Comments on: Blogger or Mind-Reader? Six Ways to Give Your Audience Exactly What It Wants

By: neon

neon — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 21:15:34 +0000

Thanks for the awesome tips — they’ll come in handy as this is the first time…

By: While I’m Away - Skellie Will Play

While I’m Away - Skellie Will Play — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 20:45:51 +0000

[...] Blogger or Mind-Reader? Six Ways to Give Your Audience Exactly What It Wants [...]

By: Insanely Helpful « natedavidscott.com|ifiweredebtfree.com

Insanely Helpful « natedavidscott.com|ifiweredebtfree.com — Thu, 08 May 2008 18:39:26 +0000

[...] Pretty much anything by Darren on ProBlogger is a winner. My favorites so far have been “13 Questions to Ask Before Publishing a Post On Your Blog“, “My Search for the Perfect Cafe“, and a guest-post by Skellie-”Blogger or Mind-Reader? Six Ways to Give Your Audience Exactly What It Wants“ [...]

By: Catherine Lawson

Catherine Lawson — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 12:52:17 +0000

Thanks for the great tips Skellie. My traffic has increased 700% this month, just by putting some of your tips into practise so I’m willing to try out anything you recommend.

And I do struggle sometimes to come up topics that people will be interested in.

What I find most difficult sometimes is trying to write things that are not too basic for readers who already own a business, but at the same time – providing good advice to those who are just starting out.

By: Mike King

Mike King — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 07:03:39 +0000

One advantage of using content from your readers is to reference them directly in your post and single them out by mention in the suggested post to show some appreciation. This can develop a lot of respect and loyalty from your readers (especially those noted) which will only help to expand your blog and readership.

By: Garg the Unzola

Garg the Unzola — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 06:11:01 +0000

Comments and emails are always sources of ideas for my reviews. It flatters my readers to know they were responsible for a post topic, and they give me precious traffic in return. Not to mention more comment love. Sound advice. The Necro Files

By: Curtis Gray

Curtis Gray — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 21:39:05 +0000

As Dan Cole said above, it is a little hard for beginners to get feedback. Any feedback. But that is the perfect time and place for truly unique ideas and experimentation in and on your blog.
I personally am a new blogger(5 months). What helps me with finding ideas for posts is thinking about what isn’t always covered. For instance, how one might blog while cut off from the internet. Or “The dangers of the internet- spammers, hackers, and splogs.”
As #5 and Darren have said, inspiration is everywhere…

By: Rachel Keslensky

Rachel Keslensky — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 19:14:34 +0000

#6 is clever. I must try it.

By: Dave Origano

Dave Origano — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 16:36:20 +0000

That’s a great set of tips.

For reviewing myself I always use Google Analytics and other tools like Hitwise, that allow me to see what generated more visitors – what acted good as linkbait and such.

It’s the old wise lesson of Sun Tzu: know yourself, know the enemy, know the battlefield.

Researching what works best for other bloggers in your market is also a great way to get ideas. Watch out for their design, type of posts, amount of comments they receive and even spikes in Alexa trends.

-Dave

By: Warren of Zen Problog

Warren of Zen Problog — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 16:35:34 +0000

Great tips. I especially like 4. I have pen in hand now and am going to really get some needs down.

By: Nez

Nez — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 16:07:51 +0000

Wow, you’re everywhere, Skellie.

Thanks for the awesome tips — they’ll come in handy as this is the first time I’ve been writing on a (almost) daily basis, and my own well is beginning to dry up.

By: theblackactor.com

theblackactor.com — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 16:05:36 +0000

I think commenters want to feel they can comment on a blog and not necessarily agree with its author; as long as they comment respectfully. Sometimes you’ll see comment strings with nothing but praise after praise after praise and for the publisher or the publisher’s posts. Sometimes it is these comments and these comments only that are published. Other blogs show differing opinions.

By: Sue @ TameBay

Sue @ TameBay — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 15:34:09 +0000

My suggestion: keep an eye on your Google search strings. Quite often people have found us searching for something that we haven’t quite covered: give them what they want!

By: CurlyBrace

CurlyBrace — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 15:29:21 +0000

Nice tip about using the top 10 posts and taking the opposite tack, I never actually thought about it! I’ll give that a try :)

By: Frugal Dad

Frugal Dad — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 15:14:15 +0000

#5 ties in with something Darren has mentioned several times, “Think like a blogger.” Inspiration comes in so many different ways, but I find myself frequently saying, “Hey, that would be a great experience to write about.”

Great post, Skellie!

By: Banyú

Banyú — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:36:06 +0000

Using Skribit is not a bad idea…

By: Search◊ Engines Web

Search◊ Engines Web — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:34:51 +0000

Also allow some of the good commenters to be recognized and rewarded.

And establish a bond with the commenters by reacting to them individually and not as a faceless mass

Interesting that some blogs have an optional ‘membership’ that allows readers to upload avatars and become part of a social network. For those who want to comment anonymously, that option is also available

By: BW

BW — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:09:22 +0000

My comments have just recently started to increase (which must be a good thing) and I have based a post on some comment feedback. So your point on using comments did work for me.

I have also based posts on answering questions that I see come up regularly in the forums that I participate in. I find that this is a good source of ideas, as the same questions come up a lot.

and of course I write about things that I am interested in doing also.

By: Dan Cole

Dan Cole — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:00:39 +0000

Yep, the best way to give them what they want is to listen to what their asking for. But for new bloggers this can be hard because visitors are unwilling to comment and share ideas about what they really want… or the visitors are just not their. I guess if you don’t have your own comments giving ideas, you could go see what people are asking for on other sites in your niche.