Jan
31
It’s tempting to think that the internet is all about the now. We set up RSS readers so that we can keep up with the latest posts from our favourite blogs. If we get a few days behind then we mark them as read and forget about what we’ve missed as if it never existed. It’s just an extension of the throwaway society. There’s always the pressure to be setting the trends or ahead of the game - and yet …
Perhaps we’re doing ourselves a disservice by ignoring the information that’s been around for a while, particularly on our own blogs. I don’t know about you, but some of the issues that come up on my blog today are the same ones that came up a couple of years ago, and the answers I gave then are just as true now.
What Are You Hiding?
The trouble is that no one’s going to look around to see what you have hiding in the archives - or they won’t unless you make it easy for them to do so. So what do you do to release the hidden gold that’s in your archives? One suggestion from Darren Rowse is to create a sneeze page which encourages readers to find your old posts. He suggests that you do this by collecting posts around a theme, a time (like posts of the month, quarter or year), a series (I’ve used the In Series plugin to do this) or comments.
Highlight The Good Stuff
Another way to tackle this is provide a list of the most popular posts in a particular category, or to place a weighted tag cloud that people can use to find other posts on the same issue. Sometimes, just choosing the right theme for your blog can make a difference. I’ve changed one of my blogs to the Structure Wordpress theme by Justin Tadlock. On the home page I’ve now got links to popular posts, recent posts and the two latest posts in five categories.
Promote Your Content
You can also get some juice out of your archives by joining sites like BloggingZoom and submitting some of your old gold to it. I’ve submitted a couple of the posts that got a good response from readers, and I’ve found a few more readers and subscribers because of it.
The point I’m making is that you shouldn’t assume that a blog post is worthless just because it was published before last week. There are some true gems in your archive and it’s up to you to unearth them for your readers.
I found your site and this article through BloggingZoom. It’s nice to have you participating. I must say, your site is clean and very easy to read and navigate. I like it a lot.
Man, some of the most addictive blogs I’ve ever read are the ones that list some of their more popular posts in a sidebar. Whenever I come across a blog that links to its own most memorable, relevant or just plain enjoyable posts, I always end up spending hours there.
As a user, I find it much easier to enjoy a blog when I don’t have to sift through a lot of so-so posts to find the really good ones.
I love the way David has set up this site, Jason. I’m a big BloggingZoom fan and plan to get more active there.
@Kevin: yes, you can get lost in a blog, when the authors make it easy for you to find the good stuff. Happens to me often.
On a few occasions I’ve had good success with older posts and social media. It’s definitely and overlooked method to gain visitors.
It works well for the stuff that’s not time sensitive. Since I write about writing and self promotion, most of my stuff is timeless - at least, I like to think so - so new readers can still find value in it. The lesson in that, for me, is that it’s like writing for magazines. You want to extend the shelf life as much as possible.
Great suggestions here, Sharon. I’ll have to take your advice. Also, thanks for linking to my comments post at Home Biz Notes.
You’re welcome, Mary Emma. I’ve found that this really works, and using In Series has highlighted a few oldies but goodies. I don’t know why I waited so long to try it.
great post, I noticed too that linking to old posts and the occasional archive linking or pick from the past posts are very successful
Definitely, Jamaipanese, and as Kevin said, it’s a great way to get an introduction to a new blog.
This is very true. Jakob Nielsen wrote about this idea years ago (even before blogs) but far too few people understand that good content often gains visitors over time. http://www.useit.com/alertbox/981129.html
Funny you should mention Jakob Neilsen, John. I’ve read those guidelines several times and have also used them to guide production of online courses.
Hi Sharon, thanks for the reminder on BloggingZoom….I’m heading over there now to sign up, especially since they don’t mind that you submit your own articles. Thanks again.
Yup, I keep harping on about that, JoLynn. I love the fact that I can push my own stuff, though I don’t submit all of it, just the ones that I think will suit the audience.