Becoming a profound blogger is not as difficult as you may first think. Let’s face it, your competition are a bunch of hobbyists and people who mistakenly believe they will make their fortune with affiliate advertising. Nevertheless, there are a few steps you need to take if you wish to stand out from the crowd. Here are a few things you should try.
1 – Study your topic very deeply and make it known on your blog
We can all do a little bit of research online and knock out an article or two. But, to actually study a subject takes a little more passion and commitment. Do a lot of deep research and at the end of your article write a reference list. But, do not just write, “References.” Instead write, “Here are all the things I read to research for this blog post.”
2 – Blog about very focused topics on your blog
It is very easy to write about a single topic, so what you need to do is find a very focused area within a larger topic. For example, there are millions of blog posts about the large Hadron Collider, so why not write a post about a very specific part, such as the theory that an influence from the future is affecting the progress of the Hadron Collider in the present. Explain who has made the claim, how it is valid, and how such claims have been made before, such as during the American development of the atom bomb.
3 – Innovate and do not just curate knowledge
Knowledge curation passes for research these days. To look up what somebody else said, compare it to what another said, and make your own conclusion is not innovating or creative. You are just curating knowledge that already exists. Be different and come up with your own knowledge. Use what you know from other people, but then build on it. For example, a lot of psychological text is discredited every year. Why not revisit the text and instead of try to prove it is correct, try to figure out why the psychologist reached his or her conclusions in the first place. And then, ask yourself if there is a way their research may be pointing to something nobody else has noticed yet.
4 – Disagree with experts (dead or alive) and give plausible arguments
No matter how many dead people you find that agree with an idea, you will find an equal amount of dead people who disagree with an idea. Give plausible reasons why you disagree with a dead expert, and give the reader some plausible explanations as to why you disagree.
5 – Do series of posts that develop an idea or theme
Magazines do this all the time, where you start with an idea and then build on it every week. As your research comes along, you may grow the idea and actually further the academic zeitgeist in the process.
6 – Put creativity above spelling, grammar and academic clarity
Blogger(s) are so afraid of doing this these days because they fear what Google will do to them. They fail to realize that they only get 10 visitors per week because their blog is uncreative. If they actually pushed the limits a little more, they may have more people attend their blog in the first place.
7 – Never cover a topic that has been covered by another
This does not mean you must find a topic that has never been covered by another person–ever. It means you should come up with a list of topics and Google each one thoroughly. If you find articles and blog posts on certain topics, then do not write on those topics. Do not look online for titles that have been done and then try to add your own twist, because nobody cares.
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Originality does not have to be weird or kooky. For example, if you run a pet rabbit blog, then don’t tell us the ideal bunny brunch or ideal rabbit food made with mixed vegetables (yawn). Tell us why rabbits will fight over a cracker but will leave carrots to rot if there are broccoli stems in the picture. Tell us how to make their dinnertime more fun, or why rabbits love eating dry apple more than fresh apple. Tell us why female rabbits will lick a kitchen floor after you have just bleached it, or why male rabbits will always pee on a large white towel if you put it in their playpen/run.
8 – Do fantastic versions of the worst topics
If you are not sure what a poorly covered topic looks like, Google “How to stay motivated.” From page 1 to page 29,100,000, you will see nothing but the worst, most diabolically poor, terribly horrible advice. There are literally thousands of articles on the subject, and so few of them offer any real advice at all. You should cover this sort of topic, but be the first person on the Internet to offer real advice that actually works in real life.
Don’t just offer stupid advice, offer advice that is grounded in real life. Maybe explain to people that they are often bored or unmotivated because they are tired (that‘s it, not because their Chi is out of sync or because they have a problem with their parents). Two hours sleep will change their day!
And if you think the motivation articles are bad, you should try the articles and blog posts on dating (talk about the blind leading the blind).
9 – Write to your readers as if they are there, but not in the first person
There is no need to be dry or matter-of-fact. This is a blog post, not an article for the New Yorker. Write your blog post as if you are talking to one of your closest chums. Make comments in brackets, or be expressive. But, try not to slip into first person (using words such as “I” or “we“). It is okay to use words such as “us”, but try to stay away from first person writing. There are numerous boring but logical reasons why your blog posts should not be written in the first person, suffice it to say–just don’t do it.
10 – Brainstorm a lot and then mind map before you start a blog
If you use your brain enough, you can come up with new and innovative blog posts. If you take the time to think, you will be able to come up with ways to make yourself a profound blogger. Try brainstorming and mind mapping, not just for blog post ideas, but also for ways to make your blog profound.
