At a blogger conference, I once befriended someone who was standing alone at a mixer. Turns out that while she is terribly shy in large social gatherings, she is also a popular blogger with a huge following. Since that conference, my new friend has proved to be one of my biggest supporters and her professional assistance has helped me enormously. Controversy Sells. Yes, controversy can attract a large following, but think before you post. For example, some bloggers will post about their personal relationship issues with spouses, siblings, parents and children.
Ask yourself: Is the blog post idea valid and true? Would you be invading someone’s privacy just to get people to notice you? You could cause hurt feelings with friends and family members or even lose your job. If your post is just shocking for the photo color correction services sake of being shocking, you can easily turn off your core audience. Some bloggers turn to excessive profanity or explicit material to create controversy. In fact, the use of profanity is so overused online that it’s no longer controversial – merely bad taste. Controversy is best served with smart writing or truly amazing graphics.
My advice for attracting a significant following is to find your voice, be original, create unique content and keep posting, posting, posting. Do some research and seek out bloggers whose work you admire. When you connect with other quality bloggers online, be generous by sharing tips and making the time to visit their blogs and leave comments. It’s fine to promote yourself to your community, but keep in mind that people have busy lives and helping you grow your blog audience is not their top priority.