The Movie Lovers Guide to Having a Kickass Blog

One of the great things about blogging is that it sparks as much interest and debate outside the blog as it does inside.

From views on whether blogging is dead (hint: it’s not) to communities and whether Gen Y is driving the blogosphere, there’s never a dull moment.

In fact, the entertainment value of a blog (and its surrounding discussions) is what helps a blog grow, both in audience and relevance. Get the entertainment factor right and the ticket sales will continue to fly in. It’s one of the reasons I always liken my own blog to a home theatre set-up (and I’m Scottish so yes, that’s the way to spell “theatre”!).

Here’s why you can too.

The Audience is Listening

That’s the phrase that home theatre masters THX use as part of their marketing. Championed by Star Wars creator George Lucas to enhance the audio-visual experience of moviegoers, the THX system is also the peak of home theatre set-ups. It takes you into the action in a way that many other sound systems fail to do so, and as such has built a huge following of fans around the world.

Your blog can be the THX equivalent and build its fans similarly. Be selfish in only wanting the best, both for you and your readers. I’m a tech geek and a huge movie fan, so I want to have the sound and vision set up at home just so. As a blogger, I want to offer the best experience I can – both for me and community-wise.

So make your blog your THX set-up. Write for you first (your set-up) and then your community and occasional readers. If I wasn’t as passionate about my blogging as I am for home entertainment, it’d show. Don’t settle for blogging as the 14-inch black and white TV when watching movies;  make it the most enjoyable experience all round and your friends will want to hang with you more.

Repeat Showings

One of the benefits of not settling for anything but the most kick ass home theatre system you can afford is that it opens up movies you’ve already seen in a whole new light. A movie night downtown is great; but a movie night at home, with multi-view Blu-ray options, commentary. outtakes and unrated? All in the comfort of your own home with no out-sized heads blocking your view? What’s not to love?

Now transfer that to your blog. One of the biggest problems I hear about blogging is that there are so many blogs out there already, it’s difficult to come up with new stuff. But you don’t always need to – instead, offer the Director’s Cut. If you read a blog post that really makes you think, offer your own take on it as a post on your blog.

Offering a fresh take on an old or existing topic is a great way to still offer a new view when your mind might be a little blank for completely new inspiration. Just make sure you play nice and link back to the original post. Not only is this the right way to acknowledge the inspiration, it also offers that blogger the eyes of your readers and may just give him or her new readers into the bargain.

More Than Just a Screening

I don’t know about you, but if I have friends over to watch a movie (or play video games – home theatres are perfect for Gears of War 3!) then we love to chat about it afterward. We might go out for a beer down the local bar, and then just talk about some of the cool scenes that weren’t in the original. Or how it sounded for a home system. So we basically socialize and discuss after.

Your blog is the same.

While it’s the home base for the movie (blog post), the discussion can happen anywhere. Make sure you encourage it. Open up the comments; hang out at the bar with friends (Twitter) and talk about it; talk about it at work the next day (social bookmarks). The point is, if you can make your blog the equivalent of a kick ass home theatre set-up, you’re already halfway there to getting more people to join in and watch.

How about you? What are your tips on using comparisons to help your blog grow? We’d love to hear your thoughts!