Blogging Suggestions

SUGGESTED GUIDELINES FOR BLOG WRITERS 

• Be yourself.

• You have ideas, and people are reading because they’re interested. So be you.

• Write less. Don’t write any more than is necessary to make your point.

• This has nothing to do with whether or not long posts are good. People are just unlikely to read them, good or not.

• Vocabulary affects visibility; so usually it’s good to write with words that people are likely to search when they are interested in your topic. Using the most normal word, especially in your title, even if it is less interesting, will help more people find your post when they’re searching.

• Write with the reader in mind. Remember WIIFM? It’s marketing jargon for What’s In It For Me? That’s what you should be keeping in mind. Your reader will read your post looking for what’s in it for them.

• Make it valuable and worthwhile. Don’t waste people’s time. If you don’t have anything to say, no problem, plenty other people do. So share their articles, do an interview, review a book.

• Proof-read for typos and glaring grammatical errors. You wouldn’t go out of the house with dirty hair or missing a sock, so why would you publish spelling mistakes? Respect your readers by polishing up your stuff.

• Keep it short and simple,. Most people are scanners. You may have a lot to say and think it interesting, and it may be. But people are reading online and out of time. Get to the point quickly. Publishing short posts more frequently is a better format than publishing lengthy articles every few weeks.

• Keep it lively, make it snappy and snazzy. Even if you aren’t a natural born writer, you can write for your blog. Just write like you’re speaking to your friend…or to yourself! Remember though, get to the point quickly. Keep in mind the journalist’s rule of 5 W’s in the first paragraph: who, what, why, when and where.

• Link often Use keywords often

• Write clearly (short sentences, only one concept per sentence). No double speak or jargon; no more than one idea in one sentence- don’t make your readers have to think about your meaning. Spoon feed them. Use commas and dashes liberally.

• Allow exceptions. Guidelines are not commandments. Break these as necessary—but do it on purpose.
• Make sure you give credit and links back to any quotes you feature by other writers, photo credits when applicable and/ or acknowledge links for art that inspires you.