One of the most distinctive technological trends of the last few decades has been the proliferation of consumer technology. Once this meant televisions and washing machines – now the term extends to laptops, smartphones, games consoles, smart speakers, smartwatches…the list lengthens every day. It’s a dynamic, fast-moving world, with an unending succession of shiny new products.
Tech fans love it but also struggle to keep up at times. How do you know that the latest smartphone or HD TV is worth the investment? Reviews by people who’ve already bought or had a chance to test the product are the best way to find out.
Enter tech bloggers.
For fans of consumer tech, running a blog is a great way to explore their hobby and enjoy time with the latest and greatest gadgets. But there is plenty of competition for those all-important clicks. If you don’t want your thoughts to be drowned out or to simply get lost in the vast ocean of the blogosphere, clicking the ‘publish’ button is not enough.
Basic search engine optimization techniques will help ensure your articles appear on Google and Bing, but your overall approach to blogging will also make the difference between just another page on the internet and a blog with a growing and loyal audience, one from which you might even be able to make a living.
[bctt tweet=”Tech blogging is a steady market: consumer tech is only going to keep on getting more sophisticated and people will always need guidance, so make sure you are on top of your game.” username=”blogherald”]It’s a steady market: consumer tech is only going to keep on getting more sophisticated and people will always need guidance.
Here are our top tips for taking your tech blog to the next level:
Be creative
A dry and emotionless trot through the specifications won’t keep people coming back to your site. But personality will. Don’t be afraid to be yourself: and if you don’t think that’ll be quite enough, be quirky, colorful and creative. Unleash your imagination and try to entertain as well as inform.
Be enthusiastic
Enthusiasm is infectious and people enjoy watching or reading about others enjoying themselves. Bring some emotion to the table when writing your blog. But it has to be genuine: don’t shill for products. People can generally tell if you are being phony. And if they don’t and later discover that you were faking it, they will resent yours enormously for misleading them.
Know what you are talking about
People will come to your blog for knowledge and know-how they don’t already have. So make sure you know what you are talking about. Research your topics and check your facts. Specialising in topics that really interest you is a good strategy. Where do your tastes and enthusiasms really lie? Android or iOS? Windows, Mac or Linux? Outdoor or indoor? It’s far easier to earn a reputation for real expertise if you focus on the topics you feel most motivated by.
Know your audience
Are you writing for technically literate readers or for a more general audience? This is important because it will affect how you write. Do you need to define every technical term or can you assume a degree of knowledge? In general, it is good practice to define very technical terms once in every post you write – but there are no hard and fast rules.
Write regularly
Give your readership a reason to keep coming back. If they enjoy your content and they know there is a good chance you will have posted something fresh every time they click, they will return and keep your numbers pleasingly high. Regular blogging also helps to ensure a good search engine ranking because it forces them to regularly re-index your site, as well as sending a clear signal that your site is a dynamic one offering quality content: precisely the kind they will want to include in their search results.
