Creating Fresh Content For Your Blog – The Easy Way!
You will probably not believe me when I tell you that I only just realized what I am going to tell you!!! — That sounds funny, but it’s exactly how it is!
If you have a blog and are trying to maintain it, you will most likely be struggling with creating fresh content on a regular basis. That is at least my big downfall, I just lack the time to research and put together new and interesting posts in the field of Internet Marketing regularly. But we are all being told how important it is to continuously update our blogs or sites and add fresh and unique content, as this is what can push us up in Google rankings. And that’s the ultimate goal, right? To reach one of the front pages of Google.
So we do our best and try to come up with interesting or new stuff, but to be honest, I think anything we can possibly write about has already been told many times over by others, and will rarely be a real revelation. And we do want to provide good content, don’t we!?
Anyway, so at the beginning of this blog I tried to post every few days, and that turned into once a week or so, and now I am nearly down to once a month…. BUT – the funny thing is that my PR has gone up from a 2 to a 3, and I am still getting as many, if not more, visitors to my blog every day as before. What’s been happening?
It’s actually quite simple, and also quite brilliant, and I honestly have only just realized it. My blog has been updating itself.
How? – Through my commentators leaving new comments, that is! See, not just post you make count as fresh content, but also the comments you get on your posts. Any posts. SO, the more comments you get, the more often your blog receives fresh content. I can’t believe I did not realize that before…. Hooray! The pressure to generate new posts has been released.
Now, there is still nothing better to get good Google rankings and to become a well known and liked blog than updating it often – with your own posts. I am just saying that you don’t have to feel so bad if you don’t get around to it all the time, as long as you get some comments you have a bit longer to make your next post. π
Just one more word: to utilize your commentators input properly, you should have the following plugins installed on your blog, simply to give something back to your fellow bloggers who are helping you out on the content side:
DoFollow | CommentLuv | KeywordLuv | Top Commentator
You can read up on CommentLuv, KeywordLuv and DoFollow here.
If you are running a WordPress blog, you can find and install all these plugins in your Plugins section by searching for them, except KeywordLuv. KeywordLuv you will have to go to their site and install it manually. I believe that all these plugins are some of the most important plugins you should have installed as a blogger from a SEO and Internet Marketing point of view.
So, let your readers update your blog with fresh content!
Category: Blogging, Content Creation
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Petra,
I know what you mean about coming up with new content, it can be like a writer getting writer’s block while trying to write a book. As for your ranking moving up with Google because of comments, that is true because it helps update your site, but also how many back-links you have and where they’re pointed to matters the most ultimately I think.
As for the plug-ins I agree, everyone should have those on their sites nowadays. But, I also think in return commentors should leave more than just “nice post” without even reading the post. π
(On a personal note: sorry if my e-mail seemed rude, I was brand new and didn’t understand yet how all of this worked, APOLOGIES!)
hmm..That’s interesting.No doubt those plug-ins helps in getting more comments.But,for a new blog still regular content is the best bet.Since, for them it’s very easy to get bag full of spam comments.
.-= Sujan@Online Earning Blog´s last blog ..Two Useful Free AdSense Tools =-.
iam a blogger, i want fresh content my blog, your article very useful for beginners like me. thanks
.-= dofollow backlinks free´s last blog ..Pak can wait for meaningful dialogue with India: Qureshi =-.
I totally second you. One of my friend bought a domain name and kept it idle without posting anything for more than 2 yrs. He came to me with total idea blindness and I talked to him about what prevents him from writing a blog post. He had around 100 reasons to say, then I told him why dont you make a post with those reasons you just said? He was totally amazed and there after he says there is no looking back. Fresh content is one of the primary things which helps you to stay on top of search engines.
.-= Alan@Tulsa Homes´s last blog ..Rate Hikes for Electricity Possible =-.
From my experiences, blogs pertaining to a fixed topic of interest are much easier because you are well informed of the trends and changes in that industry/area of interest, and it isn’t difficult to come up with a good idea for a new blog based on those news and updates itself. You also have a healthy pool of contributers and commenters.
Till then,
Jean
One thing I’d suggest is to just stick with a schedule for posting so that you can build more regular readers that come to expect and look forward to your next post.
If you feel you only have a couple really good things to say a month then just do that.
2 cents π
Chris Guthrie
.-= Chris Guthrie@Make Money on the Internet´s last blog ..phpZon Pro Plugin Review and Contest Giveaway =-.
You are absolutely right…bloggers need commenters to help add fresh content to their site, and utilizing the plugins you spoke about are great ways to give commenters incentive to leave comments. I commend you for rewarding us blog surfers and also for creating a fresh, relevant blog!
Brilliant indeed! You know, it makes perfect sense. I consider myself luck if I post once a month – it’ so difficult to come up with never before discussed ideas. Unlike you, though, I don’t have the readership and therefore very few comments. At least not yet. Keep up the good work, Petra.
I’m relatively new to all this and I want to thank you for the great information! Original content seems to be one of the most important things!
.-= Mary´s last blog ..Why Physical Fitness Is Very Important And How To Start =-.
I agree that comments can add some great content to your site. I’ve noticed that it can definitely help with long-tail keywords.
The plugins you’re using are definitely the key. Turning on do-follow typically increases the number of comments dramatically!
I have to completely agree with you. My PR is lower than it should be because I used to have a ‘masked’ domain forward to my Blog.
The problem with that I found out recently was that Google cannot crawl a masked site. I have now permanently forwarded and added the plug-ins you mention. My Alexa ranking for traffic has gone from 2.5M to 600k in three weeks.
That backs up your theory completely.
.-= Andrew Peel@Home Internet Businesses´s last blog ..How to deal with old age and the unexpected =-.
Hi Petra,
Finding things to write about on a blog is indeed sometimes hard.
When you say that there is really nothing new to say and everything has been said I’m tempted to agree but I don’t.
The reason is that we all perceive things from a slightly different angle.
And once in a while, very rarely, we may have something entirely new to say.
But even if something has been basically said many times, it has been said in different ways, from different perspectives.
It is also about the way of telling the story. A good example could be a telling of a joke.
Hearing one person tell it may cause us to laugh each time they tell it and when somebody else were to tell the joke, even if we heard it for the first time we wouldn’t laugh just because of the way it is told.
As for comments counting as new content that is very true and all the plug ins you recommend should be used.
I use them all on my blog and it rewards those who post good comments.
A good relevant comment will add to my blog and I’m happy to reward it with a dofollow anchor text link.
It’s a pity that some commentators (commentors) do not take a full advantage of all the plug ins like keyword luv.
Vance
.-= Vance@Marketing With Alex 3.0´s last blog ..Marketing With Alex 3.0 Preview, Gurus Nightmare Alexβs New Ebook =-.
I believe that blog posts on niche topics with interesting content can definitely increase your traffic. I do understand how difficult it is to post a fresh topic every time. Let the post evoke enough responses from the readers. That will leave you enough time to post another article. What say?
so in the end is there really no getting around building new content ? apart from asking other people to write it after all original content is king?
and what do poeple think of auto blogging does it work at all?
.-= ng@passportcovers´s last blog ..Do Follow Blog, Comment Luv Keyword Luv =-.
Fresh content takes time to write.
As one starts making money they must consider outsourcing some of it, particularly if they have more than one site.
Everything is about leverage.
.-= Helping Ordinary People Make Money Online´s last blog ..All Internet Marketing Emails Are Not Solicitation Emails =-.
Creating fresh content may be termed challenging but surely not very difficult. In fact, one could explore many ideas in oneβs area of interest and expertise. One definitely needs to research but it is attainable. You are not left at your wits end.
I can relate. I struggle to get enough posts done.
I knew that Google indexes the comments. In fact some of my best writing is the answers to questions I get in the comment section. What is really interesting is what it has done to your PR and traffic.
.-= Ned@RE Investing´s last blog ..What Is Hard Money? =-.
Andrew, WOW! That is a fantastic result! Thanks for letting us know about your success. And I have learned something, too!
From my point of view general product reviews, website reviews, book reviews, information about the latest gadgets and so forth are useful to visitors and it will increase your website content. These articles make an interesting read and the reader always gains additional knowledge through such blog posts. This makes excellent fresh content idea.
Hi Petra:
I really want to say thank you for allowing us to take advantage of the plug ins you have installed here. They Really are great tools to have. Anyone who knows anything at all about seo, knows the value of back links from a quality site like the one you have made here. I think you have done an excellent job here, and I wish you all the best
Rob
.-= Rob @ Electronic English Dictionary´s last blog ..KeyWord Luv, and Comment Luv =-.
I don’t think auto generated content will ever really make anyone money.
Number 1 rule to SEO is that you’ll never beat google…you have to make decent content if you want to succeed.
Normally I would tend to agree with you, but this “auto generated content” is generated by real people making comments.
While some comments don’t add much, look at the length of Vance’s comment above or the content in Andrew’s comment. This is real content being added automatically.
.-= Ned@RE Investing´s last blog ..Mayor Rawlings-Blake, Drew Carey has a Message for You =-.
Ned, when other people make comments on blogs it is definitely not “auto generated content” – all I meant is that you do not have to do as much writing if you get a lot of comments and answer to the comments. Of course you still have to make blog posts every couple of weeks or so, but it takes the pressure off for in between blog posts, as you still have content “generated” for you – by real people.
They Keyworudluv plugin is a great feature to have on your blog and will no doubt increase comments on your blog. The important thing to make sure if that people are not abusing this feature for a free link and are actually contributing to the discussion.
Hi all!
Yet another newbie blogger trying to extend visibility of his site. First of all I would’like to thank you all for the gold pot of infos I got here. As ever, when a work is done with passion results are great.
Well, have I said thanks?
.-= Maria@Handle Stress´s last blog ..How to Deal with Financial Stress? =-.
Despite my limited blogging experience in the fitness niche, Iβve found readers comments to be the most helpful when trying to decide what to write next. Reading other blogs in your niche can also be helpful. Finding an interesting article, but then adding your own unique twist to the material.
Getting fresh content for blogs every time is another issue for blog writers. I have heard that asking readers for advise is a good way to do it. First, it involves the readers and makes them feel like they are a part of it. And second, it makes it really easy for you to know what your readers are interested in.
Yes that is a great way to interact with your visitors. Getting direct feedback like that can really help you determine what direction your blog should go in. Just don’t ask that question too often or your readers will catch on that you’ve run out of ideas.
Thanks for the tips, I just started my blog (and in fact havenβt even tinkered with the design). This page is definitely getting bookmarked.
A lot of times, I think just looking at something that happened to you in real life, dissecting it, and wrapping it up in a series of weird ideas is a good way to go. If you actually have an eventful life, then material is easy to come by.
Worse comes to worse, just start playing an MMO and youβll get plenty of things to talk about π
You may also try the idea of guest blogs for creating fresh content for blogs. In every 100 or so readers there is bound to be 1 that has the knowledge, expertise, motivation and skill to contribute posts to your blog. The key is to identify them and give them the confidence to contribute a post to your blog. Pay particular attention to those leaving comments on your blog. Youβll find that some comments just go the extra mile and contain wisdom and depth that are not far off being the standard of actual blog posts. Also donβt be afraid to invite contributions by writing post asking for guest posts or having a page linked in your navigation inviting contributions.
Sam, what a great idea! In fact, I also have someone who contacted me to write a guest post on my blog about Healthy Diet Weight Loss, and I am in the process of finalizing it. So, you are absolutely right, that’s another great way of getting unique content to your blog!
My favorite technique for coming up with new topics is using mind maps. I outline my mind mapping technique here but in short the technique is that you take one post idea (one from your archives perhaps) and then brainstorm ways that that topic can be expanded upon into numerous new topics. You then take some of those new ideas and think about ways that they too can be expanded upon into new posts. This technique can literally help you identify hundreds of new topics to write about.
Reader Questions – stuck for a topic to write about? Ask your readers to ask questions. A post inviting reader questions can draw out some great ideas to write about.
Great article. I also use those pliggins for my sites. Also there is a program that lets others post to you blog, you just have to let them put links in there article.
.-= Paul@Project Payday Tips´s last blog ..Why Other Work From Home Sites Donβt Like Project Payday =-.
Blogging is a great way to increase your search engine rankings, and attract new readers. Thanks for the article that details some of the benefits of blogging, as well as getting other people to “create” the content for you!
.-= Matthew Lord@Atlanta Online Marketing´s last blog ..Finding the Right Atlanta Marketing Consultant =-.
This is a really great article. I completely agree! @Scott from Affordable SEO, that is also a really good idea. Thanks everyone for all the good info!
I’ve got an idea for some material and would love an opportunity to be a guest blogger for your site, email me if you are interested.
Thank you for acknowledging your commenters like this. I definitely agree that comments help each post grow and get more love from the search engines. I do appreciate when blogs help out their commenters by providing dofollow links and by using the other plugins you recommended.
You can also try making new blogs from the older ones. Letβs take a look at what you can do to make a basic βInformation 101β concept that isnβt new at all come off as more creative and unique: Infuse the 101 concept with a personal experience that you lived to drive the message home. The concept may not be original, but its application and effect on your life as well certainly is. No one has lived what you have. No one has experienced your life but you.
WOW. PR2 to PR3 without updating frequently. I never knew comments were important to the search engines. If only my blog
was getting comments from truly interested parties, I would have unleashed the full potential of DoFollow | CommentLuv | KeywordLuv | Top Commentator. As it is now, I just can’t stand people littering my blog with all sorts of half baked comments and crazy keywords.
.-= Udegbunam Chukwudi@Make Money Online´s last blog ..Make Your Blog 10x Faster With W3 Total Cache Plug-in =-.
Yes the spam comments are part of dealing with comments on a blog. All you can really do is block the spammers are reward your good commenters. Do what you can to keep them coming back to keep updating your blog for you.
Many of us can’t create fresh content due to creativity barrier they face unknowingly or knowingly. But do not know how to fight it out.
Hereβs a mental challenge to break the creativity barrier:
Choose three random words. It doesnβt matter what they are. They could be sheep, lilac and dragon, for example.
Write a three-paragraph blog post on copywriting, with each of your chosen words the focus of one paragraph.
Devote all your resources. Unleash your creativity inside the restrictions to wander loose. Find ways to relate the words to the subject. Use metaphors. Use examples. Use history. Tell a story.
I agree with you, website needs fresh and unique content.
I love this quote: “Content is a king, not King-Kong”
.-= Slim Weight Patch´s last blog ..Proactol Review =-.
The part on commenting is great and one of the reasons I love the ComLuv plugin. It really encourages website owners to visit other sites to read and participate. Super article. Thank you.
.-= Online Marketing Course´s last blog ..Online Marketing Course: Finding Content For Your Blog That You Donβt Have To Write =-.
You have totally hit the nail on the head, when I made the blog for my website, I thought should I make it dofollow or nofollow, then I thought well I want more people to visit my blog and I want more people to leave comments so made it dofollow, people who leave one line answers tend to annoy me, so I have started to not approve those comments as it devalues the quality of the blog. However I think is it a fairtrade to give you a bit of content for your website and you give me a link.
The decision to allow guest posters onto your blog has both good arguments for and against it β but it is certainly one way to keep the flow of content going on a blog when youβre a little low on inspiration or donβt have enough time on your hands to be writing content. Getting people to submit guest posts on a blog is not always achievable when a blog is very young and the blog has little profile β but once you gather a readership and build your reputation as a growing community it becomes easier to attract contributions from other bloggers and freelance writers looking to grow their own profile. If you’re new to this idea of finding guest blogger can be done by asking your readers.
Another spin on the idea of an editorial calendar that I know some bloggers have a lot of success with is to set different βstylesβ of posts for each day of the week. For example:
* Monday might be βtipsβ day where you write a βhow toβ or βtipβ related post
* Tuesday might be βreviewβ day where you review a product related to your topic
* Wednesday might be βnewsβ day where you summarize the latest news in your niche
* Thursday might be βlinkβ day where you link up to another blog in your niche
* Friday might be βopinionβ day where you express your opinion on a topic
* Saturday might be βreader discussionβ day where you post a question or poll for readers to interact with
* Sunday might be βfrom our archivesβ day where you highlight an old post on your blog
What a great idea! But I still would find it a chore to post that often! π
Another great post Petra and a lot of interesting and varied comments appearing. Your statement and concerns about previously written content “but to be honest, I think anything we can possibly write about has already been told many times over by others, and will rarely be a real revelation” is not a problem and no need for concern.
How many books and how many films can you think about that follow a very similar story, I can think of hundreds right now. There is not two the very same, similar, but not the same. Different authors have their own distinctive slant or style as do film directors and producers. Books still sell very well and cinemas are still popular even with the advent of home movie centres etc.
I may have read a very similar post to the one I’m reading here before, but it hasnβt put me off reading yours, so you must have done something right and kept my interest. And thatβs what itβs really all about.
You pick the topic…give us your view about the topic…if we are enjoying it we will read on and may evenβ¦MAKE A COMMENTβ¦ keep it going your doing just great.
Thank you, Joe! π
Thanks for the information. You are absolutely right, if you expect someone to leave a comment, the least you can do is turn of nofollow and allow them to display their latest post.
I knew about CommentLuv and DoFollow (I have a blog post about it, too) but the Top Commentators and KeywordLuv plugins were new to me.
Great blog and really good information!
Max recently posted…My Day In The Boardroom
A blog requires fresh updates on a regular basis and if don’t, the content becomes stale and your readers will stop visiting your blog.
Fresh content in blogs will drive huge traffic. But it should be unique.
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Hi Petra,
Thanks again for another great post. I have sooooooo much to learn!!
All the best, Seb
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Well, off course it’s really very important that the content of the blog should be so strong so that it can attract more and more visitors and you can also get a good advantages from some emergent features of the blog such as Comment Luv so that you can easily utilize your name with your keyword…
I’m a pretty new blogger and yes, I’m already finding it hard to keep good, fresh content posted regularly. Thanks for the tip about comments updating your blog, I was unaware of that. However, I’ve found that maintaining the blog is the easy part. Getting it noticed and attracting traffic is the hard part.
Carl recently posted…Are We Throwing Rocks at Jesus
Seems like you already build your credibility to your readers. In that way, they started to work for you. You can’t ask for more than anything else, all you need to do is to control spam comments on your site.
The comments may be enough to keep the search engines around, but users need new posts too.
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You are right, of course. I never meant for it to sound that at some stage you can just sit back and do nothing any more – you will have to keep posting on a regular basis, but the commenting can take the pressure off a little.
It is probably best if we just follow some kind of rule, like post one article Monday and one Thursday. This way the other days we will not feel pressure, because we know we are on track :). But if the visitors get use to that and we stop doing it, it is bad.
New comments are also part of post and it is new knowledge that I have got through this blog. All comments are due to good and informative post
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I am blogger but a beginner so the tips you have given is quite useful for me and i am sure it will improve my blogging and i’ll get something in return. So, thank you very much i’ll be back to read more….
That is really goo that you were able to grow your page rank even though you felt you had slacked off. I have read through some of your archives and the information you have here is very well put together. It is good that you had really good content to keep your readers engaged while you were unable to post as frequent as before.
Hi Petra, on a previous post I asked you about backlinks dropping off. I have noticed that pretty well all the backlinks I kindly received from you have now all disappeared. I’m still not quite clear how this happens. One of the other three blogs I comment on is blueverse.com. Ryan who owns that blog gives a permanent PR3 link to the top ten commentators each month. Would there be any chance of you doing something similar? regards, Seb
Seb recently posted…Pedometer Watches and Pedometers Their Uses and Features
Wow so its as simple s that. I guess i’m contributing to fresh content right now. On the serious side thank you for this post. I also realize i could steal/ get ideas off people’s comments. Nice.
Very great post. I agree with you. In my view the content is key to sucess. When ever visitor comes to any website or blog, there is only one thing that compel visitor to stay on that page, that is content not the page rank. Thanks
Hi there, I am a Do-Follow, CommentLuv and KeywordLuv supporter too so far, it has given me good results on my blogs and I always pre-approve or reject spam comments according to my judgement.
I am happy when others do too π
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It’s funny that after 110 articles posted on my blog, the most popular one is the one that informs people that I use KeywordLuv :). It definitely increases traffic as most people are looking doe this kind of blogs like ours to benefit from.
Since the benefit is mutual then I say Hooray !!
Blog owners keep an eye on your spam preventing methods though, very important.
Regards!
Online Advertising Success recently posted…Benefits of Owning a Personal Development Home Based Business
I have the same problem, I hate writing. I started out with 3-4 posts a week, now maybe 1 a week.
A really nice article worth to read i highly recommend this such a useful post thanks…
Fresh and resourceful, that is really great. Also make sure that content is really that catching the readers, meaning, you have to post your target market. Their interest and needs.
Hi Petra,
I had the same problem, I couldn’t write much – it was exhausting me and just bored me sometimes. But I started to look at the problem, I was just stressing too much and doing too many other things at the same time. Focussing only on one action or two is always the best method to keep yourself attentive and work on the quality not the quantity. Great article, thanks for sharing!
Best wishes,
Cristian
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i bet this idea came up when you yourself got a writer’s block. correct?:)
sometimes, coming up with a fresh content (daily) will be a pain-in-the-neck.. but, this is what it means to be in the internet biz. always come up with new ones so both readers and the SEs would love to visit your site. keeping your site idle means keeping SEs and traffic coming in. nice post, btw!
You are right Petra,
I don’t think people realize that commenters are much more then people who just happen to visit your website, they are actually ghost writers, anonymous guest poster who can keep your blog updated for a long time.
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I found that in some of my best writing is the answers to questions I get in the comment section. What is really interesting is what it has done to your PR and traffic after just a month or so, it really has a upward spike.
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Unique and informative content is essential for every blogger, to create their blog popular and to get regular visitors of blog
Unique and informative content update regularly is the only way to maintain your blog
really amazing blog and I was thankful to you for sharing such a useful information.