The Best of Copyblogger in 2007

It’s time for the ubiquitous “best of 2007” lists, so why not one for Copyblogger? I’ll go ahead and do a round-up of the year’s best-received posts, with a bit of commentary on what was notable from each month.

So, if you missed anything from 2007, here’s a second shot at it. While you do that, I’ll have time to figure out what to write for next year (don’t worry, I’ve already got a pretty good idea).

Let’s get started by going way back to January of 2007.

January

I kicked off the year with the SEO Copywriting 2.0 series, and then proceeded to break one of my New Year’s resolutions by putting the term linkbaiting to a public vote. You can read the verdict here.

By the way, I broke my resolutions just for fun, all except for one. I never once used the word kerfuffle on this blog in 2007.

Whoops.

Other notable posts:

• Introducing the A*I*D*A Formula for Blogging
• Permission Marketing 2.0
• The P.T. Barnum Guide to Online Publicity
• The David Ogilvy Playbook for Business Blogging

February

February started out with a bang thanks to The 5 Immutable Laws of Persuasive Blogging, and then shifted into the Build a Sticky Blog series:

• Differentiate Your Blog or Die
• Who Do You Think You’re Talking To?
• Are You Leaving Your Readers Out of the Conversation?
• Let Cicero Build You a Sticky Blog
• Five Steps to a Truly Unique Blog That Attracts Readers and Revenue

March

After finishing up the Sticky Blog series, I had no idea what to write next. So, on a late night in early March, I decided to write a post about grammar (boring) and then went to bed. I guess the headline spiced things up a bit, because when I woke up the next morning, the post had gone HUGE on Digg, Reddit, Delicious, Stumble and a bunch of blogs from all over the world. This post brought in more traffic than anything else I’d written on Copyblogger up to that point.

Other notable posts:

• Headline Remix Madness – Part One and Part Two
• Why the A-List Doesn’t Matter
• Zen and the Art of Remarkable Blogging

April

In April I took a late ski trip, and the first-ever guest posts appeared on Copyblogger. Chris Garrett and Roberta Rosenberg allowed me to take a break with my family, and made me realize that this blog is more interesting when more voices are involved.

Other notable posts:

• A Simple Four-Step Strategy for Developing Content That Connects
• The Benjamin Franklin Guide to Marketing Your Business Online
• Five Common Headline Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

May

In May, Copyblogger got a huge design makeover from Chris Pearson, and then Chris retooled the old design and released it to the WordPress community. Also, Muhammad Saleem came on board as a regular guest writer and asked Is it OK to Write for Digg?

Meanwhile, I did a whole series on metaphors:

• Become a Master of Metaphor and Multiply Your Blogging Effectiveness
• Metaphor, Simile and Analogy: What’s the Difference?
• Magnetic Blogging: How to Use Metaphors to Create Irresistible Content
• Do Your Metaphors Rock?

June

In June I decided to see if I could work the whole grammar angle again. This time, I used a 60-year-old headline (Do You Make These Mistakes When You Write? is a slight twist on the classic Do You Make These Mistakes in English?) to see if I could get the attention of all these new-fangled social media users. The stampede from Digg, et al was bigger than the last one, which goes to show that some headlines always seem to work.

Other notable posts:

• Is Beer the Key to Remarkable Blogging?
• Writing Headlines for Regular Readers, Search Engines, and Social Media
• Blueprint for a Brilliant Blog Launch
• Go Big or Go Home: Why Being Bold is Critical to Getting Noticed

July

In July, I cranked out a different kind of post about writing, and it’s become my favorite. It was a spur of the moment thing, and while it certainly leaves out some important things (most notably lots of reading), it was designed to make a point.

Hopefully it did.

Other notable posts:

• Blogging is Dead (Long Live Value Blogging)
• IKEA Content: How to Lose Your Readers in Two Minutes or Less
• Two Techniques That Help You Embrace Brevity
• Are You a Courageous Blogger?

August

In August, the guest writers really shined. Mu kicked it off with a post about lists, Ryan Imel hit two home runs with How to Become an Authority Blogger and If Your Blog Disappeared, Who Would Miss It?, and Michael Stelzner explored writing productivity.

Here’s some stuff I wrote:

• The David Lee Roth Guide to Legendary Marketing
• Do People Really Want Transparency and Authenticity?
• How to Get 6,312 Subscribers to Your Business Blog in One Day

September

September was the month when things went crazy, traffic wise. Every article aimed at the Digg front page made it, and so did random posts that I scribbled off without thinking about it (like the “click here” post). Sensing opportunity, Ben Yoskovitz shows up for one single guest post, which also hits the Digg front page. Finally, on the last day of the month, I turned 40. Along with my lost youth, it later became clear that the success of September had also ended Copyblogger’s run on Digg.

Here’s the list of posts that helped shatter all previous Copyblogger traffic records:

• Warning: Use These 5 Surefire Headline Formulas at Your Own Risk
• How to Write Remarkably Creative Content
• Writing for StumbleUpon: High Impact Content “Above the Scroll” in Four Easy Steps
• Does Telling Someone to “Click Here” Actually Matter?
• Do You Recognize These 10 Mental Blocks to Creative Thinking?
• Are You Using the Five Types of Links Properly?
• Ten Timeless Persuasive Writing Techniques

October

After the September traffic stampede, it was time to shift gears. The free Teaching Sells report was released, and on the day we launched the training program designed to move people away from relying on Google and advertising, Google lowered Copyblogger’s PageRank from 6 to 4. Once Google was made aware that I had not been selling links and didn’t deserve the penalty, my PageRank was raised to 7. Too late, however, as Google made the point better than I could alone. You need to control your own destiny, and never rely on Google as your marketplace or business model.

Other notable posts:

• How to Create Ebooks That Sell
• Here’s How to Stop Worrying About Google Once and for All
• The Butterfly Effect and the Environment: How Tiny Actions Can Save the World
• Six Common Punctuation Errors that Bedevil Bloggers

November

Another strong month for guest writers, which was a good thing considering I was swamped with Teaching Sells. Skellie, Anna Goldsmith, Sean D’Souza, Dean Rieck, Jon Morrow and Nathania Johnson all made their first appearance on Copyblogger. Hopefully some of them are coming back in 2008!

Other notable posts:

• Jazz and the Art of Improvisational Blogging
• 7 Warning Signs That You’re Drunk on Your Own Words
• The Nasty Four-Letter Word That Keeps You From Writing

December

To close out the year, I broke character a bit to rant about Facebook and Digg. The point I’d hoped to make is that VC-funded companies are not on your side, and the only media you can trust and truly profit from is that which you own and control. And honestly, the reason I decided to go ahead with the Digg rant was because I loved the headline. I guess only a word nerd like me gets excited about an alliterative set of four words, each with four letters, all wrapped up in a Wizard of Oz reference. 🙂

Other notable posts:

• The Cosmo Headline Technique for Blogging Inspiration
• 58 of the World’s Greatest Offers
• Why Writing Like a College Student Will Kill You Online
• How to Use the “Rule of Three” to Create Engaging Content

Looking forward to 2008

It’s nice to look back at the year this way, because otherwise the memory of it is mostly a blur (at least for me… but remember, I’m getting old). Thanks once again to all of you out there for making all of this possible by tuning in to Copyblogger. It’s clear that I have the coolest readers around.

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 another interesting one.

About the Author: Brian Clark is founder of Copyblogger and CEO of Copyblogger Media. Get more from Brian on Twitter.