The Top 4 ?Link Bait Worthy? Blogging Styles

Hey fellow WordPress bloggers.

Did you know that if you want to get a ton of traffic to your WordPress blog, you really only need to write four types of posts?

It?s the same thing if you want to attract comments and get people to link to your blogs. I?ve got a habit of watching which posts get the most traffic and responses on my client?s blogs as well as the blogs I write for?and I?ve got a secret to share?

There are four blog styles which consistently outperform every other type of blog or article style. If you commit to writing only these four types of posts, I guarantee you?ll see a rise in traffic and in reader responses:

#1: The Tutorial Blog Post

A well-written ?how to? blog with screen shots and clear, simple explanations of how to do complex things and to solve common problems is second to none when it comes to getting your content read and linked to.

A good tutorial can get linked to in forum posts as a response to a question and come up at the top of search results for years. The trick is figuring out what types of tutorials people will respond to.

Start by picking a niche which you?ll become an expert in. Then find some popular forums on the topic and start reading questions from the forum users.

Stay away from forums where people just talk about theories and opinions. Instead, look at forums where people are going to solve problems and to get real answers to their questions.

If you spend just 30 minutes a day reading the posts in these forums, you?ll have more ideas for tutorial style blogs than you?ll ever be able to write about.

#2: The Top ?#? List Blog Post

People love? lists, whether the list includes tips, insights or even just opinions. If you have a list of 3 to 10 or even 100 things that are specific to a topic or niche, you?ve got a good blog topic. Ironically, the topic doesn?t even have to be useful to the reader. It simply has to make for interesting reading.

Here are 5 tips for writing list-based blog posts:

• Use numbers like ?Top 7 Habits of?? or ?10 Simple Tips for?? or even ?5 of the Dumbest SEO Mistakes?? in your blog headline instead of words like ?Five,? ?Seven? or ?Ten.?
• Lists that educate are good, so are lists that entertain. But lists that entertain AND educate are solid gold.
• Throw your readers a curve ball with one of your list items, something they?re not expecting.
• Invite your readers to join the conversation by adding their own items to the list.
• Follow a progression with your list, either using each tip to build on the last or building up to a climax, such as a top ten list that counts down from 10 to 1.

#3: The Featured Expert Blog Post

This one is a little harder to pull off, but if you pick someone who has an interesting story to tell, a set of valuable insights or who has a lot of social proof with your readers, the featured post can be a powerful tool for attracting traffic and link bait.

First, if the expert enjoys the interview or likes your writing, they could become a valuable promoter of the post or of your blog and you could get a good credible review out of it.

Second, if you?re promoting one of their products or just sharing about their expertise, you?ll become their ally which is never a bad thing in this business. I recently connected with the notoriously hard to reach Dan Kennedy this way, got a free book and review of my newsletter too, so I know it works.

(BTW, the book was ?No BS Trust Based Selling? by: Dan Kennedy and Matt Zulleg. If you?re serious about making money in the age of Social Media, you need to go to Amazon, buy this book and read it. It?s a game changer).

Finally, and most important, once you feature one key expert on your blog, it?s easy to convince other experts to participate in the interviews with you. All you have to do is tell them the list of people you?ve already worked with and you instantly become valuable by association.

#4: The Controversial Blog Post

Controversial blog posts attract the most interesting conversations and, when done tastefully, they can go viral fast and stay viral for a long time. Radio disc jockeys and celebrities have used this approach for years and from what I understand they?re paid very well to ruffle people?s feathers. Good bloggers have simply re-purposed the same approach by creating blog posts that jolt their readers and spur them to respond.

Unfortunately, a lot of bloggers avoid stirring up controversy for fear of offending others and turning away readers. But the impact is actually the opposite. So if you have a strong opinion about something, don?t apologize for it and don?t censor yourself.

If you want a good example of someone who knows how to do this, check out David Wygant?s dating blog. His posts get a TON of comments from his readers. While they?re not all positive, they?re always interesting and full of a variety of perspectives, which definitely makes for interesting reading.

My only caveat is to be sure you?re ready to defend your position with some expertise and with a reasonable amount of respect for those who disagree with you. If you create controversy simply for the sake of creating it or if you don?t know how to handle your critics, you?ll lose the respect of your readers quickly.

Also, don?t write only controversial posts because they?ll lose their effect if you make them a crutch. Make the majority of your posts tutorials, lists or featured expert posts and mix in 10 to 15% controversial content.

Recap of Top 4 Blog Types for Attracting Links & Traffic

#1: The Tutorial Blog Post

#2: The Top ?#? List Blog Post

#3: The Featured Expert Blog Post

#4: The Controversial Blog Post

Like I said, if you want to increase your traffic , reader engagement and get natural back links these four blogging styles are all you need. Just try it for the next month and you?ll see what I mean.

-Til next time,

Seth C

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Source: http://wpmu.org/the-top-4-link-bait-worthy-blogging-styles/

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