin’ the puns. It was a good time writing this article.
@Neil: I couldn’t agree more. Nothing more tiring than reading the same old rubbish just with a different template wrap.
@Mike: Thanks, I’m blushing.
@Andrew: No need to exit!
@ViralKing: Good luck! You’re off to a great start, I see.
@Si Philp: I don’t disagree, but my talents lie with the written word. Gotta write what I know. You’re absolutely right, though.
January 22nd, 2008 at 2:44 pm
another quality guest post. great work
January 22nd, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Thanks for the great info. It Boom is a good last name for a web site. I like the cow reference too.
January 22nd, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Nice moo …
COntroversy get more attention from readers..
January 22nd, 2008 at 5:33 pm
[...] Be a guest blogger on JohnCow.com. [...]
January 22nd, 2008 at 5:55 pm
wonderful
January 22nd, 2008 at 8:28 pm
Your 100% right. Controversy gets attention. Just like my post “John Chow is Dead” only I missed the part about telling the truth!
January 22nd, 2008 at 9:12 pm
January 22nd, 2008 at 10:54 pm
January 23rd, 2008 at 3:08 am
I really hate cows.
(I don’t really, I am just hoping to whip up some controversy and fire up a heated discussion at my own blog. But don’t tell anyone.)
January 23rd, 2008 at 9:01 pm
Well, actually great articles and content are only part lots of traffic. You can write until you’re blue in the face but if you don’t know how to get traffic, nobody is going to read it. One of the better ways to get people to read it is using social networks such as Entrecard and others. They will hopefully like it enough to link to it, spreading your articles virally. The comments on my blogs have increased tremendously since I started using Entrecard, meaning that people are reading the content. My Alexa rating on one of my blogs has also just shot up 67,000 and if that’s from hit and run Entrecard traffic, I’ll take it. Moooo
January 23rd, 2008 at 10:09 pm
I agree with you in principle. The trouble comes in trying to balance controversy with likability. I’ve seen way too many people come off looking like an a$$hole.
January 24th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
[...] of the above is great, but the thing that drove it home for me was Jason Boom’s guest post on JohnCow.com. Stop and think about this for just a second. Here’s a blogger who’s first post was [...]
January 24th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Good article… People always want the magic button for massive amounts of traffic and well aside from paying for it there really aren’t many ways. The tried and true methods like article marketing work but it’s like the flywheel… it takes a little while to get rolling full steam.
-Jim
January 24th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
January 25th, 2008 at 6:35 pm
Nice post … moooooooooooooo!
January 27th, 2008 at 10:31 am
Yes, the tips mentioned here are true, we need to work hard for it. I am coolingstar9, wish i can learn more.
January 27th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
thousand steps start from 1st step
January 27th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
[...] guest post to John Cow dot com was published on Tuesday [...]
January 28th, 2008 at 1:25 am
Hey John,
Awesome post! It inspired me to make a controversial post that revealed the secrets to the famed TreasureTrooper.com $100 Treasure Hunt. I think it definitely was a good idea because it brought in traffic and typically scores high in search results.
Keep up the awesome work!
http://www.thenetfool.com
January 28th, 2008 at 8:34 am
January 29th, 2008 at 6:45 am
Maybe after I’ve been blogging longer I’ll come up with some more controversial ideas. I like your points about reflecting how you honestly feel even if your opinion is unpopular.
January 29th, 2008 at 11:50 pm
Love the pun! And totally agree with being honest. It’s important!
February 4th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
[...] 22. Why not drive traffic to your blog by writing a controversial post? [...]
March 1st, 2008 at 8:07 am
March 1st, 2008 at 8:07 am