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Gunnery Sergeant Hartman's Blogospheric Boot Camp

By Robert Stacy McCain on 3.7.09 @ 9:53AM

Years of studying the blogosphere have revealed basic principles of traffic enhancement, which I've never bothered to explain in any systematic fashion. However, three points are worthy of careful attention:

1. The blogosphere is a community. It rewards those who contribute. Generosity is rewarded and non-cooperation is punished.
2. Aggregation is the most important utlity of a blog. If you observe what Glenn Reynolds does at Instapundit, or what Matt Drudge does at the Drudge Report, or the automatically updated feed at Memeorandum, you understand that the must-read sites are those that provide a steady stream of links to outside content.
3. The principle of reciprocity is what makes the blogosphere hum. Use analytical software to find who's linking you, and link back to them, thus creating a positive-feedback loop of traffic.

This morning the method was demonstrated for the benefit of a protege (and, incidentally, to promote a worthy cause) as "Full Metal Jacket Saturday."