There is no cardinal rule of how to blog. Blogging is about providing your ideas and information in an easy to interpret manner, with the goal of opening a new line of communication. With no specific rules, there are key elements that many successful bloggers pay attention to-
Some recommendations to writing blog entries-
Keep writing short, focused, informative, and easy to understand. The average person reads 200 words per minute. Keep articles to the point and under reasonable time limits. A typical entry should not exceed 250 words and you should reread anything over 500 to make sure you are not losing focus of the article.
Keep articles on target and use common language. Avoid using technical jargon that readers may not understand (if readers are familiar with industry jargon, go ahead and use it).
Keep articles limited to tight-knit points. Do not introduce too many ideas in one article. If a point exceeds too much definition, think about putting it into another article.
Share your ideas. Blogs attract people because they are written by people. Writing a blog allows you to not only share your professional expertise, but also your opinion, train of logic, sense of humour, and the things that make you “human”. If you have a gut feeling about a topic, allow that feeling to be expressed.
Link to other sites. When you are writing, link to pertinent sites that have information supporting your blog. If the information you are linking to is a blog itself, make sure to leave a comment or trackback on any relevant and recent articles.
Sell your headline. The first line of your article is going to sell your article. Spend a minute and think about it. Ask a question, make a statement, or give them a teaser to intrigue them.
Don’t forget visuals. Admit it, 99% of the human brain likes a little eye-candy. Make sure to use bullet lists to highlight items, to use bold and italic words to convey meaning, and to include images that add flavour to your blog entry.
Develop your brand. As a writer people will remember what you say. Try to remain consistent in both opinion and expertise. Readers are looking to establish a relationship with you and find it easier to do so when there are basic expectations that they can look forward to.
Use keywords. Your writing is automatically submitted to various online search engines in addition to your blog's search function. Think about what words and phrases you want to use in your writing, and make sure that you include the appropriate words in your headline and body text.
Before posting, edit. The best writer makes errors or accidentally puts the wrong phrase in. Read what you have written before clicking on the post button. It is often a good idea to save a post, drink a cup of coffee, and then come back to it fifteen minutes later to do your last editing step.
;)
;)
;)
