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I’ve been blogging for almost 5 years now. I first started in 2003, and this post marks my 600th entry. I’ve read a lot of other blogs, and have met some great friends, in fact out of the good friends that I still talk to, a significant portion are bloggers.
So I wondered the other day.. what makes a good blog? I haven’t really discovered what the secret recipie is yet… obviously, as we say in the television industry, Content is King. But what content makes something readable and keeps readers tuned in? This is what I’ve postulated… feel free to mention if I’ve missed any key ones….
Sex. It’s no secret that sex sells. It’s at the core of any type of populist marketing. Tasty pictures, whether tasteful or pseudo- porn, always catches the eye. Sordid tales of sexual encounters also rates highly, spare no allusions! Let’s face it,even if there’s nothing else that the gay community agrees on, sex will always bring them together! Personally, I am not a fan of sites that are mostly porn, but mostly because I can’t read them at work 
Religion and Politics I was going to class Sex, Religion and Politics all together, as these are the three forbidden dinner-table topics, however sex does deserve its own heading. You can avoid religion and politics as long as you feature hella sexy boys. However, these latter twin demons are always so controversial, it’s likely to spark a debate no matter what you say.
Original Ideas
I would say out of all the blog posts I read each day courtesy of Google Reader, only 25% of the new posts really say anything new. Even if it’s a common topic that’s being thrown up, I’ve noticed that I get attracted to people who offers forward a different take on it. Even if it’s completely whacky… sometimes the best reads are the wierdest!
Honesty
The best blogs speak from the heart. If the writer is passionate about something, chances are it will make a great post! There’s nothing worse than a blog where you know the writer is being fake, or trying deliberately to self-promote. There are several blogs on my list that lack the first three attributes mentioned, but I am enthralled by the way the writer’s character comes through in his or her dialogue.
Comprehension
I don’t think this can be stated enough… a good post can be really destroyed by writing like an eight-year-old. I think many people (including myself) would find it difficult to understand let alone respect the opinion of someone who appears barely educated. If one is blogging for a cause, believe me the best writers are the ones that get noticed and quoted!
Engage the Readers
Some people write only for themselves, and those that have a “conversation” with the reader tend to gather huge reader bases. Whether you write inflammatory posts or not, I find readers feel more valued if the writer replies to comments. Maybe it makes the writer seem more like a friend than a distant publisher? Sometimes comments from readers can be even more entertaining than the article itself!
Regularity
The most successful blogs I’ve found have regular content. Most likely readers will become bored, or moreso lose that “connection” with the writer if they don’t hear from him/her in a long time.
Well, those seven are for starters anyway. Although I’m terrible with many of those points (particularly the last one), those seven seem to be common factors in the blogs I read. So I’ll leave it there, and hand it over to you…
What do you think makes a good blog?
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