A couple days ago, I wrote about the importance of being a passionate blogger. Passionate bloggers have advantages over non-passionate bloggers including attracting a higher quality and more supportive readership.
So, how do you become a more passionate blogger?
First of all, enjoy your niche. Blog about something you love. If you don’t like to travel, don’t start a travel blog. If you don’t like video games, don’t start a video game blog. If you don’t like American football, don’t start an NFL blog. Simple, right?
The key to being passionate is to figure out what excites you. Consider the niches you gravitate towards. What do you spend your money on? What occupies much of your time? What do you like to think about?
If you go to a rock concert every two weeks, you’re probably a good candidate to start a rock music blog. If you are subscribed to five car magazines and you read them cover to cover, you should start a car blog. If you’re a scientist and follow science blogs and do experiments for fun, you guessed it, you should start a science blog.
This begs the question. What if you’re in a niche you don’t really love? Should you stop blogging about it? Can you develop a passion for that niche? I think you can, but it’s risky. The most important thing you can do is research your niche more. Subscribe to quality blogs in the niche and read them regularly. Read magazines. Read books. Go to forums. Immerse yourself in the niche and you’ll find out quickly if you like your niche or not.
Let’s say you do have the passion and excitement. Here are two practical things you can do to show others your passion.
Increase your word count. Write posts that deliver a lot of value. Of course, it’s not just about having more words. But if you’re passionate about your niche, you should have many things to say. Also, don’t be afraid to publish less posts. What’s more important is the quality of the posts. I increased my traffic by posting less often and writing longer, more insightful posts.
Do things no one else is doing. By being unique, you demonstrate that you want to add value to your niche. Too many bloggers are copycats. They look like and sound like other blogs. You can be unique in many ways. Here are some of those ways:
- Write about an important topic that’s not being covered well
- Use pictures
- Have a unique blog design
- Use non-text media like video and sketchcasts
- Do a series of 5 or more blog posts that relate to one theme
- Write a comprehensive FAQ
- Give away free stuff
- Guest post a lot
- Network like crazy
- Submit a consistent stream of great content to a social media site like StumbleUpon
Further Reading
From Copyblogger:
Go Big or Go Home: Why Being Bold is Critical to Getting Noticed
From Blog Herald:
If You Want to Start Blogging, You Have to Get Up and Dance