We’ve mentioned Bleacher Report three times on The GBW Blog.
The first was in reference to post frequency.
The second was when we discussed different types of inbound marketing and how slide shows can play an important role.
And the third was when the founder of the company, Bryan Goldberg, was discussing the future of content companies.
People have kind of made fun of Bleacher Report since it first came out. The site was built on regular people contributing opinions about anything related to sports. Bleacher Report would give out title ideas based on what sports fans wanted to read. Bleacher Report was able to find this information based on search information. They were very good at it and were able to react very quickly to the most up-to-the-minute sports topics.
There has been some content on the site over the years that people have deemed thing or amateurish. This was the reason for the fun that was made at Bleacher Report’s expense.
But something strange happened.
Bleacher Report kind of took over the sports publishing world. While everyone else was continuing to create sports content in the way they had for a century, Bleacher Report continued with their vision and people flocked to them while leaving the old standards like newspapers and other sources of sports information.
Bleacher Report might have some content that is outside of the norm, but there is much to learn from their style. You don’t have to copy everything they’re doing for your business blog, but there are a few things to learn.
Opinionated Titles
Bleacher Report is getting more like regular news sites now with titles like, “Denver D-Lineman Quits”, but for years they have made a living of creating catchy, opinionated titles.
Titles like “Bull’s Problem Starts With D-Rose”, “Dwight Took The Easy Road Joining Rockets” and others like that make people want to click. You either agree with it or you disagree. Either way, you’re clicking on that title to see what this person is talking about.
Businesses are often afraid to offer opinions in blog posts, but if you’re willing to do it you can really generate the traffic. And the great thing is that your target customers will likely love what you’re saying. They’ll buy from you and so will the people they tell.
Lists
Bleacher Report is king of the list. They do all kinds of lists. Posts like “Early Predictions For All NBA Awards” and “Best NFL Rookies After Four Games” get all kinds of clicks.
It might seem ridiculous to write posts about such things, but people love it.
You can create lists for all kinds of things related to your business. Try a few different styles and see how it works. They won’t all click with people, but over time some will and you can build on those types of lists to generate a formula that will bring traffic to your blog like crazy.
Questions
These are another big way to get clicks on your posts.
Pose questions in the title like, “Is Alshon The Next Great Receiver In The NFL?”. People will click on these again to see what the opinion of the writer is.
You can ask questions with your titles too, but make sure you pick a side. Some will agree. Some won’t. It will generate interest in the post and in your blog.
Multimedia
Bleacher Report sticks with blog posts for the majority of its posts even today, but they’re getting into more media as well. Video is becoming a huge way for Bleach Report to develop. They’ll create some videos that are more like stories. These push 5 minutes plus.
Most other videos are 2 or 3 minutes tops.
It’s something quick that a person can watch and move on to the next topic.
Conclusion
Bleacher Report represents the future of content online. It’s about giving people what they want.
Sports fans can learn a lot about the sport they love by going to Bleacher Report. They get information, opinion and multimedia on the site. Readers don’t always agree, but the commenting on the site allows people to give their own opinion.
You don’t need to become a big time publishing company to have success with a company blog, but you can take some lessons from Bleacher Report to grow your blog in a way that will grow your business.