For the past week or two I’ve seen quite a few bloggers creating landing pages for their blogs.  Most of these are geared towards Twitter, but you can create them for any social media website you wish.

Over the holiday season I took some time to create my own Twitter landing page, and I am currently working on a landing page for my other social media profiles.

What Is A Social Media Landing Page?

Landing pages were originally created with the thought of creating conversion sales on specific products or affiliate programs.  It’s alot like meeting the car salesman when you enter a car lot.  You don’t go straight to looking at the cars without being first greeted by a salesman.

This landing page is meant to sell something and social media landing pages are no different.

The thing we are trying to sell though isn’t some affiliate product, it’s our blog.

Why Create A Social Media Landing Page?

Social media sites, like Twitter, don’t really give you alot of room to write your bio, and most people want to know more about you before they blindly engage in some sort of friendship.  And with the big number of predators online today, it’s no wonder people take more precaution than they once did.

This landing page is a way for you to really show a person who you are and what you’re about.

Most of the time, the url you try to send everyone to is your homepage, but your homepage could get really confusing to some when all they wanted to know was more about who you are, not about the latest book or affiliate program that has surfaced.

This is your chance to convince people that you’re an important person and you have something equally as important to say.

The Elements of a Social Media Landing Page

You can be as shallow or in-depth as you want when creating your social media landing page.  There is no set rules or requirements.  However, if you’re unsure what types of things to include in your landing page, here is a good starting place:

1. Short Introduction - Create a short introduction welcoming the visitor to your page.  Give them a summary about yourself, then a link to your blog’s normal about page so they can find out more about you should they choose.

2. Talk About Your Blog - Give the visitor some information detailing what your blog is about as well as about 4 or 5 of your best articles.  This is a great way to let them see your writing style and to help them determine if they’re interested in what you have to say.

3. Expand Upon Your Social Media Account - The visitor obviously came to your landing page from a particular social media website, so it makes sense that you should tell them what special services or information you share on your social media profile.

For instance, if you let your readers take a glimpse into the “behind the scences” of your blog, or give them opportunities to guest post through your social media account, then let them know that.  Give them a reason to connect with you through these outlets.

4. Give Them More Info - If you have anything else you’d like to share, like the fact that you’re an author, or are the creator of a great website, or the ceo of a major corporation, then list it.  People love to feel like they’re personal friends with celebrities or “big wigs”, so the more you can show them just how great you are, the better your chances of them connecting with you.

5. Offer A Way To Subscribe - Now that you’ve got their attention and have given your visitors some great information about you and your blog, give them some actions to take.  Sometimes the best way to get someone to do something you want is to ask.  They can’t read your mind, and when faced with nothing else to do, will often move on to other things.

Give your visitor a way to subscribe to your blog or to connect with you on other social media platforms.  And don’t make it small.  Put it in their faces.  Make sure they know it’s there and won’t miss it.  You’ll be surprised at how many visitors will do the things you ask of them.

Have you created a social media landing page?  If so, how has it impacted your blog?

If you missed my latest post, click here to learn how I make $40-$50 per month with my SMS Blog Feed and only 3 subscribers.

There are literally 2-3 new blogs being created every second. Everywhere you turn you are hearing about a blog, whether it’s a personal blog, a group blog, or a business blog.

So why, if there are so many blogs on the internet, do we only hear about a small group of them being very succesful?

Because most bloggers who are interested in being successful or making a ton of money with their blogs, aren’t doing it right.

An Answer Out of Context

Many of those blogger’s who are successful are giving everyone the same answer when asked what is the best topic to blog about.  I even catch myself doing it over and over again, without thinking.

The answer is correct, but it’s not a full explanation of what we really mean.

Like the many religious views that are taken out of context, rather than seeing the big picture, just as many bloggers are taking the “blog about your passion” answer out of context.

Do I think it’s on purpose?  Absolutely not.  It’s a mere ignorance of the real meaning.  And I think those of us who are successful at blogging should start explaining ourselves in better detail when we answer a question of such importance.

The Problem of Demand

The best thing I can say to you before choosing a blog topic, is to forget about your passion!  I know, you’re probably thinking I’ve gone and lost my mind, but just hear me out.

There are other steps you need to take before choosing what you’re passionate about, and demand is the first.

Is there a demand?

Just like in any business, if what you supply isn’t what the consumers demand, you will not succeed.

Blogging isn’t any different.  So when choosing a topic make sure there is a demand for the information you’re giving.  The topic doesn’t have to have the highest demand.  There are millions of internet users on the web each day and even a demand from a small percentage of them can yield great results.

Is the demand shrinking or growing?

If the demand for a specific topic is on it’s way out, then you probably shouldn’t choose that particular topic either.

The best way to go around this stumbling block is to blog about something that is timeless.  If you are blogging to make money or be successful, then you probably plan on blogging for many years.  If you choose a fad topic that will be gone by next summer, then your long term plan will fail.

If you’re interested in blogging about fads, then create a blog about fads as a big picture.  Don’t focus on one specific fad, but on all fads, as they come and go.

Much like the stock market, if you can predict the next big thing that everyone will be searching for, then you will be a winner.

The Problem of Over-Saturation

I often find that new bloggers like to choose a topic that covers something a large majority of bloggers already cover.  They’re thinking is that if “what’s his name” is making money on that topic, then I can too.

That is the wrong way of thinking when you’re choosing a topic, and more often than not the chosen topic was one that was already over-saturated.

Over-saturation of the market for a particular topic actually means there is less demand.  Not physically, as in lower numbers, but mentally, as in “I’m not looking somewhere else when I can find it here”.

Think about where you go when you’re interested in buying a specific book online.  You’re first thought was probably Amazon.  Would it make sense to start an online book store when there is already a huge contender in the market?

When looking for something online that is in the niche of a particularly famous blogger, or a group of bloggers that have already super-saturated the market, most internet users no longer use Google to search for that particular topic.  They know the website address and will type it instead.

If you’re stubborn and you still want to blog about an over-saturated topic, then try to find something not covered within that topic and blog about it.  This is called creating a “sub-niche”.  Many bloggers have become successful in an over-saturated market by focusing on a specific point that no one was covering.

The Problem of Monetization

In a nutshell, the problem of monetization simply means, if you cannot monetize your particular topic and your end goals are to make money, then you should probably choose another topic.

So before you begin your blog, choose two or three topics you’re interested in, do your research and find any and all ways to monetize that topic, compare the two or three topics, then decide which ones offer the better payouts and monetization sources.

How To Choose Your Topic

Now that I’ve utterly confused you about the topic you should choose for your blog, it’s time to take your first steps:

1. Generate a massive list of topics that have a high demand.  I’d try to list at least 100 or more of them.
2. Mark out all topics that are over-saturated, unless you can narrow it down to a specific area that isn’t being covered.
3. Research the various methods of monetization each topic remaining has, and cross out the ones that offer little to no monetization.
4. Of the remaining topics, find two or three you’re really passionate about and write them on piece of paper to stash away somewhere.
5. Choose one of those topics and begin your blog.

The other topics you chose that you were passionate about are your backup topics should you realize later that you may not have been as interested as you thought.

Remember not everyone can be successful blogging, but taking the right approach and using the right steps, anyone can increase their chances for success.

How did you choose your blog topic?

Most people don’t blog just to hear themselves talk.  They do it for others.  To help someone looking for information within a particular niche.

So what good is doing that, if no one enjoys reading your blog?

You want your blog to be enjoyable and to create a stickiness that keeps your readers’ attentions for longer periods of time. You also want those readers to want to come back.  And believe it or not, there are proven methods to increasing that stickiness on your blog.

Post Frequently

This is the number one method for creating a sense of community with your readers.  To make them want to come back.  If you don’t post often, and your readers continue to come back hoping to find new content, they are going to be let down, and eventually give up on you.

You don’t have to post every single day, or even every other day.  Whatever you decide, make sure that it stays the same.  Don’t create a post everyday for a week, then switch to posting weekly, or monthly.

If you’re just starting your blog and aren’t sure how often you will be able to post, start with a longer frequency, then when you feel like you can do more, increase that frequency.  This helps to gain readers, whereas going in the other direction often gives you a decrease in readership.

Break Up Posts Into Series

If you’ve ever watched a television series like Heroes, you’ll notice the cliff hanger ending that always makes you want to tune in next week for the next episode.  Television has perfected stickiness with this method.

Just as with TV, if you’ll break your posts into a series with some sort of cliffhanger at the end, you will cause an interest buildup, and the reader will want to come back for the next post.  This often leads to blog subscriptions.

A good example of creating cliff hanger endings for a post series can be found on BossSanders.com.

Get Interactive

The reason why website like Facebook and Twitter are so popular is because they are interactive.  Sometimes it’s difficult to implement those methods of interactivity on your blog, but you can always do some minor methods.

Whether you realize it or not, commenting is an interactive part of blogging, so you’ve already got one method in place.  Three others you can implement are polls and contests, and giveaways.

Giveaways are expecially great because everyone loves to win free stuff.  And most will do anything you ask them (within reason) to win.  Like spreading word of the contest via Twitter or their own blog.

Polls also help to get reader feedback about thing you could do with your blog that they’d be interested in.

Offer Actions Below Each Post

I’ve written a great  article on what to include below your blog posts, so I’ll not bore you with details here.  But know that adding specific actions you want the reader to perform, like subscribing, or offering related posts to read, have been proven to be effective.

Often times readers don’t want to search exhaustively for what they should do next, they would rather be lead.  Otherwise, they’ll just lead themselves away from your blog.

Offer Incentives For Commenting

Commenting is a big part of your blog, and it helps you and other readers to generate a thought process of creative thinking.  And people love creative thinking.  That’s why puzzles are popular.

Offering incentives for commenting references back to adding a contest to your blog.  A randomly chosen commentator could win a Macbook, or the top commentator each month could win $100.

Whatever incentive you choose to give, be creative.  Do something unique and desireable that no one else is doing.

Respond To Your Commentators

Not only do you want other commenting on your posts, you also want to respond to their comments.

How do you feel when you say something in response to someone in a conversation you’re having, only to get a dumb look in return.  This is alot like not responding to your blog comments.

You don’t have to respond to them all, especially if you’ve got a large number of readers.  People know you’re a busy person because they are too.  But as long as they see you making an effort to respond to three or four, they’ll know they’re not speaking to a brick wall.

A Good Blog Design

I’ve seen so many blogs that still use the default wordpress theme, or clutters as many things as they can into every small piece of space they can find.  This is counter-productive of your blog.

A blog that isn’t pleasing to the eye will turn away potential readers before they even start reading what may be the best article every written.

A good design will promote flow of the page, and help draw readers deeper into your blog.  First impressions are important, but you don’t have to pay your life savings to hire a designer either.

There are many great themes floating around on the internet for free.  Will it separate your brand from other bloggers?  No.  But it will make for a better design.

One of the best blog themes that is very flexible is the Thesis Theme.  Many top bloggers such as Darren Rowse, use this theme.  I recommend it to all new bloggers who plan on becoming successful but don’t have the money to pay for a custom design.

You can get the Thesis Theme here.

Display Your Best Content

Somewhere in your design you should have a widget which displays your best content.  Not the content you think is best, but the content your readers think is best.

There is a reason it’s labled as your best content.  Apparently your readers liked it and voted for it.  Your best content is what will keep a new reader coming back to your blog.  It’s what will cause a new or long time reader to eventually hit that subscribe button.

Some of my best content is the reason this blog has sky-rocketed with visitors within the last couple of months.  It’s the reason I’m already making more money on my blog that most will ever make.

If you’ll look to the top of my blog, you’ll notice a place that says “Most Popular Posts”.  Those are the posts that caught my readers attention.

If you’re interested, read my post about the 8 Daily Tasks to Increase Blog Traffic.  Alot of my readers think it’s a great article.

Create Sticky Content

If you’re interested in finding out how to create sticky ideas or content which fall beyond the ways I’ve given you to make your blog sticky, then check out a great book I’ve been reading called “Made to Stick”.  It’s a definite must-have for bloggers who plan on being successful.

You can get Made To Stick here.

What other methods do you use to make your blog sticky?

Owen Cutajar has multiple blogs including Ugh!!’s Greymatter Honeypot where he writes about all things technology related.  This is his view of SEO in being a successful blogger.  Click here to follow Owen on Twitter.

Yesterday I was party to an email conversation where a colleague of mine was explaining to a potential new blogger about how he should be inserting keywords into the titles of his posts, using H1 tags for post headings, and worrying about SERPS and Page Rank. Well, most traffic comes from search engines and if you become a Search Engine Ninja your blog will be successful. Right?

Wrong!

In my opinion, a blogger should focus predominantly on the content his blog is being used for. This is what adds real value to his blog and is what will make his or her readers subscribe to the blog’s RSS feed and come back for more juicy goodness. Relevant, timely content is the lifeblood of every blog and without this your blog will wither and die. And if you’ve run out of things to blog about, spend your time on social networks, talk to people and if they find you remarkable enough, they will check out your blog and join your network.

What you REALLY should be focusing on is producing content that is unique, readable and interesting. Blog about subjects you are passionate about, subjects you’re an expert in and subjects that other people want to read about. You should only be thinking about SEO if you are writing on a blog targeted at readers interested in SEO. I’m not saying that your blog should be a mess; SEO should be considered when building a theme for your blog, in the same way that accessibility and design should be considered, but this is usually the realm of the theme designer and not that of the blog owner.

Blogs implicitly have the sort of content that search engines look for. There’s a personal element in there, which coupled with the frequency of updates places blogs in a much more favourable position to other sources of content. Focusing on SEO may help push you from position 500 to position 499 on a search engine’s list, but it won’t help you build relationships with other bloggers, readers and other internet denizens who have the ability to make your blog proper and flourish.

What are your thoughts on SEO and being a successful blogger?