Official blog of Clark's Blogging for Journalists class, Mass Communication department

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Blog writing tips

How is your blog writing?

Read and post one main bit of advice from each one that affects you. Today. Comment below.
http://www.problogger.net/how-to-write-great-blog-content/
http://weblogs.about.com/od/startingablog/tp/WritingBlogPeopleRead.htm
http://www.successfulblogging.com/16-rules-of-blog-writing-which-ones-are-you-breaking/
http://blogoscoped.com/archive/2006-10-11-n47.html

17 comments:

  1. The advice that I took from these links is that you have to make your blog scannable this is very important. You also need to be honest in the information your putting on the web so your viewers get in touch with your true feelings. Third, you need to make sure your header grabs your audience in and makes them want to read your blog. Lastly, don't make your blog stories super long. No body likes to read a long story :)

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  2. There are many things I took from these links. You have to make your content readable. Readers do not like reading material that is long and difficult. Also, it is important that your design and everything in between on your blog is all compatible. Readers may not come back because of it being too simple or either over the top. In addition, its always great to have a headline that grabs readers attention!

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  3. From problogger, I learned that it's important to keep your blog scannable. Since people these day do have such busy lifestyles, they want easy reading in their spare time. From weblogs, I learned that it's important to keep the tone you use on your blog relatable to your topic. At successfulblogging, an important piece of advice that I gained was that if your blog isn't easy to read, people will not come back to visit your page. From blogoscoped, they recommend writing in inverted pyramid style. I never thought about doing that before, so I'm going to start writing like that more often.

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  4. After reading these articles I've come to realize that it's not so much about what you write rather then how you write it. People like posts that are easy to read. That means having easy, short, flowing sentences so people don't feel like they're reading a text book on law. I also read that how the text literally looks has an affect on how people can read your blog.

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  5. I think the idea of having a guest writer can be really effective. It brings a fresh voice to your postings and can really generate new content and readers. Having a blogroll can really give a reader insight to who you are. It also can also be a form of networking when your blogrollers add you to their own blog. People skim things when they read on screen, so make your postings easier to skim. Shorter columns and paragraphs make this possible. Inverted pyramid writing makes your blog easy to read. It doesn't waste time with flowery writing because people really don't care as much as you think they do.

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  6. The blog links have many different tips on how to make your blog better and more readable. One tip i find very handy is the one about "eliminating the echo chamber" Sometimes i feel as though my blog just blends in. While posting quotes and hot topics in the media sometimes we lose originality. One helpful hint they gave was to post something original at least once a day.

    Also in the second link I found it handy that images can draw traffic to your blog. I like to use images often but now i must find a good website with free images to use or i must post my own!

    In the third link i learned that print and blog rules have similarities and also can vary.
    The headlines can be more drastic in a blog to draw attention. The columns should be semi narrow so it is easy to read.

    Lastly I learned you should write in inverted pyramid. It will make the reader want to continue reading your story and it gets out the most important messages first.

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  7. What I got from these posts was valuable information that I could use for my blog. I learned that being personable is more important than just communicating the point of the message and that's it. Having bold headers with a catchy phrase would most likely be read by someone versus a normal header with a bland message. I also learned that writing about something relevant to the public in general will most likely be read if you can put your own interesting twist on the blog. Using readable font is a very important factor when it comes to someone reading your blog or not.

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  8. I'm going to try to take the idea from Problogger about pre-writing and exploring ideas about what to write about before I write the post, and for sure before I post it. I've always been one to just write in one swoop and post it. And just write about whatever comes to mind, but I feel that I can really connect with an audience more if I have idea lists and try to keep them consistent about the type of content I write about.

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  9. The first piece of advice I found most helpful was about your blog being scannable. I tend to elaborate in my writing and fluff it out to sound good to the reader While this is good for english class it isn't for blogging. One look at a long post and readers are turned away from it.
    The second piece of advice that I liked was that the voice that you write in should be appropriate to the topic you are writing about. For example, when writing about taking women seriously in the world of sports you should probably have a more serious tone because it's something that you want people to not take for granted. On the other hand, writing about my experiences as a 6 year-old soccer player could be written a little bit more lightly and humorously.
    The next thing is a continuing trend that I have seen in these articles and that your blogs content not only needs to be effective and tailored but it needs to be visually appealing! Use lists, pictures, bolded letters, and things that draw people in to want to read your writing. Making it easy to navigate draws in a broader audience and more interest in following your blog each week.
    Finally, it is important to not just focus on how pretty your blog looks on a screen and how funny your pictures are but to also take your writing seriously. Both parts are important! Your writing should be concise, up-to-date, and edited for grammar and spelling. People are going to base your credibility off of how well you can write and how educated that you sound. It is very well-known that some employers will look at your social medias and blogs are included. You wouldn't want to seem anything other than professional to someone that may want to hire you.

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  10. Problogger: Marinating Blog Posts "Jot it, Review it, Let it Develop, Post" I tend to start posts and then slowly edit them until I am happy with them before I post. This advice makes me feel less rushed and as though I am moving in the right direction.
    Weblogs: "...your blog should be written in a tone appropriate to your blog topic." Write in a way that reflects the tone of your topics. I still need to work on my blog's "voice," but I feel like I can have a light, comedic tone seeing as I'm reviews movies and television, especially since some are comedies.
    Successfulblogging: 'Long narrow newspaper columns mean your eye can easily jump from the end of one line to the beginning of the next without losing its place." Constrain posts so they are easier to read! This could also go along with adding visuals. When putting pictures in posts, the writing is constrained to a smaller area if it is put within the text. This page gave me the most advice to work with.
    Blogoscoped: "Use lists, images, tables, sub-headlines, examples, indented notes, indented quotes, icons, colors, bold and italics to lighten up your article..." Use variety to make reading simpler, more entertaining, and more visual.

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  11. The first post advice I took was to write engaging material so that readers will enjoy your blog. The main idea is that you need to be able to write post that keep your readers entertained. If your readers are entertained then they will return to your blog numerous times.
    The second piece of advice I took was that you need to write over a topic that you are passionate about. Readers can tell how you feel about a topic by the techniques you use to write. Readers will more likely come back to your blog if your topic is interesting and passionate.
    The third piece of advice was to make sure your blog is easy to read. Try not to make your blog post long because readers can be scared of that. Make your topics readable as well. Readers will come back more if your blog is easy to read.
    Finally, make sure your title is able to show your readers what they are going to be reading about. More readers will read your post if they know what they are going to be reading about. Your title is basically selling your post. The main idea is to bring back readers to your blog numerous times.

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  12. From this www.problogger.net, I’m learning to take time and be patient when writing a blog. I also like the “first impressions matter” line when describing the opening line. I also like the depth question segment so that you can get more specific with each post. The third part I like is the segment about timing because you never know when the most people are on at once so it’s really important.

    From www.weblogs.about.com, I like the idea of a blogroll so that people have easier access to knowing your interests or other sites that you’re describing in your blog. They seem to attract viewers as well, so the audience would grow for the blog.

    On www.successfulblogging.com, keeping the posts short and sweet matters as far as people skimming when they read in general. You want the audience to be able to get the point, even through skimming. Certain layouts can make someone get lost in the post, so having narrow columns would be better for the person reading.

    On www.blogoscoped.com, I like using the inverted pyramid style for the outline so that the audience can automatically see whether to keep reading or not. I also like the part of re-introducing the core ideas so readers don’t forget or get confused by what it is they’re reading.

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  13. The greatest piece of advice I took from these links was to be personable. To make sure what i post is interesting, and fun to read, but not just ramblings. Keeping your voice in your writing is important and that is something I need to remember!

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  14. After reading through all these articles I came away with several ways I learned about that can enhance my blog. I learned it is always a good idea to give credit to your sources just mention them and post the link with it. I also learned that you should update your posts and change them if necessary but to let readers know you did so. I think some good advice is to keep your paragraphs short because people read differently online and it makes tings easier to read if your text is split into paragraphs. Some more advice is to effectively use white space you don’t want to much because then things look empty but you don’t want to little because then things look busy, so it is important to have a good use of white space. Its also good advice to add images it helps break up the text and people like to look at them, they can really add to your posts.

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  15. The advice I got from the first link was how long a blog post should be. I was worried my last blog was too long but after reading the link I realized it was fine.

    In the second link I learned people want to read blogs they feel are honest and let you get to know the author.

    I found in the third link you can make a reader interested in your blog by the images you choose to upload.

    The fourth link helped me realize not to put too many "sophisticated" words in my blogs. People don't want to have to look up a word to understand what I'm trying to say. I can use simple words to get my point across.

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  16. How to write Great Blog Content I got from this Motivation how to keep your blog moving forward.

    How to write a Blog People want to read I got from this the most imprtant part of any blog is what you have to say and how you say it.

    16 Rules of Blog Written and layout. Which ones are You Breaking? What I got from this one is format the blog post so they're easy to read.

    Good Blog Writing Style what I got from this the first and second sentence should allow people to decide if they want to continue reading the blog.

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  17. On blogscoped I like the comment about language.I know that Hickman tells us to write at about 5th grade level and I personally try to stay at about an 8th grade level. Using words that are common knowledge is your best bet. This way the reader can understand what you are saying and are more likely to come back again.

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