10 Ways to a Killer Blog

Robert and Maryam Scoble (PodTech)

(Didn't take notes on all 10 ways...)

Don't blog just because someone tells you to blog. (Like Robert to Maryam.) Blog because you want to.

If you don't tell me not to, I'm blogging this.

"How do I start a blog?" Well, start by reading blogs. Go to Technorati and look for blogs that deal with your business or interests. Get familiar with bloggers and their styles, figure out what you like and how you might want to write yourself.

Linking and conversations good. Press release bad.

Maryam would meet people who'd say, "I really enjoyed meeting you, but you don't have a blog I can link to!" True - people with an online presence want to be able to make that connection by linking to you. It's social.

When you talk to somebody who refers you to lots of places and people, they establish themselves as an authority. Same with blogs and links.

Pick a niche you can own. Two kinds of bloggers: those who want to change the world and use their blogs to do so. That's Robert. Others who just want to talk to their friends and use blogs to post baby pictures, talk about books. That's Maryam.

It's a Google world. One of the top search terms on Google is Yahoo! Google is most people's interface with the Internet.

People who write about one thing all the time get more of an audience than someone who writes about a book one day, something else the next.

Mike Harrington (TechCrunch) came in very late to the game, thousands of tech bloggers, and he went straight to number one. He had access to good info, used images on every post. "I can't compete with the tech bloggers, so I'll be the 2.0 blogger."

If you have a strong niche focus, Google will zero in on your site. What makes you different from everybody else?

Someone bogged about the London Underground. Big deal, right? Then the bombings happened, and suddenly she was the expert. Her readership skyrocketed. She writes about all aspects of the Underground experience. "London Underground fashion victims."

Link to other blogs.

Dave Taylor calls them on the "A-List". The Scobles say that there is an a-list, but anyone can get on it. For example, if you have an exclusive interview with Steve Jobs. Dave and Tris argue that this makes you a one-hit, not an a-list. Readers pay attention to you for a while, then go back to what they normally read.

Maryam says you don't need to be an a-lister to accomplish what you want.

Admit mistakes

Robert can read comments and filter out the anger and obscenities and hear what they're saying. This keeps him from getting defensive - he can admmit when he's wrong.

Write good headlines

Increasingly important as we move from a Google world to a Technorati or Google Blogsearch world.

Use other media

Images made TechCrunch. The bar's raised - how about a podcast every once in a while? A video cast? If you have a post about wine, how about a photo of the label, a recorded interview with your steward?

Tony Pierce on busblog.com has sexy pictures of girls.

Some companies are using SL

Crayon - a virtual company that does stuff in Second Life. Niche owners there. GM uses Flickr to get pics of latest cars out there.

Have a voice

Robert doesn't think of what he does as writing, crafting words. He's talking to people. Two people asked him to start blogging, so his first several posts were just talking directly to them.

Expose yourself

There's this knob with two settings, Safe and Interesting. Business bloggers are very nervous about changing their setting to Interesting, and write press releases. Expose yourself. If you're working on a product, write about what it's like to create that product.

Engage with commenters

Commenting on others' blogs generates interest in what you're writing.

Keep your integrity
Be who you are.

Robert has his phone number on his blog. He gets about 4 calls a day. Amazing stories - the BBC called him at 5 AM saying "We're putting you on the air at 11 because we can't get ahold of your PR Team, but we can get ahold of you." The PR team was pretty mad. Robert said, "Well, why isn't YOUR phone number on your blog?"

Also: ABC's Extreme Home Makeover called Robert because they were renovating a home on Bainbridge Island and needed several computers by Monday. Again, they couldn't reach the Microsoft PR team, but they could reach him. He got them their computers and scored a big PR win.