1) I write a personal blog [0] whose posts I sometimes share here [1]. I write mainly to understand what I think and to have a "prepared statement" for conversations I am having with friends. If I develop a brand at some point, great, but it's not the point.
2) Looking at some blogs that routinely do well on HN (e.g. Dan Luu [2], Jake Seliger, [3] or Jeff Kaufman [4]), I don't see a lot of SEO-/algo-aware optimization. I see instead people who are writing persuasively about topics they're knowledgable about. Obviously that's easier said than done. But is there something you know a lot about where you have something burning to say?
3) Nate Silver, Matt Yglesias, and Noah Smith are all successful independent journalists who have written on blogging [5] [6] [7]. I'd probably start with those, but a common theme is they write a lot and they promote/talk shit on social media.
[0] https://setharielgreen.com/blog/
[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32911306
[2] https://hn.algolia.com/?q=https%3A%2F%2Fdanluu.com%2F
[3] https://hn.algolia.com/?query=https%3A%2F%2Fjakeseliger.com
[4] https://hn.algolia.com/?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jefftk.com%2F
[5] https://www.natesilver.net/p/always-be-blogging
[6] https://www.slowboring.com/p/how-to-get-slightly-better-at-t...
[7] https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/noah-smiths-writing-advice
I'd point to the blogs you like as good examples of "SEO/SMO-oriented blogging", and would point to this as the pinnacle
http://www.righto.com/2021/11/reverse-engineering-yamaha-dx7...
Funny, marketing types see that as hopelessly boring nerdcore that doesn't have any appeal but they're wrong because that article appeals to:
* people who like pretty pictures
* people who like Depeche Mode
* people who know how to string a few logic gates to blink an LED (e.g. it's appealing to somebody who knows about digital electronics from the beginning levels to the most advanced)
as well as others. Ken stared out blogging about very ordinary Arduino projects but he did it consistently and with heart and then discovered chip decapping and became the legend we know. That's the kind of blogging that will put you on top.
it helps to be smart and have credentials, which all those authors are/have
Definitely they're smart, but most of them just started writing and built up a following that way, and that became its own kind of credential.
Jeff Kaufman started writing in his freshman year of college (https://www.jefftk.com/p/webpage-up), Matt Y also started as a college student (https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2023/01/11/matt-ygl...). Dan Luu's linkedin tagline is just '???'.