by   119 Comments

The Top 10 Ways to Get the Traffic You Crave

Image of a Vintage Globe

Sometimes I wonder if the Internet turned us all into a bunch of traffic junkies.

I mean, you’ve felt the cravings right?

Oh, sure, it starts out innocently enough.

You build a website, start a YouTube channel, create a podcast, whatever your passion may be. You create some content. A few people stop by and compliment your work, giving you that thank-God-somebody-finally-noticed-me feeling.

That’s when the cravings start. Not strong, at least not at first, but you find yourself spacing out at odd moments, like when you’re driving or at dinner or watching TV, drifting off into a silent little scheming session about how you can get more visitors.

[ Continue Reading... ]

Buffer
by   463 Comments

On Dying, Mothers, and Fighting for Your Ideas

image of mother and baby's hand

The doctor cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, but I have bad news.”

He paused, looking down at the floor. He looked back up at her. He started to say something and then stopped, looking back down at the floor.

That’s when Pat began to cry.

She’d argued with herself about even coming to the doctor’s office. Her baby was a year old, and he hadn’t started crawling yet. He tried, yes, dragging his legs behind him as he struggled to make it just a few feet on the floor, but it didn’t look right. Everyone told her that she was worrying over nothing, and maybe she was, but she told herself that she would take him to the doctor, just to be safe . . .

[ Continue Reading... ]

Buffer
by   63 Comments

Sex, Lies, and the Art of Commanding Attention

image of pretty womanIt’s Killer Headlines week at Copyblogger! Our guest editor Jon Morrow will be delivering up great content for you all week on how to write headlines that get results.

Today, how to choose the power words that make headlines work harder.

Okay, show of hands.

Who wonders if their writing might be just a teensy bit boring?

[ Continue Reading... ]

Buffer
by   96 Comments

Why No One Cares What You Think
(And How to Stop Being So Freaking Boring)

image of moulin rouge, paris

It’s time for a little tough love, okay?

All that stuff you’re publishing … all those blog posts and videos and podcasts and white papers … it’s not getting you anywhere, is it?

You thought it would. People told you to get busy online, to say what you think, to publish lots of content, because if you do, people will find you and love you and support you and everything will be perfect, forever and ever and ever.

But it was a lie. Not totally, no, because publishing great content is crucial. But there were a few critical pieces missing.

[ Continue Reading... ]

Buffer
by   377 Comments

The Art of Being Interesting

image of the most interesting man in the world

“Be interesting.”

It’s good advice, but it’s nothing new. You’ve probably known from the beginning that being able to interest readers is a crucial part of growing a popular blog.

It’s pretty obvious that no one is going to stick around unless they find your blog interesting.

But how are you supposed to do it exactly? How can you “be interesting?”

Far too much of what we write about attention and interest is abstract. We talk about differentiation, value, and triggers — all useful concepts, but you can’t point to them.

[ Continue Reading... ]

Buffer
by  

The Truth About Making Money While
You Sleep

image of person sleeping in a hammock

Want to hear about the day in the life of a so-called “successful entrepreneur?”

Yesterday, I stayed in bed until about 2 PM. I watched the last few episodes of Mad Men. Around sunset, I took a leisurely stroll down the beach. When I got back, I hung out with a friend for a couple of hours, ate dinner, and went to bed.

In other words … I goofed off.

And while I was goofing off, my business generated a pretty decent chunk of revenue.

You want to know the coolest part?

[ Continue Reading... ]

Buffer