Janet Lee Johnson | The Art of Marketing

At dinner last night we were talking about Harry Potter, and how the most popular searches on Technorati this weekend were “Harry Potter” and “Harry Potter spoiler.” My sweet wanted to read what other grownups were feeling about the book, now that she’d finished it. But every search she tried was turning up nothing of value, and wondered why…

I told her I believe most people who blog would love to engage in conversations around interesting subjects (like Harry Potter, and how I feel as a 40 year old or 50 year old adult when I’ve finished it), but have no clue how to be found. Of course, she said, why don’t you blog about that?

So here I am, blogging about the importance of relevant keywords, using Harry Potter and post-partum depression as bait…

Go figure.

Why did I title this post Harry Potter and post-partum depression? Because that’s the feeling I’ll bet thousands of women are feeling once they’ve finished the series. “It’s over… now what do I do?” If they had blogs, and would just tag their Harry Potter blog posts with appropriate keywords that are descriptive, they might have their posts found by others.

And Harry Potter and post-partum depression is pretty descriptive! If I were going to search for other grown up women who’ve finished Harry Potter, what would I type into my search engine?

• Harry Potter post-partum depression (screens to adult female readers immediately)
• Finished Harry Potter depressed (screens likely to mature readers who may or may not have liked the ending)
• Harry Potter blog posts (doesn’t really screen at all, except maybe to discussions on blogs like this one)

Every time you blog, think about the readers you’d like to attract. And use your words carefully to attract them. You’ll be amazed at the results.