The term “link bait” or “Digg bait” is sometimes used in a negative light, meant to indicate a type of post that is meant to pander to a lower element than most blog posts.

But while this can be true and often times is, it is also not always the case. What the term “link bait” actually means is that the post is the type of work others will want to link to. The types of content people want to link to is as varied as the types of content available on the Web, ranging from pure garbage to enlightened discussion.

However, creating a link bait post is not something that just happens by accident. It requires both a good idea, great writing and a structure that is easy to read. However, if you can master the art, you can literally grow your site overnight by generating countless Twitter mentions, inbound links and even social networking references.

In short, link bait posts may not be the reason regular readers hang around, but they are often how they find your site in the first place.

Step 1: Know Your Audience – Before you put the first word down on paper, you need a good idea and, to get that, you have to know what your audience wants to know more about.

Step 2: Craft a Catchy Headline – Though the debate about whether it is better to write the title before or after the body of the post will rage on, with link bait articles, you almost always want to start with the headline as it is the most important part of the work.

Step 3: Include Visuals – Though including at least one image in your post is a good idea all of the time, it is especially crucial with posts you want to serve as link bait.

Step 4: Break the Post Apart – Carving the post up into bite-sized chunks not only makes the article easier to read and more skimmable, but also more visually appealing. As I discussed in my previous article, writing for the eye is crucial for getting content read as few will sit down and parse through a mass of gray text.

Step 5: Write Good Content – If you’ve done everything else, you have a good headline, a visual and a solid structure to your post. All you need to do now is fill in the blanks with good, useful information.

[ Source: Bloggingtips ]