Starting a blog can seem like a daunting task. Lots of writing / proofreading / editing, keeping up with the development. Writing about something you can really pour about. These things keep many from blogging when its really fairly easy. Here's a few tips to help you get your blog going.
1. Write about something you are passionate about.
If you do this, you will never be bored of your topic. When you are passionate about your topic some other things occur as well. You'll take your writing more seriously for one, and your passion will be noticed by other readers and make your blog more attractive to them. Nobody wants to read something you didn't want to write in the first place.
2. Use your own perspective.
There are a million other people on the Internet likely writing about a topic that is similar to yours. What makes your writing interesting and unique? Gone are the days of reserved view, people want to hear it all, and from the way you see it. Show people your view of the world, they will tune in for your weekly broadcast if you do this.
3. Write how you speak.
Some people put on air's or try to write formally as thou they are addressing the Queen. Thee's and thou's? Nobody speaks that way anymore. Neither do you matter of fact, Write how you would tell your friend a story, write like you would talk to you mom. Write how you really are.
4. Deliver when you say you will.
If your going to blog every Thursday, then blog every Thursday. Your readers will be waiting. If you leave them hanging they will leave you as well.
5. Keyword Rich Content
Well lets be honest, you want people to read your blog. Its likely one of the reasons of why you are writing it. So, saturate your blog with words that will attract attention to what you are blogging about. Think of it this way, someone is going to search for whatever topic they are into and you want them to find your blog, which is about what they are looking for. If you don't conform your blog to how people search and how search engines work then nobody will find you.
6. Proofread / Edit / Spellcheck
Writing can be like spilling your guts. You don't necessarily want to say all the things your saying, or want to say things the way you may initially say them. The beauty of a blog is the fact that you can rewrite your message as much as you want, AND THEN DELIVER. This way you can carefully manage what you want to say.
7. Keep it simple
If your writing a technical blog you would want people to understand the message your trying to share. If it is too cumbersome, they are likely to search out alternatives.
Follow these concepts and you will be on your way to a well written structured blog, one that likely attracts millions of followers (if that is what you are after)
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Thursday, April 12, 2012
How To : The How To
Sometimes fellow Bloggers you may want to write a "How To" Guide to offer your readers a way to do something that you want to teach them how to do. After evaluating the blog on howtotheweb.blogspot.com that has a recent post on how to make a post on Blogger, I offer some "tricks of the trade" that may make this post offer information a bit better. Here are some examples.
Firstly, a picture when used in a "How To" needs to be clearly visible in a scan, the user won't want to click the picture for a larger image. Keep this in mind when inserting images.
This image is now large enough for the viewer to scan easily. Another thing to consider when using images is marking the image in some fashion so you can indicate to the user what part of the image they should be focusing on.
A Circle like the one above will draw your users attention to what portion of your image you wish them to focus on. Using these tricks will aid your users with scanning your material, and while looking back and forth from what they are doing to the instructions you are giving them.
To Sum up...
Firstly, a picture when used in a "How To" needs to be clearly visible in a scan, the user won't want to click the picture for a larger image. Keep this in mind when inserting images.
This image is now large enough for the viewer to scan easily. Another thing to consider when using images is marking the image in some fashion so you can indicate to the user what part of the image they should be focusing on.
A Circle like the one above will draw your users attention to what portion of your image you wish them to focus on. Using these tricks will aid your users with scanning your material, and while looking back and forth from what they are doing to the instructions you are giving them.
To Sum up...
- Make your images large enough for the user to scan.
- Highlight the Images to attract your viewers where to look.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
The Inverted Pyramid : Method of Blogcrafting
The inverted pyramid as pictured below is a style of writing that makes your information quickly scannable and attention grabbing to attract an audience. A clear presentation of information easy to scan is what your readers truly want.
Bottom Line Up Front : Give them what they want
In this format you readers are much more likely to stay at your blog and read your posts. Well organized information can lead to stronger traffic and a larger fan base of readers.
Editing Your Point : A work in progress
I find that getting the style of writing difficult in doing the first time around so I'm often writing the same paragraph over and over trying to get my point across in several different ways.
Here are a few sample paragraphs that i wrote for this very article trying to edit it to deliver its message well. I also find that it's helpful to say what you are writing out loud while you are trying to write it, this will give your sentence structure a more natural feel.
The Inverted Pyramid
This style of writing differs much from books as such. A book will lay groundwork early on for long term plot development, describe the scene, introduce the characters, set the stage for the action to occur. This method however wont snag your readers on the Internet, if they wanted to read a book there are millions to choose from. They "the users" came to your website, through some link in a search engine to gain information. So information delivery should be the primary drive of your post. If you give the reader they want faster they are likely to stay longer and possibly look at the rest of your articles.
The Inverted pyramid
The bottom line of whatever your trying to tell your readers goes here. Its that simple. When trying to understand this point consider how people are viewing the Internet. When you are looking for something (the main reason to go to the Internet) you want to find it, and well, NOW! knowing that people think that way is part of how to structure an article so they can know they have found what they are looking for immediately.
The Inverted Pyramid
Just the Facts sir, just the facts. Your readers want the information.
The Inverted Pyramid
A clear presentation of information easy to scan is what your readers truly want. A few seconds, its all you have to attract a readers attention. The concept of the inverted pyramid is a device used for writing that tells the reader up front what they are about to read. After you have attracted the readers attention with facts.
The Inverted Pyramid
I agree its feels counter intuitive to put the punchline of a joke before you tell it. Or climax your story before you've gotten to know for the characters, however writing for the Internet isn't about suspense. Its about delivering information to your readers in the quickest way possible.
The Inverted Pyramid
And THAT'S what SHE SAID! It may seem strange to put the punch line of a joke at the beginning, but that is how it works with the Inverted Pyramid. Your readers, they will want to know the Information they seek within their first few seconds of scanning. The best way to handle this of course is to anticipate it.
Remember to deliver the message as effectively as possible so your reader gets what they are seeking. Fresh information for the viewer is just a button push away.
The inverted pyramid as pictured below is a style of writing that makes your information quickly scannable and attention grabbing to attract an audience. A clear presentation of information easy to scan is what your readers truly want.
Bottom Line Up Front : Give them what they want
- Red represents the most important facts about your article, sums up the point lists the most important facts.
- Orange represents the supporting facts for the information you are attempting to share.
- Yellow represents the extra tidbits of information you would like your audience to know.
In this format you readers are much more likely to stay at your blog and read your posts. Well organized information can lead to stronger traffic and a larger fan base of readers.
Editing Your Point : A work in progress
I find that getting the style of writing difficult in doing the first time around so I'm often writing the same paragraph over and over trying to get my point across in several different ways.
Here are a few sample paragraphs that i wrote for this very article trying to edit it to deliver its message well. I also find that it's helpful to say what you are writing out loud while you are trying to write it, this will give your sentence structure a more natural feel.
The Inverted Pyramid
This style of writing differs much from books as such. A book will lay groundwork early on for long term plot development, describe the scene, introduce the characters, set the stage for the action to occur. This method however wont snag your readers on the Internet, if they wanted to read a book there are millions to choose from. They "the users" came to your website, through some link in a search engine to gain information. So information delivery should be the primary drive of your post. If you give the reader they want faster they are likely to stay longer and possibly look at the rest of your articles.
The Inverted pyramid
The bottom line of whatever your trying to tell your readers goes here. Its that simple. When trying to understand this point consider how people are viewing the Internet. When you are looking for something (the main reason to go to the Internet) you want to find it, and well, NOW! knowing that people think that way is part of how to structure an article so they can know they have found what they are looking for immediately.
The Inverted Pyramid
Just the Facts sir, just the facts. Your readers want the information.
The Inverted Pyramid
A clear presentation of information easy to scan is what your readers truly want. A few seconds, its all you have to attract a readers attention. The concept of the inverted pyramid is a device used for writing that tells the reader up front what they are about to read. After you have attracted the readers attention with facts.
The Inverted Pyramid
I agree its feels counter intuitive to put the punchline of a joke before you tell it. Or climax your story before you've gotten to know for the characters, however writing for the Internet isn't about suspense. Its about delivering information to your readers in the quickest way possible.
The Inverted Pyramid
And THAT'S what SHE SAID! It may seem strange to put the punch line of a joke at the beginning, but that is how it works with the Inverted Pyramid. Your readers, they will want to know the Information they seek within their first few seconds of scanning. The best way to handle this of course is to anticipate it.
Remember to deliver the message as effectively as possible so your reader gets what they are seeking. Fresh information for the viewer is just a button push away.
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