I randomly check out a variety of different posts per day when I can, not just my subscriptions to see if 
there is something vital I am missing as far as great info, examples, blogs, whatever. I come across a lot of "light bulb" thoughts or ideas but it's hard to see the point of the blog when our shallow, visual mind is not captivated by the framework of the blog.
Many are very new to blogging and as I once was, and we all must take that time to get our feet wet and learn how to continually construct a well-laid out blog. ActiveRain, WordPress, Blogspot and so many others give many options for customizing your blog or adding pictures but so many bloggers don't utilize those options. Getting your idea or point across in mere words may be fine, but we love to have our minds and eyes visually stimulated so we want to read more.
A solid block of words clumped together immediately relays "confusion, clutter and lack of focus for our eyes".
Breaking words, thoughts and ideas up into paragraphs is elementary of course but much easier to do when writing with a pen and paper instead of in a blogging platform. But the format and reason is the same. It gives our eyes a moment to adjust, focus and retain the previous thought.
Pictures relay much of what our actual emotion was when writing the piece. It gives us a visual in our peripheral to go along with the text we are reading. It helps break up the thoughts as we look to the picture and back to the text again.
Bolding certain words or phrases also helps hammer home an idea or thought. It can start out a paragraph or be used for SEO purposes. Many times I don't have much time to read any more than those bullet points or paragraph starters (whatever... you do it too!) and by giving your reader the best points in bold you can at least convey your message.
What about the way you write? Are you YELLING at your reader by putting half of the text in CAPS? Do your sentences even make sense? Are there run-on's and major grammatical errors that make the reader go back and read the same sentence again just to try and get your point? The best way to avoid this is to read your blog out loud. Even if you are in your office with people around, mouth the words as if you were reading them and you may see many errors in the way you put your sentences together.
Have you written in a way that anyone can understand you? If you're an inspector, have you discussed issues that any Joe Blow would get or if you are an SEO professional, written so far above the normal person's level that your blog is useless? Remember who your audience is and write for your readers.
In ActiveRain, you do have the option of a custom header and background which shrink the blog to a more manageable size in my opinion. Sometimes a full page of words can seem overwhelming and many times a reader won't finish the article.
So the "take-away" from this post:
- Break up the thoughts ideas into small paragraphs
- Add graphics to break up the text and give as many visuals as needed
- Don't talk over people's heads - remember your audience
- Read your blog out loud before posting.
Here are some excellent examples of well written articles from my associates:
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