Blogging, Tetanus Shots and the Sticky Factor

Dr Leventhal created two categories of tetanus pamphlets; high fear and low fear versions. Distributed randomly, some of the students received high fear pamphlets, which used more dramatic language and showed graphic pictures of tetanus-related conditions. The other students received variations of the low fear pamphlets that were far less dramatic; not intended to instill any sense of fear or worry.

The initial results were relatively predictable. After the experiment the students were given a questionnaire in which a higher percentage of those who received the high fear pamphlets were more than likely going to get a tetanus shot. More than likely, but did they?

Surprisingly, very few of any of the students actually went to the health center to get their free tetanus shot. In fact only three percent of them took the advice. For the rest, the message was either forgotten or just did not stick.

Why?

Well, Dr. Leventhal made a simple change and realized that all he needed to do was give the students a road map. Really. He redid the experiment. But this time, added a map of the campus with the health center circled, including a schedule of when the shots were given.This small change increased the outcome from three percent of participants to 28 percent. This revealed two very interesting outcomes:

1. An equal number of the students from both the high fear and low fear groups got tetanus shots. It absolutely did not matter how much extra persuasive power may have come from the gory, high fear pamphlets.
2. The newly inserted map of the campus did not reveal anything that most of the students did not already know. They knew where the health center was and many had even been there before.

So what does this mean and how does it relate to blogging?

What Dr. Leventhal learned from this experiment was that it did not take a large amount of additional, compelling information in order to make his message stick. He simply needed to take it from an abstract informational piece to a practical message that the students could actually apply to their lives. Once this advice was seen by the students as being personal and useful, the message became very sticky. They remembered the message and took action.

If you want to become a successful blogger with a loyal readership and tons of money in your pocket, then you have to know what motivates people to act. You have to know how ideas spread in order to get your blog noticed. You have to make your blogging sticky. You have to understand the sticky factor and take advantage of the tools and ideas currently being used by today's most influential bloggers and Internet marketers. Darren Rowse, founder of Problogger, is a world-famous blogger and has a program to help bloggers build a better blog. Check out his 31 Days to Build a Better Blog challenge

1. Better have some sticky content
You can have the coolest blog design with lots of 'pop' and 'flash' and a thousand ways to share your content, but if you are writing about topics that nobody cares about then your chances of blogging success are slim to none. Even if you are blogging in a niche that is very popular, your writing style, how you convey information, and the presentation/flow of your content is very important.

Tip #1: Help people. Educate people. Entertain people. Give them something that is remarkable and worth sharing with their friends.

2. Show 'em where to subscribe
Getting readers to subscribe to your blog's RSS feed is a great way to get your content out there and allow people to access your content without always having to go to your blog. Most professional bloggers have huge lists of RSS subscribers (tens of thousands) and find many of these readers to be the most loyal. Make sure to keep your RSS feed icons or invitations readily available for readers. Common places to put these invitations is at the top of left/right sidebars (above the fold), at the end of posts or in the footer section of your blog.

3. Respond to comments
This is especially important for new bloggers. Responding to your reader's comments shows them that you take an active interest in their opinions or ideas. Additionally, this is a great way to keep readers coming back. There are two main ways bloggers currently do this:

- Simply respond to a commenter with a follow up comment of your own.
- For a more personable response, send the commenter an email.

Again, this is extremely important and should not be neglected. Interaction with your readers is key!

4. Branding
Branding is an important part of getting your blog noticed. First time readers should know what your blog is about at first glance. Be consistent with your design, slogans, logos and other marketing tools.

Tip #2: Check out your competition. Taking a look at the branding strategies of your competitors can help you come up with a strategy that will differentiate you from the rest of the pack. Learn from those who have already found success.

Tip #3: Don't forget to brand yourself. In the blog world, it is important that people not only know your blog, but know who you are as well. It is very common to see bloggers have personal Twitter accounts in addition to their blog's account.

5. Find Your Voice and Personalize
If you Google about almost any niche, you will find a slew of monotonically written articles on the same topic that spark absolutely zero interest and certainly do not compel readers to take any kind of action. Let your personality come through in your writing. Let readers kow that there is a real person writing all of your good stuff and they will be more apt to leave a comment or subscribe.

6. Add 'about me' page
This is another great way to personalize your blog. Creating a well thought-out, and engaging 'about me' page can go a long way to letting readers know who you are. This will build trust and increase your chances of retaining and growing a large readership. Let them see who you are with a photo. List some of your interests and any other blogs or websites you may have. You can consider this a sort of quasi-interview, because quite often, this is where you are judged as to whether or not you are a trustworthy resource to the reader. So, take some time with your About Me page and make sure you put your best foot forward.

7. Take advantage of the rush
When you right a post that just gets hot and readers are flocking to see what the buzz is about, make sure to pimp it for all it's worth. The popularity will not last long so taking advantage of a sudden spike in traffic is crucial.

How can you do this?

Write a little blurb about your RSS feed at the end of your post and invite readers to subscribe. Write a follow-up post. If your blog post, 10 Ways to Cure the Hiccups is on fire then write a follow up post; 5 More Ways to Cure the Hiccups. Put links to other articles you have written at the bottom of the post.

Tip #4: This is where you can give readers a reason to stay connected with you. It is also a great example of the importance of doing the little things. Making the little 'tweaks' that yield big results!

8. Engage n' Destroy
Engage your readers by providing them with opportunities to interact with your blog. When done effectively, this is a great way to incentivize first time readers to take action; subscribe to your blog feed, download your ebook or purchase whatever you may be selling. Some great ways to engage readers is through your comments section, creating debate, polls, and allowing readers to share your content via Web 2.0 sites like Twitter and Facebook. Creating a blog that allows people to interact with you and other readers is a sure-fire way to create a loyal community of followers. Let them get involved and watch your traffic rise.

9. Be a frequent blogger
One thing that I look at when I come upon a blog for the first time is how recent the last post is. If it has been even a month or more, I may read a post or two but definitely would not subscribe to anything. Frequently updated content lets people know you blog is alive and kickin'. This also is where you can really capture readers via RSS subscription and encourage them to stay connected with your blog. If you always have new and highly engaging content pouring in, then people will have a reason to keep coming back.

10. Learn from Squidoo
Mr. Godin definitely is our wise man. Squidoo is very much designed with all of this in mind. People can create and design a lens however they want. Personalize it with pictures, html capabilities, create polls, upload Amazon products and even make money doing it. Those with blogs can upload their RSS feeds and use Squidoo as a way to encourage traffic to their blogs. Readers can leave comments, rate lenses and recommend 'em to their friends.

Squidoo can be more than just a great way to have some fun and make a few bucks. It is a great learning tool for bloggers from all experience levels, because it is a blueprint to making your blog oh so sticky! Join the Squidoo community

Yet another reason why I absolutely love WordPress. Its ability to help me get all sticky. Here are five excellent plugins to help you stick to everything you touch.

1) Yet Another Related Posts Plugin: This is, in my humble opinion, one of the most important plugins for your blog (or, at least a variation of this plugin). This sticky plugin allows you to give your reader some direction after they finish reading one of your wonderful posts. This plugin uses an algorithm to automatically add related posts and place them at the end of your posts.

2) Popularity Contest Plugin: This can be a great sticky plugin that allows your readers to rank your posts by percentages, thus allowing them to essentially determine the popularity of your posts. This is a great tool for allowing your readers to participate and interact with you and your blog. It is also a great way to drive traffic to certain posts as many readers will want to read your more highly rated posts.

3) Subscribe To Comment Plugin: This sticky plugin is a great way to try and enagage readers who may be particularly interested in one of your more popular posts. This plugin allows your commenters to unsubscribe to certain posts, block all notifications, or even change their notification e-mail address.

4) Sociable Plugin: This plugin is great for allowing your readers to share your wonderful content with the social media sites of their choice. The plugin lists just about every social bookmarking site of any note, and has been downloaded over 500.000 times so you know it is legit.

5) TweetMeMes Plugin: This a great way to allow people to quickly tweet about your posts on Twitter. My guess is you have already seen these little icons on articles and posts, and this plugin is a definite must if you want to pour on the stickiness!