Entries Tagged 'blogging' ↓

After watching Pretty Woman for the umpteenth time the other day, one line hit me – in the scene where Julia Roberts struts her way over to Richard Gere’s car, her room mate Kit De Luca shouts: “Work it. Work it, baby. Work it. Work it. Own it.”

Well, that’s the only way you’re going to make a ripple in the pool of blogging – by working at your structure and presentation.

Writing a good bog isn’t just about having an idea and running with it. Of course, great ideas are important but so is how you execute them to produce informative, well written posts that people are going to want to read.

I’ve been blogging for several years now. Coming up with a fresh batch of ideas is tough, but inspiration can come from anywhere – films (like above), conversations, letters, images, experiences etc.

So what do you do when you’ve got an idea?

How to shape a great blog post

As I see it, there are five main steps you have to go through to create a great blog. It’s a system that works for me; this is how it goes:

1.    Title

The title of your post is really important. It has to grab the attention of your reader – if it doesn’t they aren’t going to bother wasting any time over it. The best titles are ones that are very specific. Tell them what your post is about.

2.    A great beginning

Many people think a blog is just about writing. I would disagree with that which is why all my posts are preceded by an image. Using an image that is related to your post in some way introduces an instant link in your reader’s mind. But not only that, the beginning of your post must grab them immediately.

You can either dive straight in or, like this post, begin with a personal experience. But if you do, make sure you also explain what it has to do with your subject matter.

As with any form of writing, the initial paragraph or two is what will make or break your post. Make it interesting and your reader will stay with you until the end.

3.    Importance first

Pick the most important aspect that you are talking about and tackle it first. Explain concepts simply to your reader using simple terms and sentence structures. If you bamboozle them with jargon they’ll lose interest and go.

If your subject has more than one point, repeat this stage again until all your points are covered.

4.    Tell them what to do

There’s no point in writing about a concept and then not telling them how they can put it into action. Give an example of how it can work for them. Take this post for example; if you’re still reading it you’re learning how you can utilise these techniques on your own blog.

5.    Summarise

At the end of your post tell them why the information they’ve just read is relevant to them. Explain that when they put your tips into practice they will enhance their lives.

So as you can see. Being careful about how you create your posts paying attention to the heading, images and initial paragraph will help you write informative and enjoyable blog posts that people will want to read.

If you are a follower of this blog, you’ll know I have been championing the art of blogging for quite some time now.

I have written numerous posts that extol the blog as a form of expression, a way of driving traffic to your websites as well hints and tips on how to blog and generate fresh ideas.

The content is obviously key to the readership you attract, but the look of your blog is also important.

Use a design that is over fussy and you’ll put people off. Loads of advertising can also be a turn off – so you have to be careful about the look you go for.

You can also use a number of plugins on  your blog to make it work harder for you. This blog post from Social Media Examiner identifies 24 Impressive Blog Plugins You Should Consider. Why not take a look and see which ones you want to add to your blog. They relate to the WordPress platform and illustrate how you can customise your blog to suit your needs perfectly.

Once you’ve taken a look at that, why not have a browse through these posts to help you make the most out of your blog:

Better Blogging

How Does Blogging Help My Traffic?

Get Your Business Blogging

What Do I Blog About?

Blog Your Way To a Traffic Jam

The Holy Grail of Blogging

Keep Your Blog Fresh

As a freelance copywriter, I have been blogging for several years now, so what I do has become second nature. But many of you are probably coming to blogging without any experience and find the whole concept daunting. To me, it is a simple and effective method you can use to promote your business, elevate yourself to expert status within your field and get the word out about what you do.

Last week I had lunch with one of my clients who was quizzing me about various aspects of social media marketing, including blogging. As I enthusiastically launched into a speech outlining all the major benefits that blogging brings, I could see he was drowning in information overload. So I thought the easiest way to explain how to blog effectively was to blog about it.

How to be an effective blogger

The key to blogging is to do it regularly. It’s like all social media, the more you do it, the more exposure you’ll get and the more you’ll get out of it. The optimium blogging frequency will differ depending on who you talk to. Some blog daily, some even multiple times per day. But to be successful, you have to find a frequency that works for you.

Personally, I post blogs three times a week (twice a week on my other blog). This fits in with the time I have available and provides regular content for my readers. Whatever you decide, stick to it. As you gather regular readers they will grow to expect your next ‘installment’ so don’t disappoint them.

To help me stay on course, I tend to blog ahead and schedule the posts. Therefore if I have a ‘quiet’ day I can write several posts, upload them and schedule them for publication – this can save a lot of time.

As you read this, the number of times you blog probably isn’t at the forefront of your mind right now. You’re probably thinking how on earth can you constantly generate new ideas? Well, we’ll look at that next.

Ideas factory

Coming up with new material can seem daunting when you’re first starting out. So here are some tips to make sure those ideas keep flowing:

• keep a pad on  your desk so when an idea comes to you, you can jot it down
• read other industry blogs and magazines to generate ideas
• comment on current affairs especially if you can tie them into your industry
• invite your readers to comment – you may get some spin off ideas from these
• write ‘how to articles’ and ‘top tips’ relating to what you do

Before you know it, you’ll have a stack of articles  ready to go.

What’s your purpose?

As you are writing, make sure you know why you are writing. Every post must be created with a purpose. You may be looking to promote something through your writing, perhaps you want to start a discussion, you might be after more business or perhaps you want to attract links.

Whatever it is, keep this in the forefront of your mind as you write.

Every post is valuable so make sure you make it work for you.

Giving something back

Don’t forget, if you want people to take time out of their busy day to read your posts, you have to give them something in return.

The information has to be of value to them. Plus, try to remain on topic. What do I mean? Well, this blog is all about copywriting tips, marketing tips, how to use social media marketing and copywriting SEO related issues. So when a post is published you, my readers, know roughly what genre it will be about. If you bombard your readers with random posts they probably won’t come back for more.

Make your blog an encyclopedia for your area of expertise.

Write simply and with love

The layout of your blog post is very important. It has to be attractive and not too heavy.

Begin with a catchy heading. It should be interesting enough to draw in your reader so arouse their curiosity. To help your SEO, get your keyword in there – so if you are writing about copywriting, try and get that into the heading if you can.

Next comes an image. You may not see that as important, but a good image will draw readers in. Use something playful, something that will pique their curiosity.

Then comes the hard part – writing an interesting and entertaining post. Make sure the body of your post is packed with useful information. You know the audience you are targeting and therefore you’ll know what they are looking for – so give to them in spades. Break up the copy with sub headings to make it easier to read. And finally don’t let it go out with a fizzle; invite comments or add in a call to action (depending on what the aim of your post is).

So that’s how I go about blogging. What do you do? Do you have any other ideas to help out the new bloggers on the block?

Blogging is a very powerful social media marketing tool.

It can help drive targeted traffic to your website as well as elevate you to expert status within your chosen field.

But if your blogging is to be effective, you have to keep it fresh.

The best way to achieve that, is to post regularly. In an ideal world that would mean daily posts, but for many (including me) that simply isn’t possible. But, it is vital that you decide how regularly you are going to up date and stick to it.

Your readers are creatures of habit and will get to expect the same frequency of posts from you. For example, I blog three times a week on Freelance Copywriters Blog. Therefore my regular readers know that on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday a new blog will appear. (I also blog twice a week on my main website – Briar Copywriting.)

This constant stream of fresh content is vital to:

• Keep you readers interested
• To keep the search engines interested

Keeping up momentum can be difficult – so here are 3 tips you can use to help you keep your blog fresh.

Specify a time

Once you’ve decided how often you’re going to blog, you need to make sure you set aside some time every week to ensure you produce the content.

The best way is to be very strict and allocate a couple of hours a day dedicated to research and blog writing. If daily writing isn’t possible for you, set a specific day or part of a day when you just blog. It won’t take long to get into the routine.

For me, my week days are pretty full-on keeping up with the copywriting work for my clients. Therefore I allocate a few hours on Sunday afternoon – normally when my son is at fencing club. So while he’s playing with swords (OK, foils) I’m sat in the leisure centre’s cafe with my laptop, writing.

Of course there will be times when life conspires against you and you can’t post. If this does happen it pays to get into the habit of posting up a short message telling your readership when the next post will appear. If you keep them informed, they are more likely to stay loyal.

Use publishing tools

As I mentioned above, I write my posts for the week on a Sunday. Therefore I use the publishing tools available to me on my blog to schedule my posts.

Therefore I can spend a few hours writing, upload them to my blog and set the date and time I want them published. Then I am free to crack on with my workload through the week knowing my pre-written posts will be published when I specified.

Guest bloggers

Using guest bloggers is another way to ensure regular content appears on your blog.

They can also add variety to your blog by introducing a new voice and perspective. Of course, you’ll want to ensure the subject matter is relevant to your readership.

The best way to see whether guest posts go down well with your readers is to check your analytics after each post. If it didn’t go down well, it may be best not to use that guest blogger again. After all they should enhance your blog not damage it.

Regular blogging will pay dividends, but it is hard work and time consuming. But by building your blogging time into your weekly schedule you’ll ensure fresh content is always available for your readers.

So you’re a blogger.

You may have been blogging for a while, or you may have just started out. Whether you are blogging for business or for pleasure, maintaining your blog is essential if you are to keep and build on your number of readers.

There are three main factors that can determine the success of your blog:

• The subject of your blog
• How your blog looks (it’s aesthetic layout)
• How you promote your blog

If you write about an obscure subject, you will limit your audience. But if you are writing about specific topic – for example, I use this blog to mainly talk about copywriting – try and stick to that area. For me, I write about being a copywriter, copywriting tips, marketing suggestions, social media and search engine optimisation. Basically, all these areas interrelate and so add value to my readers (I hope).

The look of your blog is also very important. Many people like things clean and simple. Over use of adverts and flashy images can be very off putting, so give careful consideration about how you want your blog to look.

Finally, don’t make the mistake of  thinking that if you post articles they will automatically get read. You have to promote your blog so people know it’s there – list it in blog directories, utilise the power of SEO, and use social media to spread the word.

How to maintain your blog

• The main key to maintaining your blog is to post regularly. As your readership grows, they will become used to you posting regularly. If they know you are going to generate regular, great content it will give them an incentive to return.

• Blogging is also about building a relationship with your readers. Over time they get to recognise your voice. When they come to your blog it will be like popping in to see an old friend. That type of bond can be very powerful and will retain readers.

• You also have to understand your audience. The best way to attract a wide readership is by concentrating on a niche. As I mentioned earlier, mine is on all things copywriting and marketing. My readers know that each post will give them some new information about this topic. By focusing on a specific area, your readers will come to see you as an authority in that field.

• Nothing ever stays the same forever, but if you want to make changes to the look and feel of your blog, make only small ones at a time. To your readers, your blog is like a comfortable pair of slippers. They know what they’ll get when they visit it. If you give it a major overhaul, it can be a shock. People don’t like change – so if you do want to revamp, just do a bit at a time and monitor each change to see what effect it has had.

Remember – post regularly, write for your audience, only make small changes at a time – follow those simple rules and you and your readers will enjoy a mutual blogging relationship for a long time to come.