Dear Mike: How Do I Make My Blog Stand Out?

Mind you, I won't pretend that "standing out" is easy. It isn't. With the zillions of blogs out there, setting yourself apart is always a challenge. But if you follow the 10 tips/advice below, you'll at least give yourself a fighting chance.

1) Be different. Find your unique voice. Find your niche. Find your perfect brand.

2) Try harder. Post compelling content. Provoke. Entertain. Inform. Help. Instruct. Inspire.

3) Get on Twitter and Facebook (make sure to register your blog with Networked Blogs) and, with discretion and consideration, blast out invites for people to subscribe.

4) Blog as many times as you can in a day. Even if it's just to post a great YouTube video. People quickly lose interest in static blogs.

5) Find out who your competition is and not only copy what they're doing well but add your own personal layers on top.

6) Don't try to do it alone. Too tough. Invite guest bloggers and cross promote.

7) Subscribe to, among others, HubSpot and Chris Brogan and Copyblogger. Those sites will help you immensely with great tips on blogging as well as the marketing of blogs (including the very important principles of Search Engine Optimization).

8) Submit to as many blog directories as possible. Technorati, BlogTopList, etc. Read the 10 Blog Directories You Should be Listed In http://www.blogtrepreneur.com/2009/01/15/10-blog-directories-you-should-be-listed-in/

9) Go to blogs with great traffic and comment on what they're writing about, making sure to leave YOUR BLOG LINK in the signature.

10) Develop a great blog roll - people who have a much better readership than you - and tell them you've added them to your blog and would appreciate reciprocation. Which brings up an must-do with blogging to succeed: To get, you must give!

And please remember to be patient. Results don't happen overnight. It takes months, sometimes a year or longer for a blog to develop traction.

I refer to the wonderful line in The Shawshank Redemption, said by Morgan Freeman's character:

"...pressure and time. That's all it takes really."

Local NY Bloggers Speak: Why Write, When You Can Aggregate?

Local NY Bloggers Speak: Why Write, When You Can Aggregate?
By Drew Grant
http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny
Click here

"300 words, max...anything else, it's an essay." Those were the words of New York blogger Jake Dobkin at last night's panel for The Future of Local Media.

The topic this month was "Local Journalism: What's Cool In Your Hood?" But, the only thing the panelists could seem to agree upon was the more posts, the better -- even when it means the death of any original journalism.

"We write 20 to 24 pieces of content a day," said Jonathan Butler, founder of Brooklyn blog Brownstoner. "And only three of those pieces are original reporting...Picture posts are great."

Dobkin, who founded Gothamist in 2003, was definitely seeking to provoke his audience. When asked about the concept of pay walls for online publications, the young entrepreneur flippantly replied that this would be the best thing for his business. "Have them charge $20 for content! No one else will pay, but we will, and we will steal their stories," he said. "That's my two year plan."

Read the rest of the post:

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Are Bloggers Journalists?

David Patrick Columbia



Nicholas Lemann



Graham Hill

David Remnick, Editor of The New Yorker, on Blogging vs. Journalism

David Broder: Are bloggers journalists?