The popularity of blogs has been a given for years now but now that experienced professionals have tools like LinkedIn Groups, Google+, and even Facebook I often get asked for tips on what kind of content/information is “best” to be shared. I don’t know that I have any definitive answers but here are some suggestions based on the kinds of content I share with my readers:
- Focus on actionable advice and talk to people as if they’re smart enough to act on what you’re suggesting. News and views can be obtained from anywhere and almost everyone knows how to report facts — the question is what to do with the facts available and how to turn what you know into action.
- Be provocative, novel, and unique with your advice or perspective. Nobody cares if you agree with everyone out there unless you’ve got something to add to the civil discourse.
- If you want to be truly different, offer evidence-driven or evidence-supported information on your blog. Given the amount of pseudo-science and junk out on the Internet, if you can support your opinions with actual facts and evidence you’ll differentiate yourself quickly.
- Share solutions to common problems — you may be an expert but there are others that may be newbies in any particular field. If you know how to do something well, write about it in micro-article formats and share it with others even if the activity seems mundane or obvious.
What would you advise to others?
