Blog Tip #9,472

I don't pretend to know everything about blogging. Heck, I hardly even have the attention-span to keep at it. But during my short five-month (and counting) journey as a blogger, I've noticed that one thing always rings true: the more someone disagrees with you, the more likely you'll receive gobs of traffic (that's right -- I said gobs).

Now, one article comes to mind, and it's caused me more trouble (and brought more visitors) than all the other content on this blog combined.

51 Ways To Improve Your Writing has snagged over 10,000 hits since it was posted in May. It's received harsh criticisms, it's been plagiarized, it's been recommended by other bloggers. That one article has been put through the ringer, let me tell you, and it hasn't always been pleasant.

I've been ridiculed because of the article, praised, critiqued (which is awesome). Some people have even been downright disgruntled over some of the tips. Yes, I know, that's strange.

But here's a little secret: it was written solely for the purpose of driving traffic, as a pillar post to get this blog started and on the right track. It isn't perfect, nor was it meant to be, but at its core it is the product of my studying up on how to increase traffic and the tried-and-true techniques of successful bloggers. Did I know it'd be as lambasted as it has? No, but then that comes with the territory.

So, blog tip #9,472: don't be afraid to do what you want. And, if you can (and are willing to), do or write something that others won't agree with, or that they might find controversial.

Because there is no such thing as bad publicity. Not here.