January 25, 2011

4 Subtle Lessons from 9 Amazing Blogs

Last week, I “attended” my first webinar. The event, titled “9 Companies Doing Blogging Right and What You Need to Know“, featured Rick Calvert (co-founder, BlogWorld), Dave Cynkin (co-founder, BlogWorld) and Michael Stelzner (founder, Social Media Examiner)

The purpose of the webinar, as its title suggests, is to highlight some basic best practices around blogging using the very best examples that the blogosphere has to offer. Some of the blogs featured during the webinar includes:

WorkShifting.com – by Citrix
Pioneer Woman
Stonyfield.com/blog – by Stoneyfield Farm
Delicious Days – by a freelance food writer named N.F. Simpson
Manofthehouse.com – by Procter & Gamble

Core Elements of a Successful Blog

Based on the examples provided by the speakers, the following were identified as the most important best practices:

Get creative about your blog theme
Create value for your readers before introducing them to your products and services
Wow your audience with impeccable branding and design
Exceed your audiences’ expectations w/ great content
Mix up your content topics and delivery methods
Become “the source” to build loyal followers
Allow your employees to be the voice of your business
Integrate your blog with other social media platforms

None of these are groundbreaking, but they are good reminders, I think.

The Subtle Best Practices

As the speakers were looking at each blog, I noted a few more subtle best practices at work.

First, I noticed that many of the personal blogs had a strong bio. And by this, I don’t mean that they’ve spent time telling their audience about the awards they’ve won, or how awesome they think they are. The “About” page on Delicious Days has the following first line: “My name is Nicky and I love to cook.” I think it’s a great way to introduce yourself because it’s succinct but also informative of what the blog is all about.

Most of these websites also use quirky photographs in their introduction — just look at Pioneer Woman (by Ree Drummond) as an example. Simply put, both Ree and Nicky introduce themselves the same way as they would if they met you in person.

Related to the first point, there’s also a sense of authenticity in most of these blogs. The language used isn’t forced and thus resonates with the audience. Their passion for what they do is evident. You just have to read a couple of the blog posts from Delicious Days to know that this is managed by someone who has a great passion for food and cooking.

Third, the use of media is also notable. Using Delicious Days again as an example, you can see the amazing quality of the photos that Nicky uses. You can say the same thing with the Stonyfield Farm blog. These blogs inspire me to use only the best photos for my blog posts. No more crappy pics, hopefully – although I did use an animated GIF for fun in one of my last posts.

Finally — and this relates back to content and authenticity — I think that these examples highlight the importance of using the same language that your audience speaks. For the most part, this means using a more informal language. ManoftheHouse.com is a great example of this. The lingo on the site is casual. When you read the text, it’s as if the author is speaking to you.

I’m sure I’ve missed some other nuggets here, but these were just some of the things I’ve noticed. If you have the time, check out the sites listed above and see for yourself what makes them awesome.