MOLI VIEW™

Blogging is a superb way to demonstrate your expertise — or reveal your cluelessness. But let's assume the positive and that you're a whiz in your given field. Writing isn't easy and maintaining a blog requires discipline and creativity. And no one wants to write and not be read, so how do you attract traffic?

Depends first on where your blog is. If it's hosted on a corporate, trade, or institutional website related to your subject, it's in their interest to ensure that your blog is prominently placed and promoted. After all, if your blog is successful, it will attract traffic to their site. But even if it's clearly to their benefit to promote your blog, sometimes people need to be reminded to do what's right. You can help by alerting them to postings that may be newsworthy, provocative, or outside-the-box. Every promotion needs a hook, so see what you've got. Then, come up with a descriptive and clever tag or headline. Make sure that you give your provider a graphic element or logo to accompany your line. And make sure that comments are enabled on your blog so you can interact with the commenters.

Some blog providers are not involved in promotion; that's just not what they do. Fair enough, but whether they do or not, you still need to take an active role in publicizing your blog.

Do you check out other blogs? You'd better, not just to stay on top of your chosen field, but also to see what the competition is doing. But the great thing about the Net is that your competition isn't really your competition. They're your allies, friends, and supporters. They're also the best medium for promoting your blog ... but you gotta know how.

Next week: Thinking of Linking

Richard Pachter is the MOLI View's contributing editor for Business.

» Read Richard's blog