The Best of Copyblogger (According to Time Magazine’s Person of the Year)

by Brian Clark

That’s you, remember?

Since the Holiday Season is upon us, and we all have better things to do than read blogs, I thought I would go ahead and shut things down for the year. And what better way to go out than with a recap of what you found notable in 2006?

So, let’s take an unscientific look at the year’s most popular Copyblogger content, as determined by your comments, links and bookmarks:

Copywriting 101 (Series)

The series that launched the blog, Copywriting 101 is designed to get you up and running with the basics of writing great copy in ten easy lessons. The two most popular installments?

Which leads us to…

How to Write Magnetic Headlines (Series)

It’s obvious you all understand the importance of headlines and blog post titles, so there’s no wonder that this was a popular 8-part series. While the 10 and 7 fill-in-the-blank headline formula posts got the most attention, it’s important to understand why certain headline structures work, right?

How to Get 53% More Readers for Every Blog Post You Write

One more on headlines, specifically about specificity.

5 Simple Ways to Open Your Blog Post With a Bang

I also talked about structure, bullets, subheads and closings, but when it came to specific elements of a piece of writing, you were into the opening the most. Which is good, since it’s the most important thing after the headline.

10 Effective Ways to Get More Blog Subscribers

I did a whole series on this, but this post seemed to do better (likely because I had more subscribers at the time).

The Most Powerful Blogging Technique There Is

After you read that post, you might want to read this one for the rest of the story.

The Two Most Important Words in Blogging

I love this post, because you really loved it.

Give Me Three Minutes and I’ll Make You a Better Blogger

In this case, it’s not about you. Really.

5 Signs Your Blog Post is Going Horribly Wrong

A bit of a humorous approach to keeping your writing on track, this post also caused a kerfuffle when it became the catalyst for a plagiarism scandal involving the venerable UK newspaper The Daily Telegraph.

You also seem to dig “famous people posts.”

Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway, Stephen King and Aristotle received the attention they rightly deserve, and Plato and Prince did OK as well. Owen Wilson received a luke-warm reception, and Cameron Diaz got what she had coming.

And the 2006 winner is…

How to Attract Links and Increase Web Traffic – The Ultimate Guide

On a blog about writing compelling content, the post that received by far the most collective comments, links, Delicious bookmarks and Digg votes is… a collection of links.

It’s things like this that keep my ego well in check.

I really would like to take a moment to thank everyone who has listened to me ramble on this year. Without you, this blog would consist of me muttering to myself, and I already do plenty of that in real life (usually when I’m trying to come up with an idea for a post). :)

Enjoy the holidays, cherish the ones you love, and plan on accomplishing more than you think you can in the coming year.

It’s going to be an interesting one.

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{ 19 trackbacks }

Nearly Christmas | Twenty Steps
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{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Ben Yoskovitz December 21, 2006 at 11:11 pm

Nice summary Brian…and thanks for the writing.

I regularly go back to the 7 and 10 headline posts — usually searching for the word “headline” in the sidebar (who knows how many others do that…)

Happy Holidays.

2 Chris Winfield December 22, 2006 at 12:06 am

Excellent choices Brian – enjoy the holidays!

3 Jennie December 22, 2006 at 12:07 am

I am going to bookmark this page so I can refer back for easy links to the best posts.

This year Copyblogger has really helped me, people comment on my headlines all the time and my writing has improved out of sight. The ones that probably impacted me the most were “Give Me Three Minutes and I’ll Make You a Better Blogger” and “How to Attract Links and Increase Web Traffic – The Ultimate Guide”. My traffic has skyrocketed and my posts receive many excellent comments that show that people are thinking about what I have to say.

Thankyou Copyblogger and have a great holiday season!

4 David Krug December 22, 2006 at 12:48 am

Thanks dude for all you’ve shared with the community this year. :)

5 Patrick Sullivan Jr. December 22, 2006 at 2:03 am

Before the well deserved “thank you’s” become too repetitive, let me add my own. I have no recollection of how I even found your blog, but I haven’t missed a syllable in 2 months. You’ve helped me left-brain right-brain stuff.

“Go raibh maith agat”
(”Thank you” in Irish Gaelic).

-Patrick Sullivan Jr.

6 Hawaii SEO December 22, 2006 at 3:18 am

I was actually in the process of writing a post called “The Top 10 Copyblogger posts of 06″.

I think in need to find a new title now.

7 Lynne December 22, 2006 at 7:32 am

Brian-Thanks for all you do for the blogging community! I am a new blogger and your posts have helped me so much. I’m going to keep plugging away with my writing in 2007. I keep telling everyone they should think about a blog for their business. It just makes sense.

8 Mike December 22, 2006 at 7:55 am

You’re an absolute star for keeping on turning out brilliant articles day after day, week after week. This site is essential reading for anyone who writes for the web.

I hope you have a great Christmas and look forward to your “Guide to surviving the festive season” post in the New Year :)

9 Tony D. Clark December 22, 2006 at 9:23 am

“Want to learn how to possibly TRIPLE your current blog tragic? Read the posts listed above by someone who has ACTUALLY done it to find out how.”

See what I learned? Not too bad, but I haven’t run it through Glyphius, so it could probably use some tweaking ;)

Have a great holiday, and stock up on some Zicam. As a fellow work-at-home dad with little ones carrying those powerful kid germs, I can relate to your recent bout.

10 Tony D. Clark December 22, 2006 at 9:26 am

Well, here’s a tweak… How about “traffic” instead of “tragic.” Nice Freudian slip I suppose. At least I caught it… ;)

11 ming the artmaker December 22, 2006 at 10:34 am

the owen wilson post was actually the one that got me hooked, i andmire hoy you create the intrest/bait, then proceed to tell whatever story you wanted to tell.

I hope you’ll sprinkle a few famous people in next year too!

Cheers to a good year Brian, and Merry Christmas!

12 ming the artmaker December 22, 2006 at 10:35 am

sorry, typo above hoy= how.

13 Cam Beck December 22, 2006 at 10:36 am

Fantastic work, Brian. Merry Christmas to you. :)

14 Mike Kaspari December 22, 2006 at 11:36 am

An exceptionally valuable resource. We science writers can learn a thing or two from Copyblogger.

15 Roshawn December 22, 2006 at 7:57 pm

I don’t recall how I caught wind of your site, but it’s been one of the highlights of 2006 for me. Thank you for making my time at CopyBlogger well spent.

Merry Christmas, Brian, and have a Happy New Year! :-)

16 Chris P. December 23, 2006 at 12:29 am

Kerfluffle? You’ve jumped the shark.

17 Tim December 23, 2006 at 9:58 am

In my list of must read blogs yours is at the top. Thank you for all you share with your readers and how you can motivate them to be better writers and marketers.

Look forward to reading a lot more in the coming year!

18 Michael-From-The-Future ! December 23, 2006 at 1:21 pm

Hi,
First time visitor here! Found your site by following a comment from elsewhere.

Appreciate the insight you’re giving, looks like a lot of valuable information here !

MERRY CHRISTMAS and enjoy your break!

19 Ana December 26, 2006 at 1:38 am

Awesome! Thanks for the complication. And thanks for all the wonderful tips year long. Merry Christmas to you and yours

20 Ken Savage February 1, 2007 at 2:01 pm

great stuff. thank you Brian.

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