What makes a blog credible?
I'm doing a little research and would like your input:
What makes a blog credible and worth reading to you? Is it the look? Author's credentials? Or is it something else?
Good Answers (9)
Jan S.
Sales
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There is only one thing that makes a blog credible:
The people who follow the blog...
Chris K.
IT Consultant; Custom Software, Web Services, Database and Financial Applications
This was a very broad question. There are so many dfferent kinds of successful blogs with different purposes. I guess you can define a credible blog as one that is successful. And a successful blog is one that attracts and holds readers.. So I'd say a blog needs longevity to be credible and successful.
A key to this is value. A blog must provide value to its readers, or it will be crowded out by competition That can be entertainment, enlightenment, or any of a host of characteristics. But in the end it must be able to compete successfully in the giant marketplace of ideas.
It needs focus. I have a blog (http://blog.paladn.com) to focus my readers attention to my website. I create custom software, and develop web services. A few weeks ago I decided to throw a few articles on economics into the mix, because I have a lot of experience in that field, and in the capital markets. The articles were good, but I lost readers because the blog's focus was diluted.
Blog articles need to be well researched with their ideas presented in a well laid out manner- both visually, and literally. Facts need to be checked and the articles need to be well written with an economy of expression that will hold the readers' interest. Don't make your articles too long - the attention span of a blog reader is shotrer that that of a cat.
Pictures are nice, too when they are well done and are used to get your idea across..Of course if you're dealing in abstract subject matter, like I am, it's often difficult to illustrate an abstract idea with a picture.
Author's credentials certainly can matter. An Alan Greensoan blog would certainly attract readers. But is he were to speak in the blog about abstruse economic concepts using Fedspeak, it would lose readers early in the game.
My last thought is that these things take time. Almost no one will have a credible blog from the start. It take time to build a reputation, and it's slow and steady work to grind out articles over time, let alone promote them.
I can lecture to you all day on this, but these are just words that ironically don't have too much credibility. As a practical suggestion, I think you shouls seek the answer through osmosis. Go and visit the successful blogs for a week or two, and glean for yourself the elusive answer to your question. I recommend Boing Boing, Lifehacker, ProBloggerBlogTips, How To Change the World, MetaFilter, SlashFood, The Official Google Blog, the Huffington Post (although I rarely agree with anything they say, they have an excellent blog).
Get yourself a good feed reader (I use Sage in FoxFire) they're free, and you can subscribe to these blogs, and follow them for a week or two, ans see what common threads you can intuit from their success. There's be abt 150 articles - you don't have to read them all, but read the ones that capture your interest. At the end of that time, I guarantee, you'll know what makes a blog credible.
Mike B.
Real Estate Consultant, Trainer and Realtor
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Michael, I write for 4-5 Blogs and have always felt that if I was reading this post, what would I like to get from it. Content is King in Blogging says most experts that I have followed. Your Blog has to include the proper keywords to attract the right readers also. Having a blog service, you could teach all of us a few new things.
Lastly, I believe, sharing the posts on the right social networks, targeting your prospective audience is also important.
My Blog listed below is written primarily for Realtors, however, it may provide some ideas for other fields.
Links:
Janaki G.
Business Head at Yog Business Solutions LLP
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Content !! Content!! Content!!
Mark A.
Leading GovCon mentor, educator & consultant, LinkedIn Blackbelt & sensei, author, keynote speaker, radio host
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Content, point of view, posting with some regularity.
One recognized expert on this is Debbie Weil, and she's here on Linkedin.
Mark A. also suggests this expert on this topic:
Richard F.
Owner and Director at Talent Resources Group
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Content, accuracy, fresh ideas, interesting topics, honest opinions, credibility, trustworthy, depth/grasp of the subject you are discussing. Too many blogs are boring, waste your time, unoriginal, lack detail, lack substance, don't make you think, don't provoke a response other than you wish you had put your time to better use instead of reading it. I think you get my point.
Steven B.
Steven Bonacorsi is a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt Consultant at Process Excellence Network, a division of IQPC
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1. References
2. Supporting data
3. Blogger Credentials
4. Well written (gets to the point)
Bill K.
Channel Manager at xkzero
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The content of the blog is what initially catches my attention. If it's a topic that I have interest in then I'll read it. Of course an author's ability to write well will keep me reading.
Steve H.
Me alone at Me at last
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Credible to whom, is the question. The internet is drowning in stale blogvertorial that no one reads and people's minds are being invade by "style expert" from a million obsessives posing as gurus. But true originality is somehow proving evasive so far, now there's a billion channels and nothing worth reading.
More Answers (25)
Mostly the content I'd say. If I spot a rather obvious error in assumptions, arguments or facts in an area I do know something about, I generally dismiss the whole thing - including the stuff I DON'T know about. I argue that if the author makes a mistake in one area, he/she obviously has no problem talking about things he/she doesn't know about. Thus his/her opinion on other things might be invalid as well.
Don't talk about what you don't know about, it lowers the overall credibility of the blog.
An example would be an article about Marketing using arguments from psychology (which, in itself, is a good thing). An often mis-understood and abused principle is cognitive dissonance. As a psychologist, I know what it is and how it works. If an author applies this principle wrongly, the value of his whole blog plummets - how do I know his other arguments have any more merit than his misguided ideas about this psychological phenomenon?
In reality, there doesn't have to be much reason to dismiss his/her other arguments - I might not know much about them. But the credibility of the author is gone.
Ashish K.
Web Designer, Information Architect, Entrepreneur and Business Growth Catalyst
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Michael,
A lot of things depend upon the subject of the blog. But a few things are generally common.
A blog needs to have fresh, correct and attractively laid out content.
The content should be original and well structured.
It should be easy to comment on and bookmark articles.
WordPress seems to be the default choice of blogs. I use that for my blogs. If you don't want to host it, WordPress also allows you to get a free account and start blogging right away.
Best Regards,
Ashish.
Links:
In my experience, credibility is easier to achieve with personal blogs. But it is possible, with a few rules, for commercial or marketing blogs to create very credible experiences.
There are three factors that I would tack down for blog credibility:
a) Depth: If you know what you are saying and if you know it well, it will show in your writing. Your style will be confident, bold and assertive. Not to mention original. Some bloggers have it, many don't. The many who don't are just chimping around and echoing others in the blogosphere.
b) Sincerity: The "voice" of your blog is very important, and this is especially hard to "modulate" if your blog has many authors. How do you make many voices sound chorusy, and not cacophonic? By orchestrating them and equalizing them with a solid content calendar.
c) Relevance: Credible blogs are not merely topical. Most blogs appear to be busy when in fact they are only adding to the noise in the blogosphere. My take: if you have nothing new to say or add, why say it? Instead, say what matters. Be relevant.
Original thought, crisp content, focussed area, honest opinions and regular contribution makes a blog both credible and sticky.
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Content, above all else. It should be fresh and, while I'm fine with references to other relevant articles/posts/etc., there should be at least some original content as well.
The layout and the author's credentials are definitely factors too though, as are comments. When readers see lots of other people actively commenting on posts, that definitely gives the blog added credibility.
Rachel Desenberg
Corporate Document Solutions
Competitively priced design & print services
Rachel@CDSPrint.com
Thursday B.
Content Consultant at Hyper Modern LLC
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Michael,
While content is crucial, it's been my experience that different types of users may not all focus on just the content when deciding to rely on a particular blog.
For someone heavily involved in social media, for instance, just seeing that a blog is hosted at a .blogspot.com address can lead a person to think a particular blog is less than professional and less than reliable.
Different demographics have different triggers. It's important to look at your target demographic's online usage before focusing solely on content or another technique.
Often, when a blogger uses difficult-to-read type (e.g., too tiny, white on black), I move on without checking the content.
But when readability isn't an issue, then, yes, content is king.
Russ L.
Vice President of Sales at Transite Technology
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To me, a blog needs to provide value. I need to come away with information that I can use. It needs to inform me, educate me, prepare me with something I didn't know before. It's look/appearance is important only to the degree that it's easy to navigate and read. If it's confusing, hard to navigate and difficult to find things, then it's defeating the purpose by making it hard to find the value. Author's credentials are important so we know the information is coming from an authoritative source, but it's not critical. It's mostly about valuable content. That's what I tried to do with my blog; provide valuable content, that's easy to read and from an authoritative figure.
I don't read many business blogs on a regular basis. The ones I do look at from time to time are written by an author that is credible and trustworthy as an experienced professional on that subject matter.
I read a sports blog because the writer has inside access to people and events that otherwise I wouldn't have exposure to.
Jay B.
Sales Vice President LiveWorld with background in Online Communities, Social Networks, Content Moderation & Photography
My list on making a blog credible and worth reading:
1. A strong writer with a good point of view that they defend
2. Links--It is all about link economy--A good blogger is providing links to great information
3. Frequency-Needs to be updated at least weekly
4. Encourage feedback from the readers...and respond
Erica F.
Social Media Optimizer, Publisher at ALC Publishing, President of Yuricon
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Transparency, a realistic grasp of the writer's bias by the writer. Everyone's opinions are shaped by their experience and bias, so a writer than can identify their own and point out how it colors their writing makes compelling reading to me.
Cheers,
Erica Friedman
Yurikon LLC
Intelligent Business Promotion
http://www.visualcv.com/elfriedman
1) Content & Focus. Define the focus of the blog clearly. Stay on topic. Show your expertise. Keep a positive atmosphere.
2) Lay-out. Simple will suffice, but it has to be well maintained, and easy to navigate.
3) Reader feedback. A good community of commenters keeps you sharp and the blog open-minded.
Tyrone T.
Senior Executive- Brand Management at Axact
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Hi,
The writing style and the logic etc. Popularity is confused with credibility but the two aren't the same.
Tyrone
Sid S.
Copywriter & Internet Marketer Helping Businesses Generate Leads and Close Sales Online
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"Credible" is in the eye of the beholder. In general, the answer is "all of the above." More specifically, and in order of importance:
1. The content on the blog gives me something of value that would have cost me time and possibly money to obtain otherwise. It answers a question I have, solves a problem, helps me in my business, or even offers an entertaining diversion from the rigors of the day.
2. I got there from someone I trust. If I see a link to a blog post from another trusted blogger, say on Twitter, I'll lend the new blogger more credibility. If what he or she says has value, then so much the better.
3. The blogger speaks with authority. I may not know him or her from my dead aunt, but when the blogger offers proof, cites examples, provides case studies, or gives references that backs up what they're saying, I find them to be far more credible. Even if what they say is a rehash of what somebody else said, if it's said with confidence, I'll deem them more credible.
4. "Usability" - How easy is the blog post to read? Do they use images, bullets, heading tags, and white space to break things up? Can I skim it easily, or do I to read the whole thing? To me, poor usability features reduces the person's credibility, no matter how well the article is written.
5. "Professionalism" - There's nothing worse than poor grammar and spelling in a blog post. You may be the renowned expert on your subject, but you'll lose me in a hearbeat if your post is poorly written.
Sid
Links:
Adeel A.
Software Craftsman
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To me its,
- Subject
- Content
- Style of writing (must be engaging)
- Eloquence and the flow
Credentials, may be, not that much. For example I never read Guy Kawasaki that crazily, I used to read Kathy Sierra. But these folks usually write on two quite different things, there subjects seldom overlap. Unfortunately, she stopped due to some abuse against her, lately.
Ian I.
Manager at National Amusements
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If a blog is published on a regular basis, and is clearly the voice of the author(s), there is the credibility.
Links:
Pratyush A.
Team Lead - Sr. Tech Specialist C#, .Net, ASP.Net, MVC, WCF, Sql Server, UML, XML, Silverlight, EF, | LION 12000 |
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Any Blog must keep focus on Subject and should be concise with everthing truth in it's message.
I would suggest looking at evaluation measures as well as your own perceptions about the content. You can use tools such as technorati to look at how many people rate the blog, or refer to the stats on the site if they are available (i.e. no. visitors) - many blogs will feature this information and also show you country demographics. You might also want to consider how much interactivity the blog has: is it getting a lot of comments? That is a sign it is well read and valued.
Originally I would have said "content" as many others have said here. but there is so much worth reading. I rely on recommendations and reputation. That's the best way, I find, to narrow down my choices. The good-- or relevant, at least-- content seems to bubble up to the top that way.
I would say:
1. Content
2. Author
3. Expertise
4. References
5. Reader feedback
