Turning Good Posts into Great Posts
Day 35 of The 100 Days To Building A Great Website Guide
In the several months that I have been blogging, I have found that most of my hits, and the vast majority of my trackbacks have been the result of only a few posts. 3 posts in particular, out of approximately 275, are responsible for 30% of my traffic and 70% of my backlinks. I got a large number of links with Top 5 Tools Every Blogger Should Use, part of Problogger’s group writing project, randomly scored a minor stumble hit (for me) with I Stumble Over My Mistakes Again, and have been getting a lot of backlinks (you can debate their value) with ViraLink
What’s Your Point?
My point is that, for bloggers, the vast majority of the traffic to your site can be driven by relatively few posts. Given the nature of social networking, 1 Great Post is much much better than 10 Good posts. Although the 10 Good posts are effective at keeping subscribers reading, and getting visitors to return, if you want a spike in new visitors you need a great post.
How Can I Write A Great Post?
Here are some tips on how you can change your post from Good to Great
1) Don’t Rush - A good post you can do on the fly. Great posts take time. Figure on writing a great post in 2 sittings minimum, 3 more likely. You need one sitting to get your initial idea down. You need another to edit your post and weed out the junk sentences and any ideas which don’t cut to the point, and finally you need a third to tidy everything up and make sure it is perfect. Compare your posts to when you were doing a report in school. Sure you did work at the last minute, and every one said “I work better under pressure”, but the reports that actually turned out the best were the ones where they were started in plenty of time, and given a thorough proofreading and revision.
You can’t write a great post if you are just trying to get out content. In order to even have the time to write a great post, you need to be ahead on your content generation requirements. If all you are trying to do is get out today’s blog post, you won’t take the time necessary to take it from good to great. If you have an idea you think has greatness potential don’t work on it as part of the daily grind. Set it aside and give it extra attention.
2) Don’t Copy - A great idea isn’t great if someone else has done it. It can still be “Good”, you can still put a new spin on it, and impart new information, but if you really want to create the kind of buzz which can drive a lot of traffic, you need to be original.
Being original is difficult, which is why it is so rewarding. If you really want to be original, look elsewhere for inspiration. Look at resources other people aren’t using. Don’t go to Problogger looking for new ideas, because if you see them everyone else has, check out your library. You might be surprised at how few people take the time to look up information that isn’t on the internet. But when you think about it, before the 1990’s there was virtually no information on the internet. By looking for ideas in printed works you have decades of information at your hands that most of your audience may never have seen.
One example, go to your library and check out a couple of books on entrepreneurship or running a small business. Any ideas in there you haven’t seen before? Then chances are your readers haven’t either. You just found yourself a fresh and relatively original post idea.
3) Don’t Doubt - One problem I have had is that when I have an epiphany and get a really good idea, I immediately assume that other people must have thought of the same thing. I hurry up to try and get my idea out first, only to later realize I would be better served by taking my time. If you have a great idea, don’t doubt yourself. Chances are if it is a good original idea no one has done before, then no one will do it in the time it takes you do to it right. Take your time to get all your ducks in a row when you have a great idea, they don’t come all that often, so you can’t afford to mess them up with self doubt.
Want some more info on writing great posts? Daily Writing Tips is a new site by the makers of Daily Blog Tips, and has tons of great information.
on June 26th, 2007 at 4:38 pm
It is the pareto rule!
Thanks for the mention Scott. You are doing a great job, its crazy the amount of content you are pumping, keep it up!
on June 28th, 2007 at 10:47 pm
Don’t mention it Daniel. I like all your pages. But as for the link you should know that it is worthless. After all, given that I am using your template, and there is a link to your site on the bottom of every post I write anyway… I don’t think Google will count it for much extra
on July 12th, 2007 at 3:43 am
[…] Savvy Affiliate: Blogging, money making, networking, there’s a lot of great content on all of these subjects and more. Taster Article: How to go about turning good posts into great posts. […]
on July 31st, 2008 at 1:26 am
http://hubpages.com/hub/woman-personal-ads
on October 31st, 2008 at 7:29 pm
“да, новость пошла по инету и распространяется со старшной силой”
on November 1st, 2008 at 5:36 pm
“решил помочь и разослал пост в соц. закладки. надеюсь поднимется популярность”
on November 2nd, 2008 at 5:40 pm
“лучше и не скажешь”
on November 2nd, 2008 at 6:53 pm
их больше было О_о
on November 2nd, 2008 at 9:06 pm
“Очень познавательно”
on November 3rd, 2008 at 8:28 am
“Интересные решения”
on November 3rd, 2008 at 6:12 pm
“респект”
on November 3rd, 2008 at 8:22 pm
хм…ну это памойму уже крайность…
on November 4th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
спасибо большое.
on November 4th, 2008 at 9:55 pm
мдяяяя ….. *много думал*….
автору спасибо за пост !!
on November 5th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Спасибо огромное!
on November 6th, 2008 at 8:39 pm
“шикарно”
on November 6th, 2008 at 10:49 pm
“прочитала с удовольствием”
on November 7th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
“лучше и не скажешь”
on November 8th, 2008 at 12:53 am
прикона)
on November 8th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
видели видели)
on November 8th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
Какая прелесть!!!!!!!!!!!!)
on November 9th, 2008 at 12:07 am
все может быть=))))))
on November 11th, 2008 at 12:53 am
“Занятно”
on November 11th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
вот это позитив) просто класс)
on November 11th, 2008 at 9:49 pm
И правда креатив…супер!
on November 11th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
жжот))
on November 13th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
все может быть=))))))
on November 13th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
забавнo
on November 14th, 2008 at 3:43 am
ух ты как крууууууууууутооооооо))
on November 14th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
дяяя….старая темка, но ми тут нету^^ даже если не по картинкам смотреть))) нету и фсё^_^
on November 14th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
да,но это еще и не все…
on November 16th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Очень рада, что возникло желание взять этот пост в цитатник!
on November 16th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
“я в восторге от Вашего стиля”
on November 16th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
“познавательно”
on November 16th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Да, Именно так и было!:))
on November 17th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
“прочитала с удовольствием”
on November 17th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
“подробней пожалуйста”
on November 17th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
=))))))
on November 17th, 2008 at 7:53 pm
“решил помочь и разослал пост в соц. закладки. надеюсь поднимется популярность”
on November 17th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
Напомнили….Точно, все так.
on November 18th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
Спасибо большое!
on November 19th, 2008 at 5:29 am
Видела…видела….слишком всё утрировано, но круто)))
on November 21st, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Красиво
on February 25th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
{Читаю {ваш|этот|} блог, и понимаю, что {ничего|нифига} не понимаю. Все так запутано.
on February 28th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
Все-таки действительно нравится мне Ваш блог. Всегда занятно читать, включая эту тему.
on April 5th, 2009 at 1:26 am
Хорошая статья. Краткость явно сестра автора
on April 7th, 2009 at 5:02 pm
Вот это да! Неожиданный поворот событий!
on April 19th, 2009 at 4:46 am
Breaking News PCB bans seven Pak players for playing in ICL
on April 20th, 2009 at 1:46 am
Orange Chair
on April 30th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Интересный сайтик, узнал много нового….
on May 4th, 2009 at 11:03 am
Да,согласен с предыдущими вы ораторами
on May 31st, 2009 at 11:04 am
Прикольный пост, очень интересно было посмотреть
on June 12th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
Хм…
Вы бы знали что про Вас пишут в других блогах 
on June 19th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
Ну конечно, как люди говорят, любопытное рядом!
on July 27th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
Классно, мне понравилось
on July 28th, 2009 at 9:43 am
Спасибо за полезную информацию
on July 29th, 2009 at 10:23 am
Хороший пост, спасибо.
on August 8th, 2009 at 7:31 am
Автору заЧОт )))
on August 8th, 2009 at 7:32 am
Полностью согласна с постом выше!
on August 8th, 2009 at 7:32 am
on August 8th, 2009 at 7:32 am
аФтору спасибки. Всех лю. Чмок…
on August 23rd, 2009 at 2:37 pm
Занятно. Иногда такое бывает, что хоть стой хоть падай.
on September 11th, 2009 at 9:57 am
!
on September 11th, 2009 at 10:24 am
,
on October 26th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Cool site mate!
on October 28th, 2009 at 6:40 am
Thanks for the article. The blog was very helpful.
on October 29th, 2009 at 6:55 am
Самогонный аппарат купить и автора напоить!
on October 29th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
Хостинг дешево и сердито.
on November 4th, 2009 at 3:27 am
Нормально так, спасибо автору.
on November 5th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
Огромное вам человеческое спасибо, очень актуальная заметка
on November 9th, 2009 at 3:25 am
Дешевый и надежный хостинг сайтов
с неограниченными возможностями
поддержка (php, MySQL, Cron)
on November 14th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
i don’t understand anything on this. I only understand a few of the posts.
on November 24th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
I’m getting ready to put a new site online
on November 26th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Thanks for the great list.
on November 29th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
Thanks for sharing.It’s helpful.
on December 13th, 2009 at 4:02 am
Cool site mate!
on December 17th, 2009 at 2:14 am
Thank you site good nice post much.
on January 6th, 2010 at 2:05 am
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on January 12th, 2010 at 2:54 am
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on February 7th, 2010 at 4:16 am
Март и ты тут?
on February 7th, 2010 at 4:16 am
Во дают
on February 14th, 2010 at 11:46 pm
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on February 23rd, 2010 at 4:17 am
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