Posted 3/19/08 - Kellex

1. Write a ‘Top 10’ list about anything!

It could be the ‘Top 10 Wide Receivers’ or the ‘Top 10 Toughest S.O.B.’s’ in the league, it really doesn’t matter. You could even do a ‘Top 10 Bob Sanders Hits’ post and it would probably get you a ton of traffic. People just love those Top 10 lists and the more creative you can get with one, the bigger chance of it turning into a traffic monster. Remember that you do not have to make it exactly 10; in fact I hardly ever do 10 of anything. Through Le Basketbawl, we run ‘Top’ lists all the time but hardly ever do the full 10, instead we’ll do the top 7 or top 9. Try to mix it up and set yourself apart.

2. Write something worth reading for once!

When was the last time you REALLY researched the hell out of something? By taking the time and effort to become an expert on a topic, your readers will reward you. Many bloggers are obsessed with breaking any news story they can. This may give you some short term results but in the long run if you want that steady traffic, you need to write something special. The news breaker may last a couple of days max, while a well thought, researched and written topic can last for years. This article was written at the onset of our basketball blog and has made its rounds through the internet and provided us with thousands of hits. Not only does it interest basketball fans, but it interests everyone else that is astounded by its facts.

3. Trade deadline recaps are where it’s at.

We wrote a simple trade deadline recap that listed out every single important NBA trade for 2008’s deadline and it blew up! I’d check Google Analytics or MyBlogLog and every day I’d get a ton of hits from people searching for “NBA trade recap” or “2008 trade recap.” And another thing to remember is this post will be pulled up again next year when people start writing their 2009 trade deadline or recap posts. This allows your post to be used as a reference for years to come.

4. Be personal.

This is a blog remember? The original blogs started out with people’s opinions and provided a public way for us to vent on anything. Take a stand! Do you hate that Bill Parcells is tearing apart the Dolphins? Do you want to smack Chad Johnson for complaining about the Bengals every time he gets on camera? Tell us!

5. When the Super Bowl comes around, write about it!

The Super Bowl is written about to death every year don’t you think? Well that’s because people actually read all the garbage that’s put out there on it. Find a quirky story and write something humorous about it. You may want to go back to last year’s Super Bowl and compare the two. This year’s was easy with the Manning brothers participating in back to back years. Remember though, that if you want this article to stand out, you better be the first one to do it!

6. Season preview anyone?

Go to BallHype some day and browse through some of the NFL or NBA team blogs. When you find their posts that had to do with a preview of their specific team at the beginning of the season, your jaw will drop. Most of these have 50+ hypes and 30+ linkbacks. What do you think that would do for the traffic to your blog? Not only does that drive your Technorati authority up but it creates a solid month’s worth of readers.

7. Start a damn contest!

Contests, if done right, can be huge for your blog. Try not to be completely cheesy but make sure your readers can still have some fun with it. Anything to get people mentally involved tends to be received well. Also, string your contest out for a few weeks to keep these people coming back. And don’t forget to give out some sort of prize at the end! You don’t have to spend money on a prize, you could also give someone a linkback if you have a noteworthy Page Rank.


Those should get you rolling for a while. There are millions of ideas out there, you just need to get off of your game recap horse and write something original. Remember this line, “Why would I read a game recap from your blog when I can get the professional recap from ESPN.com?”