Blog Tipz

Some people create link posts to help their readers discover new, interesting, and truly useful sites. Others simply post them to fill some of the void created when they don’t have anything to write about, but all of these posts have something in common. When a reader goes through their feed reader or visits the site, he or she typically tries to avoid this type of post, unless t hey have something to stick around for – perhaps a tip or piece of information that they didn’t hear/know about before.

Maybe it would be best if I started by explaining where this type of post originated (or how I believe it did).

As bloggers, most of us know how to gain new visitors. It is by all through linking. Content is nice, but if you don’t have people sharing the content with links attached to the end of the excerpt, no one will continue visiting your site unless you already accomplished a great feat – an act that only a few people involved online have done.

Time progressed. Bloggers realized that it was important to share more than just the occasional links within posts with their readers – they wanted to dedicate an entire post to this “idea.” They wanted to place a small collection of links within a post to share with others. It wasn’t supposed to take a long time, and was a “roundup” of sorts.

That’s the short version of where these posts began, but how can you make them so much more than just a links post?

Structure the List

One of the main problems with link lists is the fact that they are in list format. This presents an obstacle that readers must overcome each time they read these posts. Sometimes they can be quite lengthy, and in the raw from, reading links isn’t easy. You are essentially telling your readers to leave your site, providing them little information about where they are going or why they are going there – you need to be able to provide that direction they need.

The best advice in this area would be to create categories and sub-categories for the list (especially if you have more than ten links you are placing within the post). Depending on what point in time you begin doing this step, you have various alternatives, which will be discussed further on.

We’ll first address the main point of concern – dividing your links into separate categories, assuming that you have a blog already divided within a sub-niche.

You could structure the links post as follows (this format can be customized):

I. Main Topic

A. Link 1

B. Link 2

II. Main Topic

{continued…}

In other words, you don’t want to place all content within a strict list, but keep it flexible. Use bullets and other forms of separation to distinguish between links. Continuing to provide some inspiration for how this is done – place favorite, tips, or “bookmarkable” links within separate categories. Not only will this add some dimension to the post, but people will be able to take something from the post – links that they should be bookmarking.

The second main way to structure link posts is by setting up a category and sub-categories dedicated to these link [resource] posts. Similar to the method employed above, create a main category (within WordPress or any other blog service that allows you to create Parent and Child Categories), then sub-categories for the main post.

Taking a “real life” example, you could create a “roundup” of latest news (whether in the past week, month, year) and publish them in separate categories, as exhibited below:

Parent Category: Links (or whatever you want to call it)

Child Category 1: News (include a quick roundup of news related to the main sports topic)

Child Category 2: Humor/Off-topic (what you might have found interseting)

Child Category 3: Resources (links to sites that may provide additional, timeless content for readers)

Generally, this method works best if you stick to a schedule of posting at least one link post per week within one of these categories. By using this structure, you have less to worry about if readers want to find a specific category of the link posts.

Adding Relevant Information

Readers always crave new information and content on your part – in some ways, it is your job to do this. If you don’t, it won’t be long before readership drops and you return to levels that took a lot of work to attain. It is crucial to make your link posts the best that they can be. If not, you’ll be left with readers that still have the desire for more information, yet they had to turn to other, more dependable sources. Your goal – stop this from happening.

People have come to despise the “links post” mantra due to the fact that people use them too often to gain more links back, as some people might link back to your blog, especially if it is the type that includes a multitude of links (for example, 50 Best Sites to Learn How to Save Money) or something that people will immediately be attracted to. A post that exclusively contains links isn’t much of a resource, but a rehashing of what Google and other search engines have been created to do.

There will always be something attached to each link that you paste into the blog editor, something on the site that just makes you want to share it with your readers. Whether that is the fact that it is funny, provides a resource, or is something that you would want to receive, you have to be able to back that statement up to your readers.

How do I do this, exactly?

Several key methods might include:

1. Add your personal thoughts to the link. Connect the content on the out-linking site to your own, share with readers the thoughts you encountered on the blog, but it all has to be interesting.
2. Provide additional information about the topic and fill new readers in on what is happening in the world of ______ (fill in the blank with the focus of your blog). Assume that the reader is picking up with your most recent post – how will they learn about the topic if they don’t even know what you are talking about. When you start a movie half-way through, you don’t typically get an idea about the plot until you have concentrated on what is happening for a good chunk of time, never getting the whole picture, sometimes not even realizing the structure.
3. Letting nothing slip by. Links posts don’t have to be random. In some respect, they are already organized by date, assuming you are using fairly recent articles. Organize each post using a date format and allow your readers to use them like a mini time line outside of what you post.

Value is what readers look for in the posts, not necessarily the links themselves.

Involve Your Readers

Unless your blog has been linked to from the article, there is little to no reason why you would want to (or should) link to the post or share the content there. Many people feel this way, so these link posts rarely make the “Top 10″ list of your most popular posts. If he posts don’t provide much value to your readers, there is little point in posting it.

By involving your readers, you will be able to focus on providing an interaction between your readers and yourself – in itself, this will benefit both you (your blog) and your readers.

– Invite your readers to leave additional links in the comments area as a discussion.

– Don’t collect links yourself. Use links that people provide, although this may lead to some self-promotion, there are ways that it can work.

– Force your readers to visit the links each week and have a discussion about them, similar to the first idea, but this would create a demand for more people to subscribe to your blog, rather than just pass by.

Organize the Links

Even if you don’t plan on featuring these link posts on a weekly basis, you can still include them in a similar way on your blog (which might save time rather than having to create a full-featured post).

1. Place the links in the sidebar – you don’t have to include additional commentary, but users might find it less obstructive than a full post that may appear at the top of your blog for quite some time.
2. Create a separate blog (in tumblelog format) that shares with readers your thoughts on links. Twitter helps accomplish this – but you may want to create one separate from your main blog or personal Twitter account for each blog (unless they are all on the same topic).
3. Link all the “lists” together. Some people create a similar post each year, representing progression. Try this with the link posts, as in you create a roundup each month of the most popular stories (external links), which will benefit readers. At the bottom/top of each post, include links back to the three or so most recent editions.

Conclusion

Once you are able to create the ultimate links post, you will be able to grow your blog, rewarding the blogs that have devoted time to creating the links posts. People who are not that familiar with blogs or the mini blogosphere network connected with your blog will join in the discussion, aiding other blogs that you might read daily, who may receive a few new subscribers from this.

Remember, link posts aren’t the evil thing that we all seem to dread, but they can be useful at times – you are in charge of how to make them work.