Creating an Effective Link Bait Post – How a Rant Can Drive Traffic and Comments
Author: Jim | Filed under: Blogging 101, Blogging TricksIf you are stuck in an endless cycle of tutorial posts, product reviews and website observations on your blog, perhaps it’s time to mix things up! One thing readers enjoy is a bit of controversy, and nothing promises more traffic and interactivity than a good old fashioned rant post. Let’s figure out how to make an effective link bait post!
Why It Works
Writing a “link bait” post, or what you should think of as anything published on your blog that will carry some shock-value for discussion, is one of the top ways to for you to get an insane amount of traffic delivered straight to your blog with little work. By targeting a website or blog that is an authority in your niche, a well thought out rant post can command powerful debates and advantageous “top-down” linking from the authority site. Put simply, writing something a bit “off the wall” or controversial will naturally spark some debate if written well. Having a debate running on your blog, even if you appear slightly insane, is always a positive move for your rankings.
What Do You Need To Write an Effective Link Bait Post?
In order to accomplish the effect we are going for, which is essentially a massive overreaction that fires up a heated debate, you need to have two things: a killer idea, and a blog that is popular enough to command some authority. The plan here is simple: publish a post on your blog or website that differs from common opinion in such a way that certain people will agree with you, and certain people will be offended.
We need to offend people. If you write a controversial article that everybody agrees with, you aren’t going to find any traffic bump or interesting links back to your website in the near future. What is important is that things are not taken too far over the edge, so always remember to 
keep discussion as polite as possible. An effective link bait post is not a personal attack on someone you don’t necessarily like, it needs to be backed by legitimate and verifiable information (trends, numbers, percentages, history, etc.). If you have a blog that has enough exposure that people will start to notice your post, a simple rant can potentially double/triple/quadruple your daily traffic flow. 
Coming Up With A Killer Idea
The driving factor for the success or failure of your link bait post is the topic you are covering. I would recommend using a current event, such as a contest or promotion, though you can find just as much success turning to a program, company, website or even person. In my case study, I decided to exploit a blogging competition happening at DailyBlogTips called “Blogging Idol” because it had over 100 blogs entered, a lot of buzz around my market niche, and absolutely zero criticism.
If you have a great topic but someone has already attempted to present a controversial spin on things, you are better off looking elsewhere. Even if the blog isn’t so established, nobody likes a copycat. You might get lucky and have nobody bring it up, but you will look foolish if someone posts a link to the same discussion that took place a week ago on another website.
In addition to being a current topic, it should also be a “hot topic.” In the ideal case, you would have an event that has already gotten a large amount of press around the blogosphere. The more times mentioned, 
the better, as someone that has already written on the subject is a lot more likely to visit in order to see your spin on things than someone who hasn’t been involved. Hitting that “hot” issue doesn’t necessarily mean celebrity gossip or anything like that, just something current that has people talking.
Coming Up with a Title That Rocks
Again, in our ideal case, we want an overreaction to what you have posted… yet not to the point that you are belittling anyone. We want people to read the post and immediately take a side. Setting up the dominoes for an all-out debate is the best method to carry your website into the spotlight in a short period of time. One of the first steps to take, and arguably the most important, is writing your title. Even if the title doesn’t exactly match up with the views expressed in the post, we need things to sound outrageous from the get-go.
Let’s take a quick example. When I wrote about the Blogging Idol competition in a rant post to get some traffic, I didn’t really consider the contest to be a total flop. In fact, I still maintain that the competition is a great way to get people blogging more effectively, and it has a solid foundation. True, my belief is slanted toward the a negative view of the end-result of the contest, but I decided to write the blog post as if the blogging competition was a virtual cesspool for cheaters around the world. My title of choice was “Blogging Idol is a Joke“… so that if you had known about the contest and heard nothing but praise, you need to be thinking “I’m reading this one” at this point. Make the desire to read, and discussion/traffic will follow course.
Lay Down Some Effective Content
So now that we have a title destined to reek havoc on the blogosphere, we need that all important content. By this point, you might be considering an all-out warfare… but I actually advise against this. I believe strongly that the content is where you turn things down a notch and discuss your views in a controlled way with lots of evidence and logical arguments for your side of things. Again, if your rant is targeting a website, 
company or person, you need to make sure that you make things clear that you aren’t trying to enter into a war. I recommend some kind of peace offering, and maybe even plug the blog/person/company in a positive light before you turn the page. Nobody likes a jerk, and you don’t want to risk anything with legal consequences.
Other than forming your opinions in a non-offensive manner, you need to write effectively by using plenty of research, evidence and experience to pull readers to your side of the coin. You want to be able to convince enough people that you are indeed correct to spark a debate. There will always be those opposed to your view if you are writing something controversial, so the most important element is going to be your ability to convince your audience. 
There’s not a lot of actual guideline as to what to write; however, it’s really essential that things are structured and fully explained. Make sure to first discuss what you are talking about (for example, I explained what Blogging Idol was) before proceeding with any sort of argument. Even if you think that everyone reading knows the subject you are referring to, it is necessary to refresh people on the topic before beginning.
The Powerful Results of a Well-Run Rant Post
As you know by now, I have tested this method before making this post by arguing the case that the Blogging Idol competition was poorly run. In less than 24 hours, I have over 50 comments (my average is around 8-15 per post) and tons of page views. In fact,
I had more returning visitors than ever before with 94 people checking out my blog more than once. 874 page views trounced my average, and I saw 573 unique visitors on the date of publication along. What’s better is that it seems to have caused a big debate, where I may see several links back to the post in the near future. It’s a win-win situation by all means! 
Now that you have the know-how to create an effective rant post of your own, why not set out on forming one of your own? What should be clear from my traffic results is that people crave discussion every once and awhile, and will give your blog the attention it deserves if you throw a bone their way. Be creative, be smart and you’ll have a jump in rankings in no time!
-Jimvesting
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Link bait is always a helpful tool, unless you take it too far which some people have. I think providing real and quality content is also an effective strategy to obtaining readers and traffic. However I’ve done one rant post before and was actually linked back by a decent sized blog which was my target goal. Worked out perfectly so there is a time and place for a rant post.
Erik Kareys last blog post..Is Freelancing the Answer to Job Security?
Nice post, I remember making a Link bait post which I didn’t mean to be a Link bait post. It was about Directories and how their owners like to advertise that their site is a PR7 when the link for the actual page is not even ranked. Tons of Directory owners started getting mad, but the actual webmasters backed me up.
Germzs last blog post..6 Tips for better link baiting
The post certainly got a lot of interest..
I have run a few linkbait posts that have come of very well.
David Shaws last blog post..Analyzing Your Blogging Goals
a very much comprehensive guide Jim! I like the way linkbaits are formulated… for instance in your blogging idol post… You have stated everything formally and “unobtrusively” so you were able to get it done there…
Melvins last blog post..How To Get That Advertising
People can take link baiting too far and it doesn’t work well with some blogs. I’ve had success with it on personal blogs when I talk about my thoughts on politics, the war, and the economy.
Catherines last blog post..The way I’m feeling
The only problem is knowing how far to go
If you go too far, you’ll make enemies, if you go too little, people will think you’re not sure about your opinion.
Rajaie AlKoranis last blog post..8 Great Sources Of Free Traffic For Your New Blog
[...] Here is a post which shows you what a controversial article can do for your blog. [...]
This is interesting, but I run a photoblog, you may have heard of it. How would a photoblogger create a link bait post?
The Smile Guys last blog post..Awesome Smile – Tyler’s Excitement – Submitted by CrAzY Working Mom
@Rajaie – Rightly said..
@Jim – Good video their! Always you don’t need to go the other way for gaining link bait…But the post you written on blogging idol was unique and this led to increase in page/unique views..
Rockstar Sids last blog post..SEO Services – Make money as a online researcher
Ha ha, I agree with everything you say.
I got involved in the whole Cow V Conn thing with a few posts on TheRandomForest.com early on and increased my subscribers by a fair amount.
It’s time for some more I guess
Forests last blog post..Waster Brits trash 4.4 Million Tons a Year
Interesting post. I’ve never done a post for link bait, but maybe I will now.
Linda Mortons last blog post..Examples Of Cause Related Marketing For Publishers
Great video about the topic.
btw, your avatar has dark hair, while you are certainly blond
Hyders last blog post..Don’t Beat The Competition, Be Competed Against!
i really love to post mixed articles in my blog so that the readers wont get bored and next time will just try out your super cool tip
narendra.s.vs last blog post..Just got my Mascot(toon character) design sketch
Hey Jim, I don’t know why but I can see the code for the video but I can’t see the video I just see a gap there.
Germzs last blog post..Make money online by hiring programmers.
lol.. yeh, link bait works… and many bloggers do the same these days.
Nice article.
[...] Creating An Effective Link Bait Post – How A Rant Can Drive Traffic And Comments – Jimvesting [...]
Jim nice article. You really got a nice tip. I have also thought about it but I either didn’t had the time or courage to write something a bit “off the wall” or controversial. I hope next time I will be able to do so.
@ Hyder: Haha, thanks for noticing. I do have brown hair… but it’s now short enough and I’ve been spending enough time in the sun to make things look more blonde
[...] you seen my recent rant post about how the contest is unfairly biased?! Or how about my run-down of the method I used to successfully execute the classic “link bait” article. Hey, it got me tons of [...]
Hmm…I think linkbaiting works very well on gossip blog. For instance, when you post that Paris Hilton has an affair with Bill Clinton
its a good one to get carry on to other blogs too … but shud get the proper post to get into bait .. m not into blogging but hv tried one on my niche blog
Good post, and very detailed method of creating such posts. If one doesn’t do it properly, it could definitely be damaging…
However, as we have seen recently here on Jimvesting, if it’s done right, it can mean tons of traffic and comments
JK Swopess last blog post..IMwithJoe weekly report and goals for this week 7-14-08
As others have said, knowing where to draw the line is key. I can’t remember the link but there was a guy recently who wrote a viral story about a kid and prostitutes and the whole thing blew up in his face.
Scams last blog post..Dede, Half-Man, Half-Tree
I’ve never been good at link baiting. I guess it also takes the right people seeing it.
What about when someone pokes fun at your blog?
Do you think that helps drive traffic to your blog or will take away from your blog.
The stepping over others attitude to gain money or traffic doesn’t role well with me. Goes against my ethics.
Though I love your ideas, I don’t support what you advise
Ryan McLeans last blog post..Ten Tips on How to Write a Successful Budget
what inspires you to make such posts…:-)?
Thank you for your post it is valuable information for me
[...] just by pointing out something new that people find interesting. But while I already wrote about creating an effective link bait blog post, can you actually do the same thing in a link-baiting [...]
[...] Create controversy on a popular topic – people will have something to say about it [...]
I like this post very much. it is very helpful. I have been wondering about link baiting and want to come up with a great idea. The only problem is that I dont have enough traffic yet to do that. I wont be long though.
ways to earn onlines last blog post..Payment Proof Update: Project Payday
[...] is a link bait page? I actually wrote up a killer guide on link bait pages over the summer, so if you do not understand the concept or simply want to sharpen your skills, I [...]
I really love to do link baiting to gain more traffic and backlinks, but to no avail, I cant think of things to blog about that will attract the attentions of the internet surfers.
Maybe, we can get an idea to blog about current events, political issues, health and maybe about dirty things about being a police?
But, the thing I can share on this comment is that, to be able to do a successful link baiting, you should be able to write that does not offend someone directly, but also, will make the readers comment on the article that you have posted.
[...] marketing! Create social networking profiles then add people as friends (i.e. Myspace and Facebook) Create controversy on a popular topic – people will have something to say about it Have an RSS-ready blog/site so [...]
Крутая статья. Много чего нового узнал для себя. Автору респект и уважуха