A blog series is a collection of posts that are related to a single subject. Back To The Basics is a blog series about the basics of blogging - this post is part of that series. I think that’s about as good of a definition of “blog series” as you’re going to get anywhere, so let’s get into some tips for running them…
Pick A Topic And Plan It Out - Before starting any blog series plan it out as much as possible. A while back I ran a couple of blog series and I failed to plan anything out… what a mistake. I was hunting for post ideas every day, which killed my productivity.
Linking - If you can link to another post in your blog series - do it. Linking between posts helps your blog’s search rankings - and it helps your visitors. Don’t forget to make a final list of all the posts either. If the series is made up of a few posts include the list on each post, but if it is longer (like 30 days) simply link to a post that contains the links. There’s a few WordPress plugins that do this automatically, but I can’t think of their names.
Guest Blogging - This was something new to me with Back To The Basics. Before this series no one had ever guest blogged on here before. Letting other people guest blog on here was a great idea. If you’re looking for guest bloggers why not post a message at the Authority Blogger forum? Or better yet, if your topic is on the Internet or blogging or whatever - ask me 
Images - Before this series I pretty much never used images. Since starting it I’ve used many. They certainly spice things up a bit. It’s not like they are hard to find either, there’s no excuse to not use them.
Look At Your Stats - Blog statistics are indispensable. Take a look at which posts seem to be the most popular and why. Figure out which topics your readers like and blog some more about them either during the blog series or after it.
Well, that’s it. Stay tuned for more of the Back To The Basics series!
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October 5th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
[…] Day 26: What Is A Blog Series? What Are Some Tips For Running Them? […]
October 5th, 2007 at 4:05 pm
great! but I dont think you should concentrate on your stats too much - since you will be come obsessive about them, I look at my stats on a weekly basis then dissecting from there
great post!
October 5th, 2007 at 4:42 pm
ianternet? Hehe, I love that name
I do agree, becoming too obsessed with stats causes more harm than good, and can lead to stupid decisions (wild topic changes, etc). Checking once per day is an absolute max.