Liz Strauss at Successful Blog

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January 15, 2009

LINK BAIT and COMMUNITY

kathryn wrote this at 7:30 am

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Link-baiting is the concept of writing in such a way as to attract other internet-based resources back to our blog.  It means creating something that naturally attracts back-links for your web page by getting people to talk about it, discuss it on forums, blog about it, post it on del.icio.us / Sphinn / Digg / Stumble , and link to it from their sites. It also attracts a lot of visitors. 

Link-baiting is not a new concept and not a concept used only on the internet. Rae Hoffman has a great explanation of how politicians use link bait all the time and always have.

Being passionate about what you write and how you convey that passion is key to growing your community. Richard Reeve talks about touch points and eloquently explains how this process of attracting readers, and the analytics involved, builds relationships. Whatever the intent or purpose of our blog, we’re all interested in that relationship which forms from the links that are made.

Building community is more than just having high page view counts. It’s about increasing readership and engaging with those readers in a meaningful way.

Some things to keep in mind:

  1. Are you looking to have as many visits to our site as possible so we can say we have high numbers
  2. Are you trying to build an audience that signs up to the RSS feed or returns regularly?
  3. Does you writing change as a result of thinking about the numbers?
  4. Is it possible to get high numbers and attract repeat readers?

There are lots of great resources out there to explain how to use link bait and honestly, we all would like traffic on our blog. The Golden Rules of Linkbaiting is really helpful. It feels good to know others read and value our writing. It feels good to know we have an audience. People love to discuss how many visits they got that day and where the traffic comes from. Building community is more than just having high page view counts. It’s about increasing readership and engaging with those readers in a meaningful way

 “One way to make sure your link bait is successful is to pick a subject that you believe in, are passionate about, and that will bring out an emotional response from members of your target audience. Or you could play it safe and write the 5 ways Twitter is helping web 2.0 businesses. The first is memorable the second is utterly forgettable.” - Michael Gray  

Do you have link bait in mind when you write?

Kathryn aka northernchick

Special thanks to graywolf and photo credit: INV/ALT DESIGN





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19 Comments to “LINK BAIT and COMMUNITY”

  1. January 15th, 2009 at 8:34 am
    Richard Reeve said

    Hey Kathryn,
    Links knit our way out into the web. They are the silk threads that allow you and I, and Liz, and all the hosts of folks committed to the values we find here at SOB, to touch. (And I’m touched by your referencing me above. Thank You.)

  2. January 15th, 2009 at 9:04 am
    kathryn said

    Thanks for dropping by Richard. You are more than welcome.

  3. January 15th, 2009 at 9:16 am
    Joel Kelly said

    Great post, Kathryn. I hadn’t seen those references before, so I’m definitely going to have to check them out!

  4. January 15th, 2009 at 9:29 am
    Kim H said

    Great post Kathryn, and I think that’s one thing we should all keep in mind. Blog posts are a dime a dozen which tell us to try to write about “what we know” and “trying to make unique blog posts”, but honestly don’t give any details about >how< to do that. I’d say you’d have to really know what you are writing about to feel passionate =)

  5. January 15th, 2009 at 10:02 am
    kathryn said

    Joel, Lots of great information out there. I have more if you want to see it. It’s complicated but works well if you have an understanding of what your goals are.

  6. January 15th, 2009 at 10:04 am
    kathryn said

    Kim, I agree. Truthfully, I get overwhelmed by it all sometimes. I agree , know what you’re writing. Having said that, I do think you can write about something and learn about it at the same time. I certainly did! Thanks for your thoughts ;).

  7. January 15th, 2009 at 10:24 am
    David Niall Wilson said

    While I know this is common, in most cases I dislike it. The reason is simply that when you have written on a subject because it might draw attention rather than writing on a subject because it is what you feel strongly that you want to write about, you have compromised.

    This goes hand in hand with my recent complaints about domino blogging - one well-known blogger hits a topic, and for two days you get nothing but other people blogging either about the initial blogger’s comments, or about the same subject referencing the original blogger, hoping to leech hits by dropping the name.

    Interesting article all the same, and very real phenomenon.

    David

  8. January 15th, 2009 at 10:30 am
    Julie Roads said

    Great post, Kathryn…it’s hard not to get caught up in the numbers game…but give me 100 visitors and 20 really thoughtful comments over 10,000 visitors and no comments any day. Also - it goes back to this: you can’t fabricate being good. Case in point, Liz and Chris Brogan have the numbers and get the link love because they provide so much value, because they are real - they didn’t strategize that, they just be-ed themselves….
    GREAT POST!

  9. January 15th, 2009 at 10:33 am
    Robert "Butch" Greenawalt said

    I’ve personally read some articles that didn’t immediately strike me as link bait but as my mail box can validate they certainly were. Personally one of the “Greatest” things about writing is the fact that you typically are able to learn something from it especially if you research the subject before writing it. This is also true of reading something! :) Nice Job.

  10. January 15th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
    Robert Hruzek said

    After I began to blog, it didn’t take long to realize something wonderful - I’m no expert on ANYTHING!

    Now, once the pressure to “be the expert” wore off, I was free to write about something I really DO know something about: the (sometimes strange, and occasionally completely whacko) things that have happened to ME, how it made me feel, and what I learned from it.

    As long as I continue to write with an emotional connection to folks, I’m happy. A whole herd of ‘em - or just a few - it matters far less to me than if they can identify with what I learned.

    (Although I must admit it does make me feel good to see the feedburner chiclet continue to steadily rise…)

  11. January 15th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
    Kathryn said

    Robert “Butch”, It is really interesting how it works isn’t it? Some articles are obviously written with baiting in mind - others not so much. The people who I sought out to learn about this topic are certainly very good at it and all stress knowing your topic! Thanks! Are you on Twitter? We should connect!

  12. January 15th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
    Kathryn said

    Thanks Julie, I’m all about being real and can see that with you as well. Come on, we all know you can spot insincerity a paragraph away! Being passionate about your topic is key, but I’ll confess, I’m not always passionate about all my topics. Willingness to learn new things and share them hopefully makes up for that - hint hint :)!

  13. January 15th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
    Kathryn said

    Robert - It is fun and it’s fun to see the numbers because then you realize you are sharing - someone read what you wrote. Its validating and necessary. But, as Julie says, ” give me 100 visitors and 20 really thoughtful comments over 10,000 visitors and no comments ” that makes it meaningful! I found you on Twitter - looking forward to hearing from you.:)

  14. January 15th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
    CGabriel said

    Really wonderful piece, Kathryn!

    For me, it’s quality over quantity. I approach writing the way I approach talk radio: I write (or talk) about topics that emphatically move me in a particular direction. If I’m not passionate about something - more to the point, if I’m not creating a shared journey for both the reader/listener and me, YOU know it. And YOU tune out or click a new website.

    Isn’t it a microcosm of life? I’ve always believed being blessed to have three or four truly close friends is far more meaningful than having 50 acquaintances you touch base with just to “check-in.”

  15. January 15th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
    Kathryn said

    Wow, that’s so true - a microcosm. Nicely put. I agree with the friend scenario but still like having lots of acquaintances aka as Twitter. Really boils down to wanting to share with a LOT of people, thus attract the numbers but do so with integrity and passion. Thanks.:)

  16. January 15th, 2009 at 5:50 pm
    --Deb said

    I don’t usually think about linkbait when I’m writing my posts (every once in a blue moon … does that count?) But that just makes me that much HAPPIER when somebody goes to the effort to link. It makes me feel like Sally Fields, “You like me. You really, really like me!” instead of like I’d dragged them kicking and screaming and guilted them into linking … where’s the fun in that?

  17. January 16th, 2009 at 6:55 pm
    Sheila Glazov said

    Your post and comments were most helpful. The different pov’s were fascinating.

  18. March 11th, 2009 at 9:26 pm
    How to Get Google to Index Your Site Fast | Get Your Site Indexed said

    [...] LINK BAIT and COMMUNITY (successful-blog.com) Related Posts:How To Generate Traffic Using Only Free MethodsTypos - Search eBay and find cheap typo auctions FREE!RecommendedWhy Do I Need To Get My Web Site IndexedHow Do Search Engines Find My Website? Share and Enjoy: [...]

  19. September 24th, 2009 at 4:01 am
    Jumpstart Your Business » Bookmarks for January 15th, 2009 said

    [...] LINK BAIT and COMMUNITY – A fresh look at this topic from a Twitter point of view. [...]

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