Writting a blog doesn't have to be rocket science. Writing a blog is about sharing your experiences, the things you love, & a little about yourself. The beauty of a blog is that you don't have to follow any rules but there are a few things I've found that make some blogs a bit more successful than others. These things make posts appealing to readers, to search engines, and to other who want to share cool posts:
Key Word Title - I'm no SEO genius, but make sure your title is relevant & filled with relevant key words. Use precise descriptive words but there's no need for it to be 2 lines long. If it's a DIY, tell us. if it's a fall trend, tell us. If it's relevant, tell us! Not only will your reader know what you're post is about at a glance, Google will display exactly what you want it to if someone is searching for something you've posted theres a better chance of someone finding it.
Quality Pictures - There are many posts about this out there but you don't have to have a $1500 camera for good pictures. You just need good lighting & good composition. If you're posting a step by step tutorial, be sure to take detailed phots of the steps. Also, take a lot of photos. You're not limited by the 24-30 some odd shots of film now! Take as many pictures as your card can hold! Check out these posts for more tips: 5 Pictures you Should Take to Improve your Blog Photography, & iPhoneography Tips + Tricks, Phone Photos Becom Blog Worthy.
Connect with Audience - The best part about blogging is you get to be you! You get to share what you want to share, you get to say what you want to say, you get to take the advice in this post or you get to leave it! That's what's great about blogging - it's all you. You sharing your story. So don't try to be someone else, connect with the audience by being yourself. People want to know there's someone else out there that they can identify with. So show your personality & share your experiences. A great way to get interaction from readers is to ask a question. I always end my post with a question because first time commenters might be a little hesitant on what to say. For me, a question is also a good wrap up to a post!
Links to other posts - A great way to have readers move around your blog is to link to other posts you've written. For example, I've written on photography for your blog before so it was natural to link to those in this post. Don't feel forced to do it, not every post needs a million links, but if it's a topic you've touched on before or you have another relevant post go on & link it. That also goes along with connecting with the audience. They might want to know more on the topic & to keep them on your blog link around. There are also great add ons like Link Within to insert at the bottom of your posts. This will suggest other posts readers might be interested in. Linking shouldn't be forced but be a natural part of your post.
Length - Many poeple will tell you many different things. But length is relative. A post needs to be as long as you need it to be. It should be long enough to get your point across, however long that is! Some posts are only pictures, some posts are a paragraph, some posts are detailed reviews or tutorials.
Promote - The final part of your blog post is sharing it with others! You can do this manually by linking to Twitter or Facebook or use something I use: Networked Blogs. You can sign up, add your blogs, add your social media, and whenever a post goes live so will a tweet or facebook update. This is great because if you work there's an initial promotion of your post when you schedule it! Then you can go back & do a second promotion at the end of the day. You can also schedule tweets & facebook updates through Tweet Deck. If you're using blogger in draft you can grab the link the post will be at before your post goes live! Then you can schedule tweets about it through Tweet Deck! You'll look like a full time blogger but really you've done it all in advance.
So there you have it the anatomy of a blog post! Make your posts stand out with all the relative info & share it with those who care through social media.
xoxo, Moe
So there you have it the anatomy of a blog post! Make your posts stand out with all the relative info & share it with those who care through social media.
xoxo, Moe
