The Secret to Getting Your Subscribers Hooked on Your Blog

In previous post I wrote about how a blog project helped Julie Powell create a successful blog that led to a book and movie deal.

I’m not promising you the same results, but I am going to offer you some tips for developing a blog project that will reel your readers in and hook them.

They’ll be hooked because they’ll want to see your progress, they’ll wonder if you’ll actually be able to accomplish what you’ve set out to do.

It’s one of the reasons Americans are hooked on reality television, we are mesmerized by the idea of a real person partaking in a seemingly impossible task.

I remember when Survivor first aired I was hooked and wouldn’t dare miss an episode.

If you develop an irresistible blog project, that’s how you’re readers will be, they’ll need to know how the project turns out, they’ll want to know if it’s even possible.

So let me back up and explain what a blog project is – it’s basically a blog series on steriods.

It involves more than just writing, but requires you to actually dig into a project and then write about your accomplishments and experiences.

That’s what Julie Powell did in Julie & Julia, she took on a personal challenge – to cook her way through Julia Child’s famous cookbook – and then blogged about the challenges and obstacles she faced.

The noteworthy part of this is that she actually took the time to cook each recipe. As she did this, each one presented a new and very unpredictable result – this element allowed her to write unique content that no one would find anywhere else.

That’s what we all as bloggers want to do – to create the kind of content that people feel that they must have and that they can’t get anywhere except in one place.

So here’s some tips for developing that irresistible blog project that will help you and your blog stand out among the multitudes of other blogs in your niche.

Don’t be afraid to choose a project that has a high probability of failure

In fact, the more impossible the task seems, the more your subscribers will be drawn to it.

Even if you fail, if you write about it in a detailed and engaging way, your subscribers still would have gone along for the ride and if you’ve given it your all, they’ll probably sympathize with rather than be disappointed by your failure.

Pick a project that is related to your niche

A niche preferably a recurring issue or problem that needs to be solved. Your goal will be to see if you can solve it and you will blog about the actions as you take them and will present the results.

Decide on how long your project will last

I think a month is probably the minimum and a year’s probably the max. (Just going by Julie’s example)

Create a plan

You need to create a plan for when you’ll complete the tasks associated with your project. Julie Powell cooked in the evenings after work and probably on the weekends.

It’s critical that you actually set aside a time for this because the entire project depends on it.

Post updates frequently

Don’t allow longer than a week to go by without posting an update. You don’t have to write about your blog project everyday, but you do need to create a regular schedule that your subscribers can get used to.

Depending on the project, everyday, might be to difficult for your subscribers to keep up with, but more than a week and they may lose interest.

Post relatively short, but high impact updates

You can get away with shorter than average blog post the more frequently you decide to update.

But keep in mind that this really and truly depends on the type of project you’ve chosen to undertake. Some of Julie’s posts were longer than others.

Generate some buzz

You need to interact with your readers and give them an opportunity to influence your project.

And also generate some buzz for the project before you begin to drum up some reader interest, but don’t let the responses or lack of responses determine how much enthusiasm and energy you will devote to the project.

Your readership will grow as you go along and some may even come after the project is finished, so don’t worry, just continue with your project as if the world is watching – because at some point they just might.

At the end of the project you may decide to close the blog or start up another series of projects. Of course it will be your choice. So what do you think? Is there a relevant blog project that you’re considering? What might be useful to your readers?

Author’s Bio: Liva Sleiman is an expert marketing consultant and is associated with an SEO and marketing agency. She is a proficient freelance writer who works for many online publications where she covers online business related topics. She offers her knowledge, particularly on SEO, social media marketing and many more.