Here are four ways to bring variety to your blog.
1. Long vs. short posts
Both long and short posts can attract new subscribers and also make currents subscribers happy.
But if every post you do is either long or short, you’ve prevented the benefit that comes from incorporating various lengths.
Not only is it sometimes nice to read a long or short post, but many ideas that demand one length or the other will be excluded from your blog if you’re too rigid in what length of post you’re willing to publish.
2. Vary your format
My general advice is to make every post as entertaining as possible.
But sometimes I’m not in the mood for an artful essay and just want the goods straight up.
Daniel does a Q & A segment every Friday which I love because they’re so to the point and highly educational. Incorporating Q & A Friday really mixes things up, bringing wonderful variety to his blog.
In addition to the above, here are some other methods to vary your blogging format:
- Incorporate both list and non-list posts
- Do face-offs where you ask two bloggers their opinion on various subjects
- Incorporate posts with diagrams and pictures that help illustrate your point
- Write personal or fictional stories to get your point across
3. Expand what you write about
I believe everyone can expand what they write about regardless of how seemingly narrow their niche is.
That said, some niches are easier than others to widen the scope of what you write about.
Here’s what Leo Babauta of Zen Habits says on why his blog outgrew other blogs he was competing against:
“They limited themselves to a smaller niche, and thus limited their potential readership. Once they had most of the potential readers in this niche, growth slowed . . .”
Be careful not to become too narrow on what you write about because of your niche. The more subjects you can successfully incorporate into your niche, the more of an audience you can attract to your blog.
4. Repeat yourself skillfully
All bloggers repeat themselves. There’s no way to escape it, and there’s also nothing wrong with it.
After all, repetition is the mother of all learning.
That said, you certainly don’t want to repeat yourself consecutively. Allow some space between posts that cover the same subject.
Moreover, when you do cover the same ground, always do it with a new angle by using techniques such as new metaphors, quotes, stories, or data.
One great benefit of repeating yourself in new ways is that people will pick up new distinctions that they didn’t last time when you explained the subject in a different way.
The saying ‘variety is the spice of life’ applies to blogging just as much as it does to life.
What other ways can you bring more variety to your blog?
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