It’s been a week of reflection and thinking about being better about blogging for me.
I’m going to finish it off thinking about individual blog posts after reading this post.
From the post, here are the 11 tips and my thoughts as they apply to me.
- Be Useful – if your post isn’t informing, inspiring, entertaining or making someone’s life better – don’t publish it until it does.
- That’s great advice. I actually always have a “person” or two in mind as I write posts. It helps me focus. That may make the post not applicable for all but I like to think it’s good for some.
- Share your Opinion – opinions are often what sets bloggers apart from the pack.
- Oh yeah. @dougpete always has an opinion. If I’m wrong, let me know. I’ll get back to you with how you’re wrong about thinking me wrong!
- Cut out the Fluff – before you hit publish, revise your post and remove anything that doesn’t add value.
- I don’t do this very well. I find that my writing is generally conversational in nature and that each sentence leads to the next. Perhaps a rethink of approach is necessary.
- Visualise Your Reader – writing with a reader in mind personalises your writing.
- Absolutely. This is what makes my world go round.
- Make Your Posts Scannable – only 16% of people read every word online. Format your posts so that your main points stand out.
- This is good advice. I actually learned this by analysing the posts that I enjoy. A big long involved post, over multiple pages, and with all kinds of references seldom sees me engaged by the end of the post.
- Work and Rework You Headlines – a good headline can be the difference between a blog post being read, or ignored.
- This is another area that I need to work on. I’ll start with a working title and then write the post. At the conclusion, I’ll re-read the post and then see if the headline makes sense. I think I need to work this better to get better results.
- Write with Passion – when you show you care about what you’re writing, your readers are more likely to care too.
- I do this as well as I can.
- Give your Readers something to do Next – ask your readers to DO something once they finish reading. It could be to read something else, comment, apply a lesson, share the post etc.
- I seldom do this. At times, I do as people to comment. This is good advice; more of a “call to action” for the readers. I do need to do this better.
- Tell Stories – stories are powerful ways of connecting with, inspiring and teaching your readers – they also create memories
- I never used to do this but have tried to do it in my recent writing. I think it helps put context to what I’m writing and gives people reading the raison d’être for the post
- Give Your Posts Visual Appeal – the inclusion of an eye-catching image or a well designed diagram can take your post to the next level.
- I don’t find that I do this all the time. Even writing this post, I’m wondering what kind of image or diagram would fit. I’m drawing a blank here – so no image.
- Practise – the best way to improve your writing is to write. Practise Makes Perfect.
- This was good advice in English and Language classes and it remains excellent advice. I know that not all of my posts hit it out of the park. That’s where analytics come to play and make it helpful. I am appreciative of the daily visitors who come hoping that I’ve got something good for them. I wonder what the good/bad ratio would be.
This was another good exercise to do for me. Thank you Darren Rowse for the original post. As I look at his post and, in particular, the amount of reader interaction that he commands, I’m impressed. He’s obviously got it right – can I get better?
Related articles
- Successful Blogging (dougpete.wordpress.com)
- 11 Quick Tips for Writing Compelling Posts On Your Blog (problogger.net)
- What’s in a Blog Post, Anyway? (collincomptwo.wordpress.com)
- The Blog Editorial Calendar: Taking Your Client’s Blog From Blah to Incredible (business2community.com)
doug -- off the record 
Please share your thoughts here. I’d enjoy reading them.