Running any type of blog is the closest thing you can get to starting your own business, with other people working for you, managing clients, inventory, and so on.  Each also encounters points that the owner(s) feel that they aren’t doing enough to get the company (blog in this case), advancing to a point that they want to see it.  

You need to realize that all businesses, whether online, offline, or both online and offline, encounter points where others have shamed them so much, for creating products or services that no one wants to use or purchase.  At this point, as shown through history, a few companies stop producing the quality products that they once produced, or continue to be in operation, hoping that they have just hit a downturn in customers and will eventually bounce back to pre-event status.  

No matter what happens to your blog, even if something happens with the server and you lose all your information, remember that the most important thing to remember is that you will be able to recover even if you did lose thousands of hours of work.  The dedication that you put into recovering from whatever disaster - whether a downturn in traffic, negative comments (spread throughout the web), or events in your personal life - may even result in your blog or business coming out even stronger and better than ever before.

If, as an observer of the blogosphere or a blogger yourself, you notice that certain types of posts tend to do better than “traditional” posts, there is a reason for that.  Think about your own actions and the way that people consume content today compared to that of the previous fifty to one hundred years.  Content is able to be delivered faster on the Internet than any other medium, faster than television, phone (in most cases), and print.  The type of post that I am referring to is the “resource lists” or “link lists/favorite posts”, a type of post that many have grown to dislike due to their overuse.  

A Background on Resource Lists

Taking a look at any number of “top” blogs, you will find that nearly ninety-five percent of them have utilized this form of post in their past or continue to do so.  In my opinion, resource lists are a type of post that should be used, but sparingly.  Before any blog becomes an authority, they started with no monthly visitors, no income, no posts, and only the drive and passion to create a blog that others view as a resource and source for content delivered on a daily basis. 

Back “in the day” when blogs were new, many bloggers liked to share their favorite websites and blog posts with each other, usually in the form of short posts or reviews of each website.  Today, these posts have become frowned upon, in general, as people browsing your blog want to leave with the thought that they learned something and are able to come back to new posts.  Instead of having to browse through hundreds of posts to find hundreds of resources, you were now able to view them in a single post, potentially saving hours of time.

How Resource Lists/Favorites Lists Can Break Your Blog onto the Scene

You only need one resource list to gain hundreds of visitors.  People have a tendency of following what is popular and what impacts/relates to them the most.  If you’re into web design or technology, then creating a list of your favorite technology products with reviews or a showcase of good website designs will, if utilized correctly, help you gain a significant amount of traffic.  

Before getting down to the bulk of the benefits, there are few negative aspects of publishing this type of post.  While many of these are overlooked, they are important to note.

1. New visitors don’t want to be greeted with just a resource list.  They should be able to browse your archives to find other interesting content.  You don’t want to have an influx of new readers only to find most of them only visiting your “Dugg” page, and not subscribing/bookmarking your website.
2. Bounce rate and time spent on your site will dramatically decrease, in some cases leaving a huge dent in your site average.  For instance, if you have a bounce rate of about sixty percent in the time that your blog has been active, you may see that go up into the seventy to eighty percent range if you don’t have a huge number of total visitors.  In addition, people flocking to your site only want to see the page that someone else has recommended, and will quickly leave if it doesn’t leave them with a grand impression of your efforts.
3. Creating resource lists and link lists can often be frustrating, as they take more time than many are willing to spend on them.  Plus, if you don’t create them correctly, your time spent gathering the images and links will be wasted.
4. You have to be ready before you hit the publish button.  Your blog/server must be prepared for possible down time or increases in comments.

Now, onto the benefits.

1. When you publish resource lists targeting a select group of people, it is more likely to be found beneficial.  It can also help if you target an area that you feel doesn’t have a good resource collection.  The harder it is to find the resources to place in your post, the more likely others will find it useful.
2. Social media sites such as Digg, StumbleUpon, and others have become known as the main resource for large bursts of traffic, often leaving a lasting impact on your blog.
3. Readership rates and traffic levels may tip in your favor of higher levels once you have had a selection of your posts “stumbled” or “dugg”.
4. People who see the amount of work you put into creating a resource list will likely return and/or recommend your blog to others, after leaving a comment praising you on your work.
5. In a sense, creating resource lists is easier to do than traditional posts, since the content is there, you just need to gather it.
6. Resource lists add the most value to your website at the fastest rate, with news articles, reviews, and in-depth posts coming close behind.

Conclusion

Varying your post type, a topic that I have previously mentioned, but haven’t targeted, can add benefits seen two-fold on your blog.  Not only will they help create an increase in traffic (for short to medium time span), but your blog will burst onto the “scene” of other top bloggers who may link or recommend your post, further adding a constant stream of new traffic and subscribers to your list of blogging feats. 

By now, you probably know that in the world of blogging, the whole purpose is to keep connections with other bloggers and the services that they have used or created.  The services that other startups in your same niche or target market create have not been created solely to destroy your presence.  The creators of these products/services realized that there was a market (either small or large) and set out to create a product to fulfill the needs of a select group of people.  

For example, let’s say you have a BLOG A and you mention (not exactly on purpose, but as a news story) a service that Blog B has created.  The main situation is that both blogs are in the same niche, and you have created a similar tool, but Blog B’s is better.  Your mention of their service can have a huge impact on the success of your blog, in more ways than one.

First of all, you have designed your service to be unmatchable by any competitors for a long time down the road.  However, the time has come sooner rather than later, and now you must decide whether it is best that you drop/discontinue updating the service or relaunch it as a better product.  In either case, you are letting your competitors know that you have realized the potential of their services, and you have begun a “competition” to find whose is better.  

Events like the one outlined above happen everyday, though not in this specific manner.  Competitors try to diminish the effectiveness of the products you have created over theirs, so you must be able to counter with something that is better over time.  Why should you even mention a competitor’s product/service figuring that it will just stir a debate between the two of you?

Benefits

• Your competitors are constantly looking for others in their niche to base their product development and growth off of.  If your product shows signs of success, there will be an influx of interest from the competitors to release something better with more features.
• People not involved in your particular niche may still find the product useful - with more viable options.
• Competitors may pick up that you like their product and add a link back to their “Testimonials” page
• “Friendly” competitors may even Stumble or Digg your review page.
• Many visitors are interested in reviews, even if you are trying to convince them that your product is better.

Disadvantages

• You are distributing traffic to others’ websites instead of internally to your own.
• People once interested in your product may flock to others in search of a better product that you don’t/can’t offer.
• Your bottom line is jeopardized if you mention or use another’s product/website, as it shows you have little faith or loyalty in your own products.