Content King vs Relationship Queen – Who Wins?

Is it true that writing great content is still the biggest driving force of traffic to your blog or website?  That could be changing.  While it is important to work on improving page rank and increasing traffic with incoming links, there are several views on what is most important.

I recently ran across an article by Jon Morrow, Associate Editor of Copyblogger, titled “Why No One Links to Your Best Posts (And What to Do About It)”.  Jon points out that in most cases, it’s not what you know, but who you know that gets you those oh-so-valuable links.  Building relationships, showing link love, and reaching out to top Bloggers is more than half the battle, even for those that have been around for awhile. Jon shares strategies for building those important relationships and getting to know the ‘elite’ in a more personal way.

Right here, any woman that is reading this should be getting a rush, because we ROCK at relationship building!  Use those social skills!  This is why women are taking over the web…we love people and we love to talk to people.

So, does this mean that content doesn’t matter?  It ABSOLUTELY matters!  If you expect to get others to link to your blog you will need to provide something worthwhile for them to link to.

Chris Brogan is considered one of the foremost authorities on both blogging and community building, and he has done it all through building quality relationships with his readers. In his recent post, Content is Not King, Chris puts it this way:

“Work hard on content, but focus on relationships. Be a good king. Be a servant. Be a steward to your people.”

Writing great articles that touch on and train readers in areas that they have been wondering about is going to keep them coming back. Listen to your commentators and find out what they want to hear more about.  (I notice that my Twitter posts are hot right now, so you can expect more on Twitter soon.)

A couple points on content that are tops for me:

• KISS – No, I’m not talking about the 80’s band.  Keep it Simple Stupid.  Write the way you talk. Don’t try to look smart by using words that readers will have to Google to understand. If you write about what you know you can let it come from the heart and your story will come across more fluid and readers will find it easier to relate to.
  
• Proofread – This one drives me crazy.  I am a spelling nut.  I will usually read and re-read my post at least 6 times before I publish it.  I use Firefox, which has a built in spell check, so I save the draft and check it in the preview window for both spelling errors and for visual quality.  After I’ve published it, I will still go back and check the live post one more time.  If I find a spelling or grammar error it is fixed right away.

How do you feel about the “who you know’ side of building your site rank?  Do you have any other tips for reaching out to Bloggers or any quick tips on writing sticky content?  Share them here!

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Tagged as:  Blogging · Content · Increase Traffic