The 80/20 rule of political blogging: Chose a subject and stick to it.

[brainshrub]

This is for those of you following the DU Journal - Brainshrub: Best. Journal. Ever! (Tips for political bloggers.)

Back in high school I used to work as a waiter. I remember overhearing two business people having a conversation over lunch. An older gentleman was giving advice to a younger man who was planning to buy a company that wasn't doing very well. They were discussing who should be laid off and who should stay after the acquisition was complete.

I wasn't privy to the whole conversation, but I do remember one comment that the older man told his friend:

"Take each person aside and ask h/er to describe exactly what they do. If the employee can't sell you in two sentences or less, they are superfluous and should be fired."

As I've gotten into blogging I have to admit that the old man's statement, while shocking to me at the time, is especially good advice to writers working to build traffic to their blogs.

From an SEO perspective the most successful blogs are not the best written, or the most frequently updated. (Although that certainly helps.) The blogs that do best in the long term are the ones that know their subject matter and stick to it. These bloggers can tell you, in one or two sentences, what their blog is about - and how it's different from most other sites on similar topics.

Knowing what your blogs subject matter is going to be is deeper than just coming up with a catchy slogan; it involves deciding what you are going to give to your visitors in exchange for their time.

Once you've decided what your topic is going to be, and how you plan to deliver it, stick to an 80/20 rule. For example: If you decide to specialize in Black Box voting issues, 80% of the posts should be about Black Box voting - or at least somewhat related. It's okay to occasionally post a picture of the tomatoes in your garden, or comment on a sporting event - but the moment your tangents take up more than 20% of content, it's time to change your blogs subject matter to be broader in scope.

People visit sites that cater to specific tastes. It's unpleasant to visit a blog about cars only to find every other post to be about kittens.

To use an example outside of blogging: Most people would be disinclined to return to a dining establishment that advertises itself as a Chinese restaurant, when 20% of the food is Italian. While it is true that a chef can break new ground with a "Chinese-Italian" fusion - it's a tremendous risk that rarely works out. (Which is why you don't see many restaurants engage in this strategy.)

Peace,

Paul -V-

[mdmc]

1. good advice from a good blogger

:kick:/r

[brainshrub]

4. ty

:)

[bryant69]

2. That is good advice

It's hard to follow sometimes, though - particularly when you feel like you've said all you have to say about a certain subject.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[brainshrub]

3. Have you ever read "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle maintenance"?

In the book "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle maintenance" a professor gives a student with writers block as assignment to write about a single quarter.

The student, once she was focused, found that she was able to write volumes of material.

Whenever I get stuck, I find something mundane and write a 100 word essay on it in my notebook. (Such as a thumb-tack or a coffee mug.)

That usually breaks me out of the writers block.

Listening to Mozart also helps.