It’s been nearly 6 months since the first post was published at Pick the Brain. Over the course of 97 posts and 1602 comments, traffic has grown to over 3,000 unique visitors a day, over 2200 readers have subscribed to the RSS feed, and several articles have been featured on the popular pages of Digg, Del.icio.us, Reddit, StumbleUpon, and Netscape. It isn’t the most amazing start (there have certainly been bumps along the way) but I’m proud of what I’ve built and optimistic the site will continue to grow.I want to share what I’ve learned, but it’d be pointless to try explaining it all. Rather, I’ve compiled a list of the 27 most important lessons.
- Just in case you don’t get past number one, my two most important points are a) help people solve a problem, it’s the most powerful way to keep them coming back, and b) differentiate yourself. There are so many blogs that if you don’t stand out, you’ll get lost in the crowd.
- Blogging is not a great way to make money. I don’t care what Pavlina says his earnings are. It takes talent, effort, and patience. Only do it if you love to write and have something to say. Be prepared to invest 2-3 years before seeing any serious returns.
- Make it as easy as possible for people to subscribe to your RSS feed. Subscribing is the best thing a reader can do.
- Offer a full feed, even if it means people visit the site less often. A person reading you is always better than a person not reading you. Make it easy.
- If you aren’t sure a post is good, sit on it for a day. If you still aren’t convinced, delete it. A bad post is worse than no post. Bad posts make people question if your blog is worth reading. When you make a bad post (and you will) learn from it and move on.
- Be prepared to completely run out of ideas after the first 3-4 months. Do your best to stick it out and refrain from posting anything that’s absolutely lame. The inspiration does come back.
- It’s not always what you know, who you know is important too. Content brings people back, but in the beginning you need a group of “internet friends” to network with. Don’t be shy about emailing bloggers in your niche, you’d be surprised how receptive they are when you share your best content.
- Write catchy headlines and list posts that will be popular with the social sites. It’s the best way for thousands of readers to discover you.
- Do everything you can to make your headline and opening paragraph as compelling as possible. If people aren’t drawn in early, the quality of the rest of the article is irrelevant.
- Courteously encourage friends, family, and casual acquaintances to vote up and link to your posts. It may seem like cheating, but believe me, your competitors are doing it.
- Don’t write every post for the social sites. It isn’t genuine and people get tired of it. My favorite “A-List” bloggers rarely make the front page of Digg or Reddit. Although these sites are the easiest way to get a huge burst of traffic, it’s important to remember that they only represent a tiny fraction of the internet population.
- Listen carefully to every piece of feedback but don’t be a slave to it. Most people don’t know anything. Your blog is your brainchild. It won’t work if you try to satisfy everyone.
- Experiment. Take chances. Piss a few people off. Do things to stand out. If your writing doesn’t have an edge it might as well not exist.
- Always look for a different angle. Even if what you’re saying is valuable, there is no point in reading if it doesn’t say anything different than the popular opinion.
- Don’t participate in every meme or trade links with everyone who asks. If linking doesn’t provide value to your readers it’s a bad idea.
- Write about your life in a way that’s relevant to your topic. People relate to meaningful personal experiences and it’s a consistent source of material.
- Make people think. It doesn’t happen very often and they won’t easily forget it.
- Don’t be anxious to plaster Google Ads all over the place. Before you have a ton of traffic readers are much more valuable than 20 cents a click.
- Design matters. If your blog looks terrible, people won’t take it seriously. If it’s too cluttered or difficult to read, people will get frustrated and leave. A great design gives people a warm fuzzy feeling that makes a site worth visiting for its own sake.
- Posting comments on other blogs is overrated. Writing a quality post and politely emailing a dozen bloggers in a relevant niche can do wonders.
- Respond to your commenters, especially the ones who disagree. It’s the best way build community and it shows readers that you value their time and effort.
- Obsessively reading other blogs and checking traffic stats are not productive activities. Your time is better spent doing things that actually increase traffic like creating content, doing research, and posting to relevant forums.
- Once you have a bit of success don’t flaunt it but let other people know.
- Make use of blog carnivals. They’re the easiest way to build links and find readers before anyone knows who you are. They’ve helped me crack the Technorati 5000 just today.
- Display your best posts on every page in a prominent location. You want readers to find your best content and get hooked. Why bury your best work in the archives?
- Read blogs about blogging. They’re a great source of knowledge, especially about the technical aspect. Don’t follow all the advice. If you do, chances are you’ll end up somewhere in the middle. Sure you won’t make a bad impression but most readers will forget about you.
- Do what works for you. Be completely genuine. Trying to promote a fake persona isn’t sustainable. People will see through it.
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This is a great article! I’ve just started writing a blog and I found this information very helpful. Thank you.
I do not know how I ended up on your blog, but I glad I bumped into it.
I am also working on self improvement but with a different angle. Let’s stay in touch
tk
Great points.
Re: Your Point # 2
Imho, blogs are great “entry” points – allowing people to learn more about you. But if you want to earn a full time income from ads with your blog, its an uphill battle.
Its easier to parlay your blog into something bigger to earn money – books, courses, seminar circuit etc.
Hey John,
Congratulations on your achievements and thanks for this informative post. I think it is possible to make money blogging faster than you describe although that depends if you want to blog on what you feel like or what will make you money.
Sometimes both converge…
Thanks all.
Ankesh, you make a great point about blog being entry points as opposed to primary money makers.
Thanks for putting this together, John. I knew that creating a successful blog takes time. This list is a helpful reminder…. and has really encouraged me to keep going!
Congratulations on this milestone!
This was an honest, well-compiled, and useful list. Thank you.
John,
This is about the most thoughtful and complete post on this topic that I’ve seen. It’s obvious why your traffic is what it is.
Keep up the quality posting…
Jackie, clkl, and Steve,
Thanks a lot. I’m glad you found the information useful.
Brilliant pieces of advice! If everybody followed them, there would be a lot more good blogs out there!
Kumiko
[...] How I Got to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers in 6 Months For all the interested bloggers out there, I just posted a list of the 27 most important lessons I’ve learned in my first 6 months of blogging. A lot of it I learned from Steve, so it certainly isn’t all ground breaking, but there is definitely some new stuff in there too. I hope you find it useful. __________________ Pick the Brain Getting Smarter Every Day [...]
Just started a new blog and reading #5 made a lot of sense to me. But for such a new blog without even 20 posts I am hestitant to be slow about posting for obvious reasons. It makes sense to me to have 100 slighty above average posts that I can beef up rather than 8 or 12 that are completely quality.
What do other people think about this?
Arthur,
You definitely want to fill up a new blog with content ASAP, but I really think that 8-12 great posts are better than 100 slightly above average posts. A great post gets many many more links and much more traffic than a merely above average post.
This blog has probably gotten 80-90% of it’s traffic from the 10-15 best posts. Great posts spread. They get picked up on social media sites. Posts that are just OK are soon forgotten.
Hi.
I, too, stumbled on your site and am sure glad I did!!
I’ve been blogging for 3 months and have learned an awful lot(mostly the hard way). I’ve read a gazillion tips and suggestions about how to be a successful blogger, and your tips were right on the money!!! Thank you!
I love these tips! Still, I feel somewhat anxious about #4. What about sploggers? It really hurts to have content stolen …
Sploggers will always find a way to steal content, but I don’t think it should prevent you from offering a full feed. All the most popular blogs have content stolen daily, but it doesn’t do anything to hurt their popularity.
Hi John,
Being a beginning blogger, all tips are welcome, and most useful. Thanks for this comprehensive list!
I can see that there are some things I could be working on, some I need to adjust, and some things I am doing right!
And I agree, from what I get here on Pick the Brain, I get why you have so many fans. Thanks again and keep it up.
Thanks, Dylan, I’m glad you find the tips informative.
Alex Goad,
I accidentally deleted your comment because I forgot to check the “mark as not spam” box when looking through my Akismet. I don’t know if there is anyway to get it back.
I agree that it’s definitely possible to make money off blogging faster than 2-3 years, especially if you go for a profitable niche. I used the 2-3 years figure though because I think it’s a good benchmark. If you quit before then you might be selling yourself short.
Thanks for the high quality suggestions. I allways get something out of reading your blog. Good to be reminded that this is for the long haul.
[...] ain.com/”>Pick the Brain” published an interesting article titled “27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers.” Basically he is sharing what he learned on the first six months of his successful blog. My favorite lesson from the article is: If you aren’t sure a post is good, sit on it for a day. If you still aren’t convinced, delete it. A bad post is worse than no post. Bad posts make people question if your blog is worth reading. When you make a bad post (and you will) learn from it and move on. [...]
How true… and I can definitely relate to #5 & #6.
Thanks for the advice John. Originally, I wanted to let the public know about my site (put it up on Pavlina’s forum) and if there were negative comments I would just use that as fuel to create even better posts. But instead I got apathy — no comments at all. I’m not discouraged. I’ll follow your advice — I’ll keep it “under construction” until I have at least 20 memorable, quality posts.
[...] Check out his full 27 lessons learned about blogging. Technorati Tags: blogging advice, Blogs, comments [...]
[...] Check out his full 27 lessons learned about blogging. [...]
Thanks for this – there’s some real gems in this list that have inspired me to blog more than I do now. As marketplaces go, the internet couldn’t be any more crowded, and the sites that stand out aren’t doing anything particularly magical, they just know who they are and what they’re about.
[...] 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers – hat tip to the Grok Speak up » [...]
[...] 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day – by John Wesley [...]
Ahem… here I am commenting that I am totally in agreement with #20 and #22. It DOES grow into an obsession in no time and eats up hours of time when you could be (should be) doing other things. Like living your life.
Thanks for an insightful read.
[...] 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers [...]
[...] 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers by John Wesley from Pick the Brain (found via Alister). [...]
Hey John, thanks for the tips. They really helped me out a lot, especially about the patience tip. I am an impatient person and like to have people go on my site. Sometimes when not a lot of people go to it, I feel like giving up. But what you have said inspired me to keep on going. Anyway, you (and others) might want to check it out. I give Online Tips to those who want to see them.
Sly
http://slyvisions.webhop.net
[...] 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers by John Wesley from Pick the Brain (found via Alister). [...]
[...] 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers by John Wesley from Pick the Brain (found via Alister). [...]
Though it is a wonderful article, I may not agree with some points like point number 22.
Congrats John,
This is a great post and great advice. Keep it up.
Great post. I agree that a bad post is worse than no post at all.
Thanks for the list of tips.
Are there any plug-ins that you recommend for tip # 25 regarding listing your bests posts on each page?
P.S. I almost didn’t post a comment because of tip #20
Sheila,
Don’t take my advice on comments too seriously! They still help build traffic, just not as much as emailing in my experience.
I’ve heard of plugins that display top posts, but personally I don’t use one. I just put the links right in the sidebar.
hi
there is this page i found which tracks all the top blogs about personal development in just a single page
http://www.netreputation.co.uk/directory/Personal%20Development
you are on it too
Saw your link on Problogger. This is one of the best original posts I’ve ever read about “the art of blogging”.
Great Article, thanks for sharing!!!
[...] John Wesley heeft een interessant artikel “27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers.” Het verteld wat hij heeft gedaan om tot een succesvol blog te komen in 6 maanden. 6 maanden. Wow. [...]
[...] Blogging: 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers A blog called “Pick the Brain” presents twenty-seven tips for bloggers. Some very practical tips here about content, traffic, and feedback. [...]
Saw this on Problogger, and have now subscribed to your feeds. Thanks for the tips – lots of stuff which will help me with my new blog.
Have come to this site via Problogger. Great tips and I like the site. Subscribing to your feeds.
[...] 2. 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers – 27 things John Wesley learns in almost 6 months of blogging. 3. How An Online Entrepreneur Went From Eating Ramen Noodles To Becoming A Millionaire (thread) – Read all the posts by “michaeljohn” on the first page. [...]
great post! I will be definitely using these to my blogging experience, I might even create a post to this page as well – since I found this on problogger
[...] 你得半途而废一些事情。确定你不想留一个坏影响，让所有的读者淡忘你。 27，为你自己做任何事情。保持真实，试图提升一个伪装的角色是不可持续的。人们会看穿的。 原文地址：http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/27-lessons-learned-on-the-way-to-3000-visits-a-day-and-2200-rss-subscribers/ 翻译：kivik 译文地址： [...]
John this is one of the best, most helpful articles I’ve read on blogging!
Thank you. What a treat!
[...] Problogger has some blogging lessons culled from Pick the Brain and Darren’s own comments – interesting take … [...]
[...] After skyping with Liz Strauss at Successful Blogger, reading The Pressures of Blogging Consistently by Nate Whitehill and analyzing this outstanding post on building blog traffic by John Wesley (Man, that was good post John!), I have decided to take this blog in a slightly different direction. [...]
[...] Hele det læsværdige indlæg kan læses her. [...]
“Posting comments on other blogs is overrated. Writing a quality post and politely emailing a dozen bloggers in a relevant niche can do wonders.”
When you email other bloggers, what do you tell them? Is it as simple as “hi, I wrote this, you may find it useful?”
“Make use of blog carnivals. They’re the easiest way to build links and find readers before anyone knows who you are. They’ve helped me crack the Technorati 5000 just today.”
Where do you find out about these carnivals? Just from reading other blogs?
[...] John Wesley over at Pick the Brain has 27 lessons he learned while growing his blog readership to 3000 in just six months. (That’s quite a bit higher than the conservative first run of medium-sized Christian Presses, by the way. Also, it’s higher than the subscription rate of many literary magazines.) [...]
[...] Pick the Brain has a list of 27 lessons he learned on his way to getting 3000 visits a day and 2200 RSS feed subscribers. [...]
[...] Blogging lessons from Pick the Brain: It’s been nearly 6 months since the first post was published at Pick the Brain. Over the course of 97 posts and 1602 comments, traffic has grown to over 3,000 unique visitors a day, over 2200 readers have subscribed to the RSS feed, and several articles have been featured on the popular pages of Digg, Del.icio.us, Reddit, StumbleUpon, and Netscape. It isn’t the most amazing start (there have certainly been bumps along the way) but I’m proud of what I’ve built and optimistic the site will continue to grow. [...]
[...] John has a great article about lessons he has learned on the way to 3000 visits per day. I keep asking myself the question, “how are these people having so much success with traffic?” Here are some real tips that will increase blog traffic if you stick to them. [...]
[...] John Wesley over at Pick the Brain has written one of the best posts I’ve read in a while about how to get more traffic and more feed subscribers: 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers. [...]
This is very helpful for bloggers starting out — such as myself :3
Just surfed in from MyBlogLog, nice blog!
However, this post really rocks! You nailed it on the head. I’m bookmarking it!
Don
[...] Pick the Brain: 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers [...]
[...] More? Read more tips here: Branding Your Blog for Success, 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers, A Glimpse Behind the Scenes of Successful Blogs [...]
27 Tipps zum erfolgreichen Bloggen…
Im Artikel „27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers” gibt John Wesley Tipps zur richtigen Blogführung. John Wesley bloggt seit sechs Monaten und kann seinen Blog schon zu den gut besuchten zählen. Im F…
[...] 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers (tags: blogging tips writing blog traffic howto) [...]
Thanks for sharing what you’ve learned– I’ve learned a few things from your tips!
[...] So, looking out into the internet, what’s going on this week? For those of you who may be running a blog on Wordpress.com, something new is available to you. Wordpress has begun allowing folks with domains mapped to the service to now use email using their own domain, with Gmail as the email client. That’s a welcome addition for Wordpress.com users, however I still maintain that having your own Wordpress installation offers MUCH better flexibility. Pick The Brain has also posted a great write-up on 27 lessons he learned while bringing his blog up to 3,000 visitors daily. [...]
[...] 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers (tags: blogging tips writing blog traffic seo howto) [...]
[...] 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers Da kann ich nicht jede Zeile von unterschreiben. Aber fast. (tags: blogs) [...]
Awesome article. Post 20: isn’t it better to post a comment on there blog. People may not like to be emailed. I guess I will have to try it. Good job.
[...] Afgelopen week kwam ik op een mooi artikel over een aantal basis lessen voor een succesvol blog; 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers. Succesvol betekent in dit geval, veel lezers en veel RSS abonnees. De schrijver van het origineel behaalde in 6 maanden tijd; 3000 bezoekers per dag en meer dan 2200 lezers via de RSS. Dit is echt knap. [...]
[...] Now, there are 27 lessons to be learnt about blogging in order to be outstanding. I think I’ve achieved none except for allowing RSS feeds here. I didn’t miss it here, right? Not to forget 18 lessons learnt after 3 years by Darren. [...]
[...] Allt detta på bara 6 månader. Nu ger John Wesley 27 tips på hur du kan lyckas med detta på din blogg. [...]
John Jackson,
In my experience, bloggers don’t mind being emailed at all, as long as your polite and the post you refer them to is great content that relates to their site.
[...] 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers [...]
Thanks for this- I found these 27 points helpful and informative.
Congratulations on your success!
[...] Want to take your blogging more serious, check out Pick The Brain – 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3,000 visits a day and 2,200 RSS Subscribers [...]
[...] * Note: Of the hundreds of blogger how-to posts I’ve read this month, this one, with 27 lessons, is by far the best and most inspiring (found via Problogger, who else?). [...]
You are right! This post was excellent. It has to be referenced.
Great article!
[...] 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers by John Wesley from Pick the Brain (found via Alister). [...]
Hi. Thanks for the great tips. I’ve been at my language niche blog exactly the same amount of time as you. I haven’t had nearly the readership but I agree learning valuable lessons does take time.
Good sharing, keep it coming!
Damien
[...] 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers [...]
wow, nice post! Dually noted!
[...] The other day I was reading John Wesley’s “Pick The Brain” blog post on 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers. #20 took me by surprise. So much so that I’ve been thinking about it and doing my own research. And I’ve came to the conclusion he may be right. #20 on this list is “Posting comments on other blogs is overrated“. We’ve always been led to believe that commenting on other blogs will bring us lots of traffic, make us cool and good looking all in one. [...]
[...] נשלח 26 מאי, 2007 – נושאים בלוגים 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers – עצות בלוגינג שונות, חלקן יותר טריוויאליות, חלקן פחות. כולן שוות קריאה. [...]
[...] 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers – עצות בלוגינג שונות, חלקן יותר טריוויאליות, חלקן פחות. כולן שוות קריאה. [...]
Thanks a lot. I bookmarked you right away. Great site and great article!
Great piece of advice. You just earned another subscriber!
Oh and I too came via Problogger
That’s great, Moshin. I’m glad you found the article helpful and I can never have too many subscribers!
[...] John Wesley presents 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers posted at Pick the Brain. [...]
[...] Pick the Brain: Instead of explaining everything he has learned since he started blogging, John lists the 27 most important Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers. Bookmark to: « My trip to NY is cancelled [...]
[...] 个人博客的访问量该怎么才能提高呢？相信这个问题是很多还没有出名的个人博客都在思考的。当然，如果已经是在一个领域较为出名的博客，那所要思考的不是流量问题而是质量问题了。我也在思索如何提高SEO博客的访问量，按照目前的日志统计看来，这个博客的访问量还没有我以前的个人博客大。在网络上寻找了一些介绍提升博客访问量的文章以及分析了一些较为热门的博客后我发现，博客流量的增长根本在于时间积淀以及质量积淀。一个原本默默无闻的博客是不可能一夜之间成名并且吸引长久的访问的。John Wesley在Pick the Brain博客上提出了27条增长博客流量的技巧和建议，也许对我们这些还在为网站访问量惆怅的个人博客有点用处。 [...]
Interesting. You have a point.
[...] John Wesley at Pick the Brain talks a little bit about how he got over 3,000 unique visitors a day and over 2200 rss readers with just 97 posts in 6 months. It’s a very interesting read, check it out. [...]
[...] As John Wesley listed in his “27 Lessons Learned…” post, which Darren Rowse added his comments: “Don’t participate in every meme or trade links with everyone who asks.” – Preach it brother! If you participate in every meme that comes your way (or every time you’re tagged) then you could find your blog goes so far off topic that you lose readership (not to mention your own focus). Be selective in what you participate in and choose those that have relevancy in terms of topic and add value to your blog. [...]
[...] Pick the Brain has a motivating, helpful post 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers. [...]
Hi John,
I’ve had a blog for a few years now and as you say it takes time for traffic to build. I’m defintely getting there and using your email tip will definitely help get the word out more!
Jim
Blog Community Bloggers Carnival…
Good day to everyone and welcome to the May 30, 2007 edition of Blog Community Bloggers Carnival. Today we’re traipsing around the world with some return submitters, some new friends, and a whole lot of good reading.
ADVICE:
John Wesley lets us …
RSS Subscriptions – The Ultimate Ressource List….
I am starting a new series of Ultimate Lists. This will make the first edition and it is kind of an experiment. If I see my readers like this kind of lists, I am planning to issue more on a quite regular basis.
So, please let me know, whether you like…
Fantastic. Thank you
[...] Most of us try to blend in, but let me tell you, when you walk into a grocery store in some little town in Ohio in a patchwork dress, reeking of patchouli, and not having showered in 3 days, you don’t easily blend in. Most stared with disapproving looks, but other would stare with “take me with you!” eyes and stop and talk for hours, wanting to know all about where we came from, where we were going, and why we did this. These are the kind of people that could become friends for life – the kind of people you could call the next time you rolled through town for a place to crash for the night. As John Wesley so wisely states in his post titled 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers, you’ve got to “piss a few people off” to build a strong following. [...]
Great post, and it’s hard to argue with the figures. I wonder if you should qualify no.20 though.
“Posting comments on other blogs is overrated” may be true for raw traffic building, but it would be a pretty boring world if we all took that approach
[...] Because I’m generally a negative person, I’m going to start out with a couple of criticisms. Namely, this article. I hate this article. For those of you who don’t feel like clicking, it’s one of those ‘Ways to make your blog popular’ lists. I’m sure you’ve seen the same watered down, bland, bullshit article replicated on various places on the Internet. Notably, the authors of these lists are rarely running wildly popular websites. In John Wesley’s defense, he does seem to be doing better than most. On the other hand, that doesn’t excuse him for giving such bad advice. His article is pretty much a list of 27 different ways you can theoretically kiss some ass. [...]
But you didn’t answer the most important aspect: does everyone love redheads…?
(laugh)
Thanks for some great advise.
Catherine, the redhead
List Extravaganza: 5000 tips on 100 lists…
I set myself the challenge to compile a list of lists, counting down from 100 to 1. The items on the list deal with self-improvement, productivity, language, money, entrepreneurship, leadership, simplicity, love, blogging, health and the environment. O…
[...] Lessons learned from two bloggers June 1, 2007 at 1:12 am | In Web site strategies | John Wesley is just another blogger writing about this and that. But what struck me about this post was how very down-to-earth and practical he is about how to build your blogging brand. Definitely worth a read. [...]
web 2.0 Blog Carnival – May 28, 2007 Edition…
Welcome to the May 28, 2007 Edition of the web 2.0 Blog Carnival. A lot of great entries this week. It’s always fun to look at the latest in web 2.0. Props to the authors for their submissions!
Read On for the Posts:
Madeleine Begun Kane pre…
Man, it’s exciting to watch your accomplishments. Thanks also for submitting to my blog carnival at:
http://techloaf.com/index.php?/archives/42-web-2.0-Blog-Carnival-May-28,-2007-Edition.html
I hope you will submit again soon.
Thanks!
Randy
[...] Nothing earthshatteringly new but a nice roundup of ideas I agree with almost 100% 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers [...]
[...] 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers. A ton of good stuff here. Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]
Thanks Randy. Keep up the great work at TechLoaf!
Stop by to congrats on your achievement ( From Pavlina forum ) and great article .
[...] Nothing earthshatteringly new but a nice roundup of ideas I agree with almost 100% 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers [...]
[...] 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers (Pick the Brain) [...]
[...] 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers I was jumping around a few blogs and seen a great post on one of them. You can get the full story – Here They posted a nice list for bloggers, but some of these can easily apply for forum admins. Just in case you dont get past number one, my two most important points are a) help people solve a problem, its the most powerful way to keep them coming back, and b) differentiate yourself. There are so many blogs that if you dont stand out, youll get lost in the crowd. [...]
Some really great tips, thanks for posting them.
We reposted a few on our site with a full link back, thanks
After just 10 days I probably have missed or violated every one of these rules.
The great thing about this medium is that you can always start improving tomorrow!
Great thoughts and advice.
These are some great tips. I agree that it takes time and patience for most sites to start making money. It took me a good two years of learning from trial and error to start making good money from my sites.
Great article and great blog. I found this article through Greywolf.
I like number 12. I think that many successful bloggers forget to selectivly listen to their customers. Instead, they don’t listen at all and just blow them off I guess some get too big for their britches.
I don’t know why but, after reading this article I’ve realized that I’ve been screwing myself by the way I run my site. At my site, I try to post articles that I find that I think are interesting and might not get widespread dissemination. Most of it is from small-town newspapers.
However, I also throw in my own personal blog entries along side all those articles. The end result is that, my own personality doesn’t shine through.
Thanks for the epiphany.
To do list:
1. Create a separate section my own personal blog on the website.
2. Add Pick The Brain to Google Reader.
[...] John Wesley, a guy in his early 20’s and author of PicktheBrain.com, also shares some great tips for climbing the charts. At just over 6 months old, his blog is getting 90,000 unique visitors a month and has over 2200 feed subscribers. In a recent post, he tells his readers the 27 most important lessons that he learned in the process. Interestingly, he also suggests the use of blog carnivals and catchy headlines to drive traffic and improve rankings. [...]
[...] First we’ll look at the “27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers” (mostly because the VA author railed against them in the quote at the top of this post). But let’s see which “Lessons” VA may have followed, didn’t follow, etc. [...]
[...] Jun 6th, 2007 by lighthiker I learnded from a posting by John Hee that you need to make your headlines catchy in order to attract more readers to the blog. Therefore the headline might be a bit misleading but only a bit… If I walk through non-outdoor related shops I recognize that I look around to find things suitable for hiking. Last time I came across another packing alternative. The Pump & Save breastmilk bags from Medela. Zip closure, double walled, stand-up bottom, even pre-sterilised. Capacity is a little bit more than 150ml (0.13qt). You can easily buy them from eBay and one weighs 3g (0.1oz). The top closure is very sturdy (better than the one from Aloksak imho) and doesn’t leak following the standard plastic bag testing setup developed by Weird Darren. The plastic material is a bit “noisy” and doesn’t fell as soft as the ones from Aloksak or Ziploc. The only downside is that the bags are (quite naturally….) only available in this one small size which is only useful for packing small items. [...]
[...] get 3000 visitors [...]
[...] Pick The Brain has a post of blogging tips, and there’s a theme running throughout the tips: don’t post just for the sake of posting. Not if you really want readers to come and stay and subscribe and comment. [...]
[...] 27 lessons-learned on the way to 3000 visits a day and 2200 rss subscribers [...]
[...] Wesley gives his 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers. This is a good way to see what has and hasn’t worked for him, and use that for [...]
[...] the Brain 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers — A good read for anyone looking to blogs as a means toward affiliate [...]
[...] Rowse, who is the Problogger himself, references a post by John Wesley from Pick the Brain, titled 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers. Darren also mentions one of his older archived posts titled 18 Lessons I’ve Learnt about [...]
[...] I was jumping around a few blogs and seen a great post on one of them. You can get the full story – Here They posted a nice list for bloggers, but some of these can easily apply for forum admins. Just [...]
[...] Want to take your own blogging more serious? Check out Pick The Brain – 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3,000 visits a day and 2,200 RSS Subscribers [...]
[...] 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers [...]
[...] 27 Lessons I’ve Learned About Blogging from Pick the Brain [...]
This is a great post, thank you. Blogging in the Netherlands isn’t yet such a big thing, but being one of the few Dutch bloggers I really appreciate this article. Greetings from Amsterdam.
Thanks, henkbovekerk, I’m glad you found it useful. Although Dutch blogging might not be big now, you’re smart to get in early. I wish I’d started this site a couple years ago.
[...] Wesley在Pick the Brain博客上提出了27条增长博客流量的技巧和建议，也许对我们这些还在为网站访问量惆怅的个人博客有点用处。 （Pick the [...]
Hi,
Very nice tips from you . i got your blog link from one forum ..i am SEO .. and your tips are really helpfull for my sites.. Thnaks and try to get more updates in SEO field..
Thanks,
Elixirwebsolutions
Thanks for the tips. I’ve just started blogging and found them helpful. What would you recommend is the best method for increasing traffic? I’ve optimized all of my pages for the SE, Should I focus on getting good backlinks to increase traffic? Whats the best way to get people to link to you?
Great post! Thanks !
[...] 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers (Pick the Brain) 48. 10 Ways to Become a Better Blogger (TechRepublic) 49. 101 Steps to Becoming a [...]
[...] 27 Lessons Learned On The Way To 3000 Visits A Day from PickTheBrain (informative and inspiring) 28. 10 Tips To Beat Blogger’s Block from [...]
There is some great blogs out there but this is one of the best, you have come along way in 6 months, keep up the good work.
I would be happy if my tech blog http://www.britec.co.uk/techblog/
achived a 1/4 of what you have done here
Thanks a lot, Brian. I really appreciate the support.
[...] 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers | Intelligent Self Impro… (tags: blogging tips blog writing howto traffic seo blogs) [...]
Great list of resources. I think the most important component is to be genuine and engaged with your readers.
-4MySales
Thanks for the advice!
[...] Pick The Brain definitely deserves your time. There is so much original and practical information on the self improvement topic for you to discover. Recommended posts include Why the 9-5 Workers Will Become a Thing of the Past, Time is All We Have: 3 Ways to Increase Return on Investment and 27 Blogging Lessons. [...]
[...] (kivik:在路上) 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers (Pick the [...]
[...] 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers – A fantastic post which was published this May, the author talks about the lessons he learned on his way to 3,000 RSS subscribers. Recommended. [...]
[...] 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers (Pick the Brain) [...]
Great post, I think I’ll become subscriber number 4700!
Well written and very helpful article! Lessons that any blogger can learn from! Here’s to greater things….Good luck for the future John.
cyberst0rm
http://cyberst0rm.blogspot.com
[...] 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers (Pick the Brain) [...]
[...] 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers [...]
[...] 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers – Great post! I should start using information from this lessons… [...]
[...] 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers bookmark this article to Leave a Comment [...]
[...] 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers (tags: blogging tips blog writing howto traffic seo) [...]
hi i enjoyed the read
Hey I’ve just found your blog and I like what I see so far. I’ve been building websites for years but have just started blogging and I’m finding lists like this really helpful so thanks!
[...] John talks about his experience of gaining widespread online visibility in less than six months. [...]
Excellent and helpful information, thanks.
Your #1 lesson on helping others solve problems is how I live my life, well for the past 20 years anyways.
I have been a computer instructor for the past 20 years and because I help solve problems for people I have never had to advertise in all that time. Word of mouth is a powerful way to get business, if you are helping people.
[...] 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers [...]
[...] 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers (Pick the Brain) [...]
[...] og tænk blot på hvad du som iværksætter, kan bruge flere tusinde daglige læsere til!Her er opskriften på hvordan man gør, så se at kommer i gang.Dbh Martin Posted: okt 01 2007, 08:50 af Martin [...]
RSS Subscriptions – The Ultimate Resource List…
I have started a new series of Ultimate Lists. This will make the second edition.
So, please let me know, whether you liked it or not. Maybe you even want to make a suggestion for a future lists topic. Feel free to leave a comment or contact me via th…
That was an absolute great post. I would give anything for traffic stats such as those. You have done quite well for a blog that is so young. Keep up the great work and good luck. These posts are the ones that give bloggers hope.
[...] This is a terrific and much-commented on post of tips: pickthebrain.com [...]
good
Great content. Great reading. Great tips. It’s very useful and will cut out at least 6 months of my time is making mistakes.
[...] (kivik:在路上) 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers (Pick the [...]
[...] Wesley is een man die gelooft in zelf-verbetering. Via de website ‘PickTheBrain’ legt hij uit hoe je met 27 regeltjes een goed blogger wordt. Wij vatten er een paar voor u [...]
Great advices.
I think that particularly “Make people think” is one of the greatest ideas. Like you say, it does not happen all the time, and is a good way to make people interact with you, is like an open door to communicate whatever you want to say.
[...] http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/27-lessons-learned-on-the-way-to-3000-visits-a-day-and-2200-rss-sub... [...]
[...] shared secrets on blogs, I´m reading regularly: 10 Ways I Got 4,700 Subscribers in Three Months 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers How I got a Google PageRank 5 in 3 [...]
I think you should get tons of traffic, because your articles are useful..
keep posting…
Love U
[...] Wesley from “Pick the Brain” published an interesting article titled “27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers.” Basically he is sharing what he learned on the first six months of his successful blog. My [...]
[...] or Thinking About It? May 22nd, 2007 John Wesley has an interesting http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/27-lessons-learned-on-the-way-to-3000-visits-a-day-and-2200-rss-sub... about his blogging experience and building an audience of 3,000 unique visitors a day and 2,200 [...]
[...] or Thinking About It? May 23rd, 2007 John Wesley has an interesting http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/27-lessons-learned-on-the-way-to-3000-visits-a-day-and-2200-rss-sub... about his blogging experience and building an audience of 3,000 unique visitors a day and 2,200 [...]
[...] Wesley has an interesting http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/27-lessons-learned-on-the-way-to-3000-visits-a-day-and-2200-rss-sub... about his blogging experience and building an audience of 3,000 unique visitors a day and 2,200 [...]
[...] Wesley has an interesting http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/27-lessons-learned-on-the-way-to-3000-visits-a-day-and-2200-rss-sub... about his blogging experience and building an audience of 3,000 unique visitors a day and 2,200 [...]
[...] Wesley has an interesting http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/27-lessons-learned-on-the-way-to-3000-visits-a-day-and-2200-rss-sub... about his blogging experience and building an audience of 3,000 unique visitors a day and 2,200 [...]
[...] Wesley has an interesting http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/27-lessons-learned-on-the-way-to-3000-visits-a-day-and-2200-rss-sub... about his blogging experience and building an audience of 3,000 unique visitors a day and 2,200 [...]
[...] or Thinking About It? June 09th, 2007 John Wesley has an interesting http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/27-lessons-learned-on-the-way-to-3000-visits-a-day-and-2200-rss-sub... about his blogging experience and building an audience of 3,000 unique visitors a day and 2,200 [...]
Excellent Tips!
[...] Bloggers 3. 7 Ways to Promote your Site with a Bit of Money 4. Top 25 Blogs About Blogging 5. 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers 6. 10 Rules for Responsible Blogging 7. 8 Must Read Blogs for Pro Bloggers 8. Blog Setup: 40 [...]
Hi, excellent lessons
No doubt that helping people is number one advice to maintain a good blog and most of all, if you write quality content is the best complement to succeed with your blog.
[...] (kivik:在路上) 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers (Pick the [...]
[...] 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers [...]
[...] completely genuine, says John in a timeless article, 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 Subscribers. And that, my friends, is what he has consistently shown in his work. He is authentic. How [...]
John – thank you for some very good information. I’m fairly new to blogging and it has been slow attracting traffic to my site. What I keep hearing over and over is to be genuine and I strive to do that.
Thank you. I like what you have to say and I will be keeping them in mind as I continue growing my blog.
No one likes a boring presentation, and one of the most affective ways to keep people engaged and interested is to do your presentation on PowerPoint. PowerPoint allows you to add color, pictures, graphs, animation, and even music to your presentations, making it a useful marketing tool.
[...] Artikel „27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers” gibt John Wesley Tipps zur richtigen Blogführung. John Wesley bloggt seit sechs Monaten und [...]
Good article keep up the good work
http://www.pcrepairhertfordshire.co.uk
Thanks for the article! I’ve recently got into Blogging and need all the tips I can get! Thanks.
A great article thank you for that some terrific points which i am sure i will use congratulations on reaching 5000 technorati.
[...] 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers [...]
Thanks! This is some really solid advice! Theres no doubt bloging takes will power!
This is a fantastic article…I’ve actually bookmarked it for future reference..Thanks so much!
Why this obsession about getting big crowds to your website? If your into money there must be more easy ways to take than this?
[...] 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers Posted on July 29, 2008 by gouthamlal This is a post by John wesley on his blog pickthebrain.com . It was a great post but it it didn’t gain enough exposure..Check it out…and increase your rss subscribers and visitor.http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/27-lessons-learned-on-the-way-to-3000-visits-a-day-and-2200-rss-sub… [...]
This is a great list. I appreciate you sharing your tips. I will definitely apply some of this to my blogs.
Great tips. I’ll be sure to keep them in mind as I develop my blog.
This was a very great article. Those were some great tips, thank you.
I really like what he said about making it easy for people to get an RSS feed to your blog, I will take his advise and make some changes.
Health, Wealth and Love!
Ryan Pearson
Personal Empowerment Coach
http://www.happiness-lifecoach.com
I disagree with 5…I think if you don’t take chances you won’t be able to grow. I have had websites and I find the post that I took the chance with and didn’t like was the hit. You can’t be afraid that you might lose a reader. If they are true readers they will come back.
Good post though….
[...] 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers (Pick the Brain) [...]
Very good points. I think my favorite thing is responding to comments on my blog. It really helps keep conversations going, and people are more likely to return again.
@ Taylor Blue
I agree that taking chances is the best way to try and grow. Besides, what do you really have to lose? One post usually isn’t enough to scare a reader away for good. Unless it’s really bad…lol
It can’t be that bad that they would disappear..but taking chances is a good thing. And you can find out things that work and don’t too.
this is a great article, well-written. am glad i came across it.
now if only i could work up the nerve to tell my friends about my blog… :O
this are the great tips i ever read in the net.im looking how can i improve my readers on my blog.thanks again
Ronald
i have just started blogging and i’m sure these tips will be of great help to me.many thanks to you.
Man i just dont have the patience to be succesfull at this game.
Well, this very nice and wonderful.
[...] Blogs Miscellaneous Blogging Advice 74. Ways that Google detects Invalid clicks (Cheatppc) 75. 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers (Pick the Brain) 76. 10 Ways to Become a Better Blogger (TechRepublic) 77. 101 Steps to Becoming a [...]
Great information and actually I was looking for it. I have started my blogging voyage three months back and believe me I am also going through the creative plateau.Well, I do not wanted to tell my friends about my blog. Now I will pass the link to them
. Thanks for the wonderful post.
[...] 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers (Pick the Brain) [...]
Great post with a lot of information for us bloggers. I have also been blogging for quite a while now, and found this information very useful. I found out about this site from a popular TV channel.
[...] 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers (Pick the Brain) [...]
Some really cool ideas here. Thanks!
Discovered your blog though Adversity University. These short and concise lists appeal for their wit and bottom-line practical tips.
呵呵，帮你PP顶！也请来激情聊天室看看……
呵呵，帮你PP顶！也请来成人激情聊天室看看……
[...] 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers (Pick the Brain) [...]
I like what you said about being genuine, having integrity in this industry is what makes you, and it is more than obvious when someone is being transparent.
[...] Pick the Brain: Instead of explaining everything he has learned since he started blogging, John lists the 27 most important Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers. Related PostsUseful links: Week 1Every week I’ll be posting links to articles on the net that I consider useful to myself, so useful …Useful links – week 4After a long while of not posting useful links, I’ll pick up on the habit again. Barry Wright …Helping visitors browse your content, Part 2This series of articles is about helping your visitors find the information they want, or you want t…Is it really THAT confusing?Monetizing with Amazon Tagged as: Useful links [...]
[...] by Steve Pavlina, How I Make Money from Blogs – My Top Earners by Darren of problogger dot net, 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers by John Wesley, and How to make money blogging seven strategies by [...]
[...] other day I was reading John Wesley’s “Pick The Brain” blog post on 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers. #20 took me by surprise. So much so that I’ve been thinking about it and doing my own research. [...]
Oh man, that’s a pretty good list. I am already following few of them and guess it’s time to try other tips. Thanks a lot.
Awesome awesome value and content. I will def. be adding some new characteristics to my blog and making sure I have those catchy headlines.
Thank you again.
The potential is great. Nice work!
Oh ! great work and nice article
[...] این موفقیت ۲۷ نکته را مدنظر قرار داد. در ادامه به بررسی این ۲۷ اصل میپردازیم. به شما قول میدهم اگر بخواهید از صفر آغاز [...]
[...] این موفقیت ۲۷ نکته را مدنظر قرار داد. در ادامه به بررسی این ۲۷ اصل میپردازیم. به شما قول میدهم اگر بخواهید از صفر [...]
Perfect !! Now i go and use it in my site !