This morning I was blessed with a fabulous "AHA" moment. The moment came when brainstorming what it takes to get featured on ActiveRain. Those of you who are from the old school already know the formula, but I thought I would share personal insight for those that are still trying to figure out the feature formula.
The Magic Formula Of A Featured Post
Material
Layout
Length
Images
White Space
Material + Content- It doesn't happen overnight. Many of us weren't not born to blog and very few of us have a degree in journalism. How can you learn to write good material? It's called "practice", young grasshopper. You'll eventually 'get it'. The more you write the more your skills will improve but never compare yourself to other bloggers. We are all unique and with time, you will be "one" with your blog.
Layout- In the beginning, I had no idea how to blog. I am going to take a second to embarrass myself and show you one of my first blogs. Check Out One Of My First Blogs. Try not to laugh, now. Now, check out one of my recent blogs. See the difference? The more we blog, the more we grow and you'll be surprised how fast you can morph into a blogging ninja. Your blog design and layout are extremely important as this can make or break your success. You should focus on writing short paragraphs in addition to using images to break up your content and cut out any filler words. Try to stay away from using words that end in 'ly'; most of the time they are filler words that take up space with little value.
Length- I am still guilty of this. Blogs should be at least 500 words or less; any more than this and you will lose your readers. Check out this word counter, this allows you to count your words before you post. Sometimes our blogs must be long in order to explain a point or a technique, but try to keep it short and to the point.
Exposure- You will not reach the 'featured' status if readers have no idea you exist. Since the readers of ActiveRain are the ones who star a post, you must get out in the rain and get exposure. In order to get exposure, you must subscribe to other bloggers and take the time to get involved with conversation by leaving valuable comments. Most of the time, members will return the favor by checking our your blog and if you're lucky...they might even subscribe. So, in order to get exposure you must wiggle your way into the community, stay active, write quality content and tap dance in pink tights.
Good luck on your blogging journey and I'll see you in the rain.
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