“This is exactly what we don’t need…this is ridiculous… the worst idea…” poured criticism. I admit: hearing people criticizing your post is not pleasant; and to be honest, I was disappointed to hear that my “strategic thinking” was that bad. But there was also a silver lining – I struck the web nerve resulting in increased pageviews and links to my blog.

I think that most bloggers, who write with a goal of reaching out and engaging the wider web audience, want to strike the web nerve. It is imperative for us to know whether or not our idea finds the resonance with readers. Do they like it? Do they hate it? And it is important to know the answers, because without them we can’t gauge the effectiveness of our thoughts. And if our thoughts do not reach the intended audience, why bother writing in the first place? So before you sail out on your writing journey, make sure to address, or consider, a couple of points.

It is love-hate affair that matters.

Do readers love your posts? Yes? Perfect! Do they love to hate your posts? Yes? Perfect! In either case, it means that you found something that matters to your readers. As long as your posts are not xenophobic or crossing ethical norms, taking a stand is better than being neutral. So you think that Sochi is a bad place for the upcoming winter Olympic Games? Please, say so: “I think it is absolutely ridiculous to have the Winter Olympic Games in the town that enjoys a tropical humid Mediterranean climate and has the mean winter temperatures around 42F.” This statement drives home your point. Though for the sake of completeness you might express your hope that a winter storm drops mountains of snow on Sochi, your point should still be clear – you do not like an idea of the Olympics in that particular region.

Think against the web traffic.

Sometimes, a close-knit community might not be receptive to new or radical ideas. Everyone is very passionate about whatever keeps this group of people together; everyone is on the same page with each other, and changes are not always welcome. In other words, it is the perfect ground for you to gain some recognition and get the extra web traffic.

Not long ago, I wrote a review of a small ski resort in Vermont. I tried to stay neutral and balanced: “I like this; I dislike that, but I think that it is a decent place overall.” The post did not trigger anything. It was well written, proofread and optimized. But it did not strike the web nerve; it was just like many other ski resort reviews: a little bit of the good, bad and ugly stuff. It was in tune with the commonly accepted practices of writing reviews.

Undeterred, and inspired by epic powder days at this ski resort, I suggested that management should drop a family oriented marketing pitch and stress the steep and challenging terrain available at the resort. As soon as I posted it on-line– readers found it. They tore the post apart; they criticized me; they brought it up on Facebook discussion boards. Overnight, I became the most criticized blogger among the fans of that ski resort; but I also got want I wanted – engaged readers, comments and links. And I did it without insulting fans or the resort. I just went against prevailing thinking on the subject.

Lastly, your blog topic should have a large pool of potential readers.

Of course, if your goal is to reach 100+ people, this point might be irrelevant. However, I assume that most bloggers think in thousands, and so it makes sense to make sure that there is enough of demand for your selected topic. Let’s say, you want to blog about “punctum.” According to a French philosopher Roland Barthes, punctum is an object or image that jumps out at the viewer within a photograph- ‘that accident which pricks, bruises me.’ It is a rare topic given the fact that there are about 231 million web pages with photography as a keyword, and only about 1.9 million pages mentioning punctum. In other words, the subject might appear odd, but given popularity of the photography field, there is potential for this niche topic to acquire significant web readership.

To sum it up.

Stick to your guns.  If you have a strong position on whatever subject that interests you, take a stand. Sound off, and don’t be afraid of spoiling your reputation or making enemies. Stay within ethical boundaries, back up your claims and eventually, your blog should attract a steady flow of engaged readers. Just make sure that there are enough of them to cheer, or boo you up.