15 Secret Tips for Building A Better Blog
Buzz it
Today I’m going to give you 15 tips that will show how you can build a better blog than your competition. I will give you the insider’s secrets for growing your blog exponentially and how to become an authority in your blog niche.
In no time at all you will be able to boast thousands of newsfeed subscribers and Twitter followers and kick sand in your competitor’s face. Sound too good to be true? Well trust me it’s not, and it’s so easy you will kick yourself for not trying sooner.
I have a confession to make. The idea for this post came from my good friend Darren Rowse who has mastered the art of clairvoyant remote viewing because I’ve been noticing I’m the inspiration for many of his money making enterprises.
Like most recently his ebook who’s title is strikingly similar to my blog title “Better Blog Tips“. Come to think of it he also liked my idea for using the word “Secrets” in the title of his last book, and my “blog tips” niche too, and…
Well, after it happening so often I’m beginning to wonder if he really can read my thoughts or if there is such a thing as Deja Vu.
Whatever the reason I’m glad to be of service mate, but I’m still waiting for my kick-back. Must be still in the mail. (I also accept PayPal. Crap, even a link now and then would be nice).
Oh yes, I almost forgot to mention on behalf of Darren I would like to thank all of those kind bloggers who donated their time and posts to his blog so that he could focus on his new book. I heard through the grape vine you are all invited over for a barbecue at his new home that blogging built - BYOB.
But I digress ..
The Secret to Building a Better Blog:
So here is the secret to building a better blog — all you have to do is promise a rags to riches story or that you hold the zen secrets to happiness and can show them how to get it. Why? Because everybody is looking for their own personal guru who will lead them by the hand down the path of righteousness.
Promise to show us how we can take control over our out-of-control lives and believe me they will come in droves. Dust off those old personal development, marketing and self-help books that are sitting on your bookshelf. You know the ones I’m talking about .. the Tony Robbins, Robert Allen, or the late-night infomercial king Kevin Trudeau.
With a little copywriting spit and polish you can spin them into the electronic age.
Because that’s what Lists are For:
Take advantage of your magic genie Google and raid those old articles and faq files that are just begging to be plagiarized. Massage it a little, change the words around a bit and nobody will ever know the difference. (Well almost nobody).
Summarize it into a list, make sure you include those keywords they are looking for, give it a kick-ass headline and you will be an instant star. I kid you not. That’s all there is to it!
Who’s Your Guru?
Today there are no shortage of blogs that fit this description. They’re everywhere. The new media has become a mine field of online hustlers trying to convince you they have all the answers.
It’s like watching late night TV infomercials 24 hours a day, seven days a week — on all 562 channels. These self-proclaimed gurus are everywhere!
Leading the pack are the pro-splogger crowd who promise us we can have all that our heart desires if we will just subscribe to their newsfeed, buy their books and become their adoring fans.
But wait — there’s more!
(This is the part where I prick the balloon.) Because the simple fact is most (if any) are not making any meaningful or verifiable income directly from blogging. (“Verifiable” meaning subject to independant 3rd party scrutiny).
Huh (you say)!
Yes it’s true. It’s a classic case of human nature playing on our greed and the law of self-fulfilling prophesy. Say something often enough and eventually they will believe it. I’m also reminded of another maxim of the human condition - “there’s a sucker born every minute“.
A slightly modified version of the tried and true bait-and-switch scams run by the travelling snake oil hustlers.
Just wag the long tail in front of their nose and watch them come. Promise them they can duplicate the formula and it won’t be long before you too can boast thousands of minions who will happily follow you, click on your ads and buy your products.
(Oddly enough they can’t prove anybody has actually duplicated their success formula).
15 Tips for a Successful Blog
It’s easy peasy! To create a popular blog today all one has to do is:
- Decide on a niche topic for your blog using Google’s Keyword Tool to find out what searches are popular.
- Using keywords for your chosen niche, get a cheap domain name and hang your shingle.
- Borrow a professional template.
- Hire a geek to make you a pretty banner and customize your theme/template if necessary.
- Spend $100 a year for Wordpress hosting services.
- Go the library and/or search Google to find great content for your blog.
- Apply CMP (copy, massage, paste) to make it your own (kinda).
- Pretend you are an expert in your chosen niche applying the “fake it till you make it” principle.
- Get a referral or two from your pro-splogger pals.
- Learn a little SEO to game the search engines.
- Apply the art of link baiting for making kick-ass titles.
- Promise the moon and the stars to your readers.
- Preach good things will come to those who believe with all the fervour of an evangelist.
- Wallpaper your blog with ads. (Your guru will be happy to advise which pays best).
- Convert your plagiarized content into a book and ouilla — you’re a success!
That’s it in a nutshell. Now aren’t you glad I summarized it for you and saved you the trouble of having to read their tired posts spinning the same old yarn over and over, and over … again?
But is it really that easy?
Because what they don’t tell you is it’s only the ones who created the scheme formula first who reap most of the rewards. But if a little chump-change is your thing then by all means go for it.
Seth Godin has his own take on it:
What’s being sold here? It’s not riches, because if the riches were automatic, the seller would just hire people, right? Why make 1,000 people into millionaires if you can just hire 1,000 people and be a billionaire?
No, it’s the belief in riches, the thrill of finding just the right deal, the challenge of getting a relative to loan you money one more time. It’s the frisson of excitement from sending in the money, the rush of impatience that follows as you wait for the package, and then the scary moment when you open the package and come face to face with your dreams.
Of course, your dreams are rarely what you hoped (how could they be?) but soon, you’ll be back for more. It seems that being an opportunity seeker is about seeking, not finding.
Well said Seth, and speaking of money how much do you think they really make? That is the 6 figure question. For example, Shoemoney loves to flaunt that big check on his blog, and yet he admits he only makes about 3% of his income from blogging.
Hmm. Then again, does anybody ever read the fine print (so where’s that zoom button)?
So why then does he flaunt it on his blog? I guess it must be that prophecy thing I mentioned earlier. Gullibility and greed can be a dangerous combination.
By the way has anybody ever bothered to verify the said check or are we expected to just take his word for it? After all, in this day and age anybody with the most rudimentary Photoshop skills can easily doctor a fake check.
But there I go being paranoid again. How could we not trust such a nice guy.
What’s The Bottom Line?
Give the impression you are successful and people will believe that you really are. So what if you’re not successful already? Who’s to know?
That’s what is so great about the internet. We can hide behind our computer persona’s and reinvent ourselves any way we want. The sky’s the limit.
Show a picture of yourself in your best suit with your arms folded across your chest like the CEO of General Motors on the cover of Forbes magazine. Put on your biggest smile and be sure to Photoshop your teeth gleaming white like a pepsodent commercial.
For all you guys - take a cue from your mentors and shave your head. Wear nerdy glasses (because that’s what geeks are supposed to look like), and tell them the money is rolling in like your very own bank machine.
Ca-Ching!
Like I said - it’s the impression you leave that makes all the difference. So go ahead and tell them how successful you are. That you know how to make lots of money blogging and have the secrets to success and happiness.
It’s a proven money maker and works like a charm every time. But whatever you do don’t tell them the Bloke told you so. It might ruin my reputation. 
P.s: I originally drafted this post years ago before my illness. I just recently stumbled across it again so I thought it would be fun to update and publish it in honour of Darren’s ebook. Much success to Darren and Shoemoney for being good sports and thanks to all for playing.
(I’m still waiting for that check).
*This post is also featured in Computer Shopper Magazine.
Filed under: *Best Articles, Blog Tips, Featured Articles, Make Money Blogging
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In my experience, people who brag about how much they’re making with online enterprises are either exaggerating or lying. Usually, it’s the latter.
My youngest son’s fiance is currently all excited about becoming an “independent agent” for Pre-Paid Legal. Set up along the lines of Amway and other multi-level marketing companies, this outfit has been around for a little over 30 years. They have the conventions, the rah-rah monthly “sales meetings”, and other motivational events to fire up their associates. But like Amway, very few people actually make any meaningful money from this. But my future daughter-in-law has completely bought into the sales pitch of the person who recruited her.
A lot of these online income opportunities work the same way. If you can pitch a convincing story to people desperate enough they’ll buy into whatever you’re selling…for a while. Then Attorneys General from a lot of the fifty states start knocking on your door and demanding an answer. That’s if they can find you to begin with.
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Hi Lee, it’s great to hear from you again. Like the old saying goes .. “if it sounds too good to be true - it probably is”.
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Blog Bloke (@blogbloketips) reply on June 17th, 2009 12:46 am:
Great post, I learn many new things here.
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@bisnis, thanks!
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Blog Bloke (@blogbloketips) reply on July 25th, 2009 9:03 pm:
Nice Post! Thanks
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@lexaz01, thanks again
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Blog Bloke (@blogbloketips) reply on July 25th, 2009 9:03 pm:
No. 6 could be a bit critical.
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@Carl, Ya think
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Blog Bloke (@blogbloketips) reply on June 23rd, 2009 9:58 pm:
It seems they are listening to me after all.
Two new blogs just showed up at the top of the SERPS in my niche. One of them just makes lists of recycled “blog tips”. The other uses the keyword “blogtips” in their domain name and wallpapers it everywhere on their page.
Sigh! Google - you really need to make your algorithms a lot smarter.
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Thanks for your tips. With a blog you can make money online with adsense and more PPC programs. Hope in the future I can make as much as Shoemoney
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@Mobile, if you read the fine print Shoemoney admits to only making 3% of his income from blogging.
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Blog Bloke (@blogbloketips) reply on July 25th, 2009 9:04 pm:
Well said my friend. Your tips are very useful for bloggers. I want to give another tip. That before start blogging people should fix their own goal first and they should have strong feelings about their topic. Only then can they provide a worthwhile blog for readers.
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@Jolechrist, passion for your topic is just as important as the content. Your readers will notice.
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Blog Bloke (@blogbloketips) reply on July 25th, 2009 9:05 pm:
I used to tell people what I made from my website just from adsense alone but they rarely believed be.. Now I do not bother telling anyone…Let them work it out for themselves I say… You are never really sure until you do it yourself.
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Do you mean to say, if I can’t beat em, join em?
Has it come to this?
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@paul, I hope not.
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Blog Bloke (@blogbloketips) reply on September 1st, 2009 6:16 am:
No. 7 makes me laugh. It’s the truth so many won’t admit.
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@Paul, so true…
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Blog Bloke (@blogbloketips) reply on September 1st, 2009 6:16 am:
Hey, it’s my first time got here and I like your tips, especially no. 7, 12, 14 and 15, it’s fresh !
Thanks for share it.
regards from Indonesia,
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Great posting, I learned a lot!
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