How to Build a Successful Blog: Overview

People really seemed to enjoy the Crush AdWords series, and it got me thinking over the weekend.

The one thing that this blog is lacking, based on what I mentioned in past posts on the Blog Formula, is a sort of over-arching theme that ties everything together and allows for interesting illustrations of concepts and ideas.

What’s the Big Deal?
Why am I so big on this? Well, for several reasons. For one thing, it is an easy way to stand out and create a unique voice for your blog. Second, I’ve been a huge fan of mnemonics—or memory systems—for a long time. And one of the key aspects of mnemonics is associating the new thing to be learned with something that is already known.

Now, since I’m just the writer and don’t actually own this blog—and since it is already well established, going through a complete re-branding of the site would be counter-productive. That may be the case with your blog, as well.

So what I’ve done instead is to develop a system around an easily grasped mnemonic device: the six-sided star (a.k.a Star of David) above. I like this symbol for several reasons, but primarily because it is a simple image that is actually comprised of numerous part (that most people don’t normally see). As a result, there are many “hooks” we can assign meanings to.

What meanings? Well, let’s see:

Two Interlocking Triangles
These two triangles represent the two integral aspects of creating a successful blog: Creating Content and Driving Traffic. And each of these triangles is actually a 5-stage pyramid that will help you create content and drive traffic without feeling like you were simply “filling the void.”

The Central Hexagon
The interlocking triangles form a hexagon in the empty space in the center. We’ll be using this to signify the six types of media we’ll be discussing: text, images, audio, video, interactive media and real-life interaction (yes, this plays a part in your blogging).

Three Diamonds
Each set of opposing points creates a diamond-shaped image (north-south, northeast-southwest, and northwest-southeast). There are three “star” concepts that will make a difference in your blog, what I call “You,” “The idea,” and “Action.” We’ll dive into this more in-depth as we move forward.

The Six 7s.
If you look closely, you’ll see that each individual angle in the star is a number “7.” That is, an angle with one short side and one long side. This system has six sets of “7 Things” that serve as checklists for you to keep an eye on with your blog.

42
Playing off of the Six 7s, six times seven equals forty-two. This system gives you an easy way to create 42 posts per month, without getting overwhelmed (or even spending a whole lot of time on it).

And there you have it. Well, that’s the skin-deep overview, anyway. As we move forward, I think you’ll be surprised at how rich this one simple symbol is with anchors for techniques to help your blog succeed.

And this is a symbol that is so simple that you could draw it on a scrap of paper, and still use it as a guide to everything you need to know to run your blog, at any computer, anywhere.

We’ll start bright and early, first thing in the morning.

PHOTO CREDIT: Source – SXC.hu