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:
- The blogosphere is a community. It rewards those who contribute. Generosity is rewarded and non-cooperation is punished.
- 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.
- 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.”
