Blogging About Popular Articles

How can we get more people to read our blogs? How can we choose topics to blog about that people are really interested in?

A recent marketing newsletter recommended connecting popular, recent articles with your blog posts. Since people are already talking about an article and its topic, mentioning it can add authority and interest to your post, as well as attract readers who are further exploring the subject matter.

Example: You've written a book on personal money management. So you go to the Wall Street Journal site and browse the most popular recent articles. How do you know which are the most popular? Go to this page , which lists their recent articles in order of "Most Viewed" and "Most Emailed." It also lists the most popular by section and their most popular blog posts. (You can do the same with the New York Times, and probably other major newspapers you follow.)

The most popular article is, "Rejection, How Colleges Do It." Interesting. It's more popular than the articles on the current outbreak of Swine Flu, that has people around the country panicking and wearing face masks. But it makes sense. It's Spring, close to high school graduation, and parents are wanting to make sure their students get into college.

So, I've found a hot topic that the readers of my money blog might find helpful. I could simply summarize the main points of the Wall Street Journal article and link back to the article if my readers want to read the source.

This little trick helps me to identify felt needs and quickly provide information to help my readers.

Posted by J. Steve Miller, author of Enjoy Your Money! How to Make It, Save It, Invest it and Give It.