I too have been a regular reader, of some blogs mentioned in his list and acknowledge John’s awards.
These days though, the latest buzz in bloggosphere seems to be the Z-List. I was first introduced to the z-list by The Viral Garden. As I see it, the Z-List is simply a way of promoting "undiscovered" yet outstanding blogs.
The above mentioned articles motivated me to observe, some patterns that distinguish all the outstanding blogs versus the ones that are struggling to take off. Some of it may be obvious to you, I am mentioning them anyway!
#1. Outstanding Bloggers Have A Great Blog Layout
All outstanding blogs have a very simply yet effective user interface. They also have the essential features in the side bar such as subscribing via email or RSS feed, popular posts, Site Search, categories and so much more.
#2. Outstanding Bloggers Write Quality Content
Easier said than done! However, when it comes to outstanding bloggers they establish an area of expertise and write posts within that boundary. They provide the reader with timely and useful posts, with a dash of their own approach of uniqueness. Generally, these posts are comprehensive and complete. I believe they strike the perfect balance between a mix of short and longer posts, with none too long.
#3. Outstanding Bloggers Write Irresistible Headlines
They seem to have consistency in writing irresistible headlines!
As Lorelle meticulously points out.
Your post title is more than just a namesake for your post content. It is a mini-representative of your post content that goes out to announce your post to the world. As a representative, it should speak well of the content it represents. So let’s look at how a post title is used on the web.
1. The post title is often shown with the blog title in the title at the top of your web browser’s title bar.
2. The post title is shown with the blog title in search engine and tag search results on the top line.
3. The post title is the title stored by bookmark managers, social bookmarking services, and other link storage and share methods, which may also include the blog title.
4. Trackbacks from your blog to another blog you link to and vise versa include the blog title and post title in the trackback link.
5. Links and recommendations to your article or post typically feature just the post title or a combination of your blog name and post title.
6. Feeds feature post titles, post titles plus excerpts, or post titles plus full articles. Feed readers often feature feeds by post title in a separate list as well as an additional view of the overall feed.
7. Recent Posts, Related Posts, Most Popular Posts, and similar lists of posts on your blog typically feature just the post title.
8. Feed aggregator services and blogging networks which pull feed excerpts from their featured blogs highlight the post title and blog name prominently,occasionally with a post excerpt.
#4. Outstanding Bloggers Are Great At Interacting With Their Readers
Most often, it can be seen that after each post, they invite people to comment. When they do get comments they acknowledge them with a reply.
From personal experience I know that some even take time to reply to emails as well.
#5. Outstanding Bloggers Post Regularly
Need I say more?
#6. Outstanding Bloggers Links Generously to Others
Blogging itself is a network of linking. Outstanding bloggers are generous with their links to others. These links are usually worthy of the click too!
#7. Outstanding Bloggers Interlink To Their Own Posts
Where relevant, they provide a link to a previous post. I see this approach as a way of making the readers aware of other posts that have been previous written.
In return, the readers are made aware of other quality posts written.
I have shared my incidental gleanings relating to outstanding bloggers today. Do you agree with the me ?Is there anything obvious, that I have left out of this list ?
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