Category Archives: Writing

Posts based on the Number + Adjective + Contents headline formula are probably the most popular form of web content we’ve ever seen. For every one person who loathes them there are one-hundred people who are enchanted by them. For reasons that others have previously explored, this kind of content pushes all the right psychological buttons. […]

Viral articles are word of mouth worthy, and will grow your site more so than any other kind of content. Previously, I examined six strategies you can use when you want to create content with a decent chance of going viral. In this post, I want to focus on 37 concrete ideas for viral posts that should […]

By beginning this post with the above figure, I don’t do so to boast. I know there are thousands of blogs that have received more subscribers than this — and in less time. I highlight this figure (1,050 subscribers in 3 months) to show that you don’t need to have big money, the perfect niche or […]

In the month or so since I started writing on this topic I must have seen upwards of fifty articles on how to achieve social media success. A number of elaborate strategies have been devised across the blogosphere: the inexplicable magnetism of list posts, the fine art of constructing Diggbait, and so on. I’ve yet […]

I have dim memories of the time I spent creating my signature, and looking back on it, I didn’t give the task the attention it deserved. Now the signature I’m stuck with is somewhat jagged and messy, and I’d go back and change it if I could. Despite its short-comings, it does get one thing […]

Subscribers are widely regarded as the most valuable indicators of a blog or website’s success. When it comes to selling a blog, some pundits have valued 1 subscriber at around $35. That’s incredible. Whether they’re truly worth that much is a mystery, but it holds true that most of us look to our subscriber count […]

A lot of new readers have joined the Skelliewag community in the last few months. I thought the general trend of ‘Best of 2007′ lists would be a nice way to remind both recent and long-time readers of this year’s highlights. Unfortunately, this list can’t be a true ‘Best of 2007′ round-up because Skelliewag is only five months old […]

Headlines can make or break a story. With thousands of different articles vying for our attention, web users can afford to be picky. In an ideal world we’d give articles a fighting chance to prove their worth, but in truth, unless we have pre-existing faith in the author, we often make the decision to read […]

’m extremely excited to finally be able to share with you my first book, The Blog Business Funnel. Written and refined over 6 months (since June 2009), it’s an outpouring of knowledge on everything I know and have learned about how to run a thriving freelance business supported only by your blog. In July 2008 I was studying […]

Yesterday’s list of 70 sources of inspiration was mainly composed of examples. In this post, I want to explain why the ability to learn from others is essential to your development as a blogger or webmaster. Here, I’ll outline the process for creating and using something I strongly believe every web publisher should maintain: a swipe file […]