Advice for a Young Blogger: How to get a million or less hits on your blog over some unspecified period of time, maybe

Received:

Subject: hello

My name is miss glory 23 years old never married. l saw your profile today at and after going through it many times then l made up my mind to contact you as my friend. so l want you to write back to me through my email address so that l will give you my picture and for you to know who l am. l hope to see your mail ok. lt is from me,
miss glory

Oh. I'm sorry. Wrong email.

Subject: Blogging Advice

Hello,

My name is [C.H.] and I'm a junior Journalism student at [College name] in [City, State]. I recently started blogging again on my blog and I was wondering if I could get any advice from you on how to be a better blogger, attract readers, etc. In particular, I'm wondering where you find the news stories the mainstream media doesn't cover. But any advice you might have I would greatly appreciate.

Thank you so much for your time.

[C.H.]

C, here are my top 10 rules on the delicate topic of blogging.

10. Always link to stories on blogs around your size and smaller than yours -- to paraphrase Glenn Reynolds, you need an "Army of Davids" to help support your mission.

9. Always link to larger blogs: you never know when the likes of Hot Air, Instapundit or Michelle Malkin -- incredibly prolific consumers of media -- will notice and, perhaps someday, post a link to your site. Like losing your virginity, you will never forget your first Instalanche.

8. Always remember to thank those who link you or provide the sources for your stories, unless of course they prefer to remain anonymous. Here is an example of how I do it: "Hat tip: Gateway Pundit."

7. As for unconventional news stories that might pique your interest, my favorite sources for the offbeat are Drudge Report, Memeorandum and TrendingRight. Using Twitter and Facebook -- both for collecting news stories as well as providing updates to your followers (see TwitterFeed) -- is crucial as well.

6. Post a blog-roll and keep it up-to-date. This will come in handy when the previous suggestion doesn't tickle your fancy.

5. If you're so inclined, keep an updated list of headlines like Sister Toldjah or Weasel Zippers; these are stories that may not merit a story, but still deserve your readers' attention.

4. Try to keep content fresh and stories flowing, even if it means running a group blog or having guest bloggers. People don't visit sites that are static. If nothing changes between visits, there's really not a reason to surf to your site. As for myself, each day since January 9, 2009, I've posted Larwyn's Linx, my roundup of important stories. No matter what else is happening, regular readers can at least get a daily snapshot of my favorite articles.

3. Have a specialty that you love and are passionate about. Ed Driscoll and Noel Sheppard enjoy exposing the hypocrisy of legacy media. Fausta Wertz uses her multilingual abilities to provide expert news and analysis of Latin America. Black Five tackles defense and intelligence issues. Zero Hedge and Mish cut to the chase when it comes to the economy. Ace o' Spades uses brilliant, caustic humor to savage the left. Expertise plus passion equals kerploding traffic numbers!

2. Avoid internecine warfare if at all possible. Like any relationship, bloggers can have fallings-out. One of the more famous instances was the 2009 showdown between Atlas Shrugs, JihadWatch and LGF over the loyalties of European anti-Jihad groups. Had I really cared about European anti-Jihad groups, I would have researched the issue and weighed in. As it turned out, I didn't let the issue sway my opinions of any of the bloggers. That is, until LGF's Charles (author of my favorite blogging software) executed an ideological 180-degree turn. Even then, I've mostly just de-linked LGF as opposed to pillorying it. I have better things to do, like saving this Republic.

1. Read Robert Stacy McCain's "How to Get a Million Hits on Your Blog in Less Than a Year ", a neatly executed Tour de force on ramping your blog viewership.

Although I eschew Rule 5 because my wife gets pissed off for religious reasons.


Linked by: Instapundit, Memeorandum, American Power, The Other McCain, and The Lonely Conservative. Thanks!