by Edie Melson @EdieMelson
My ABCs of Blogging.
A is for Accountability: If we want people to read our blog regularly, our readers should be able to expect us to post regularly.
B is for Basics: Whatever you’re doing, make it excellent. That means take time to check for typos and readability, in your posts. Also be sure you’re using giving accurate links. There’s nothing more frustrating than clicking on a link that takes you nowhere.
C is for Connections: Think of your blog as a place where your audience can drop by and have a metaphorical cup of coffee with you. It’s a place for you to connect with on a deeper level. Answer comments and join the conversation. Blogging is not a synonym for lecturing.
D is for Discipline: When you begin a blog, you make a commitment to your audience. You want them to show up regularly and they expect the same for you. They won’t expect perfection—after all life happens to all of us—but they will expect discipline from you.
E is for Energy: Make sure your posts are full of energy. Use active verbs, vibrant descriptions and always end with a call to action. The action could be as simple as joining the conversation or as challenging as changing the world.
F is for Focus: You cannot be everything to everybody. Pick a focus for your site, but don’t be afraid to refine it based on what you hear from your audience.
G is for Google: Do your homework and know what it takes to rank high in the search engines. This means you need to know about SEO (SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION), as well as HOW TO LABEL AND TAG YOUR BLOG CORRECTLY. And always remember it isn’t content that’s king, it’s GOOD content that rules.
H is for Hearing: Pay close attention to the comments your audience leaves. You’ll find great ideas for future blogs, as well as find out what your audience is interested in. Also keep tabs on your analytics. Knowing which posts are your most popular will go a long way to helping you determine the focus for you blog.
I is for Image: There’s a reason behind the saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Use images to illustrate every post and to break up the text so it’s easier to read.
J is for Jump Break: This little tool can help your blog load faster and your email notifications run smoother. Not sure what I’m talking about? Here’s a post I wrote that give you EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT JUMP BREAKS.
K is for Keeping On: Building an audience for your blog takes time . . . and diligence. Don’t give up too soon. Here’s WHAT TO REASONABLY EXPECT FOR BLOG GROWTH.
L is for Links: Social Media Links, that is. If someone takes time to visit your blog, make sure they can connect with you on social media as well. Have all your social media links in an easy to see place on your blog header or sidebar.
M is for Mobile: Make sure your blog is easy to read on a mobile device and/or tablet. This isn’t just about how it looks, but also the length of posts, size of the text, etc.
N is for Numbers: Remember your worth—and your blog’s worth— is NOT determined by the number of people who visit.
O is for Opportunity: Your blog will provide you with wonderful opportunities you could never imagine.
P is for Passion: You may be able to write about something you’re not passionate about for a month or two. But after that, I guarantee you’ll be miserable. So pick something you’re passionate about as a focus for your site.
Q is for Question: Always end your post with a question (or at least a call to action) to help get the conversation started.
R is for Reputation: In this business (publishing and blogging) reputation is everything. Develop a reputation for excellence and you’ll never lack for work—or for an audience!
S is for Subscribers: Make sure you have a way for people to subscribe to your blog through email and through RSS.
T is for Titles: Don’t neglect the titles you choose for your blog posts. Social media is a no man’s land without context. A good rule is to look at your title and ask if someone would know what your post was about just by reading the title.
U is for Understand: Take time to understand the culture of the online universe. This includes etiquette, as well as expectations.
V is for Value: Give your audience something of value every single time you post. No one has time to waste and your audience is no exception.
W is for Weight: Don’t overload any part of your blog. Keep your sidebars trim and uncluttered. Don’t have too many links within a blog post. The ideal is no more than two to three per 500 words. If you encourage people to click away more than a couple of times, statistics prove they won’t come back. But most of all, don’t weigh down your posts with unnecessary words. Wordiness is never a good thing for a writer, but it’s absolute death to a blogger.
X is for Examine: I try to evaluate my blog two to three times a year. I take a look at my most popular posts, as well as the ones that garnered the most comments. I also try to look at it like a first-time visitor would. Is it easy to navigate? Do the page tab titles make sense? Are my social media links all working correctly.
Y is for Yellow: Not as in cowardly, but the color yellow. Avoid it when you blog. It’s the most unpopular color for use on a blog. It’s also the hardest to see and has the largest variation over devices.
Z is for Zoom In: When you pick a topic for a blog post, zoom in. Don’t try to cover too much at once. Stay laser-focused. Beyond that, zoom in on your word count. Blog posts are almost always shorter than print articles. It’s the nature of the medium.
These are my top tips. I’d love to hear some of yours! Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
Don’t forget to join the conversation!
Blessings,
Edie
TWEETABLE
Edie, I think S = sharing the load with other good contributors the way this blog does is important as a strategy for building each contributor's followers. You provide us daily with interesting, focused, and on-point topics written by a very diverse group of accomplished contributors with different styles, experiences, and voices. We readers take away something fresh and new or are reminded of something important that we know but haven't used or considered in a while. You just gave us 26 tips packaged creatively inside our alphabet, then asked for others. There's at least one nugget of good information in there for all writers whether we're bloggers or (like me) not one. Our guild has over 50 active writers, and we urge every new member to start their day with The Write Conversation.
ReplyDeleteWonderful post. And all great advice. Thank you for sharing.
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