As tempting as it is to start a blog, there is a lot
more to it than meets the novice's eye. All that
smooth, easy-to-read, and interesting writing that
you've come to admire from your favorite
bloggers doesn't just appear randomly or without
a certain amount of sweat and a great deal of
revision!
Steps
Things You'll Need
Tips and Warnings
1
Be original. More than anything else, what
really matters about your blog is that it
represents you and is genuinely unique. While
you still need to attune your messaging to what
people want to read, whatever you write must
be infused with your unique take and style.
Discard any notions that it's alright to harvest a
bunch of news stories and drop them straight
into your blog; nobody will want to read that
when they've probably already read them
somewhere else. Instead, take those news
stories and add your angle to them – give people
your opinion on the news story, providing your
conclusions about the consequences or moral
involved.
2
Don't copy. Directly related to being original is
the issue of not copying. Don't assume that no-
one will recognize "borrowed" material; they will
without doubt. And think of it the other way
around – would you want someone "borrowing"
your hard efforts? It's common courtesy (and
the law), to tell your readers where you got your
information from. Blog readers are both
discerning and widely read; they'll spot a copied
story a mile off and won't appreciate it. Although
it can seem very tempting when you're starting
out to use the words of others, resist doing so
and persist with writing original content. Start
small and get into a rhythm; over time, it'll get
easier.
Being original with your content increases
your reader's trust in you. Your readers will
soon grow to know, appreciate, and expect
your writing style.
Cite your material. Not only is this decent
morally but it also takes care of potential
copyright problems - if you want to copy, do
so by using quotes or paraphrasing with the
referencing made very clear. Another benefit
of referencing is that it enables readers to
visit your sources and learn more for
themselves, something that many blog
readers appreciate and expect.
3
Understand the legal issues surrounding
blogs . Even if you're not a lawyer or a journalist,
it's vital to understand how you might
accidentally walk into a legal minefield if you
make certain errors. The basics of main
importance to grasp include copyright,
trademarks, defamation, and illegality.
Another potential minefield is trusting one
research source without backing it up with
another one - basically, adding hearsay upon
hearsay. If you're not sure, keep researching
to have several sources boosting your
assertions.
Check out the Electronic Foundation Frontier
for good layperson's legal information on
blogging.[1]
4
Do some research about blogging. If you're
absolutely serious about becoming a good
blogger, it's important to learn from bloggers
who have already trodden this turf well and
worked out what does, and does not work. If
you're targeting people other than your very
forgiving family and friends, knowing what other
bloggers have done is vital. Read what the best
bloggers have to say about their experiences of
blogging and their advice to new bloggers.
Some good bloggers to check out include:
Heather Allard, Darren Rowse, Chris Garrett,
Corvida Raven, Tim Ferriss, Leo Babauta,
Jessica Faye Carter, Dan Zarella, Seth Godin,
Chris Brogan, Meryl K. Evans, Men With Pens,
etc. There are plenty more great bloggers out
there but this should be a good start for you!
[2]
News blogs are also good to learn from. News
blogs such as The Huffington Post, etc., take
news stories and provide their opinions on
the story. You'll need to discern for yourself
the political and other agendas behind each
blog. Sometimes the best blog is one that
aims to be neutral or seeks to reflect both
sides of the spectrum - look around before
deciding how you'll approach your own
blogging.
Do a search for "Top Blog Posts", or "Top
Blogs on Cars/Dogs/Babies/Skiing", "Top
women/men bloggers", etc. Whatever your
interest, there will be someone blogging on it
already. You can also search for fields such as
"Top mommy bloggers", "Top daddy
bloggers", "Top celebrity bloggers", "Top
farming bloggers", etc., to see who readers
are voting as the best in their genre.
Note that some bloggers are more willing to
discuss their craft than others; keep an eye
out for the bloggers who take the time to
share blogging advice. Where possible, look
for blogs that give advice without trying to
sell you all the answers (it happens even with
the best, so be prepared to cherry-pick and
cobble together your advice tidbits!).
Whether or not advice is offered, at least
learn from reading the popular blogger's
writing styles to work out what keeps them
connecting with readers.
5
Consider your writing style. If you're used to
writing in a technical, academic, or formal way,
blog writing might come as a bit of a shock. Blog
writing style tends to be more conversational,
peppered with a lot of your own opinion
(however outrageous!), and above all, it needs
to be interesting. The writing style best suited
for you will come down to the content of your
blog and its likely readership. Clearly, a blog that
is more technical in nature can carry more
technical writing but even then, your readers
will want you to break down the latest techno-
whizz gadget to terms that they can understand
and digest quickly.
Be careful to avoid preaching at your readers.
For many blogs, readers are looking for you to
meet with them eye-to-eye, not to sermonize,
scold, or seem superior to them. Treat them
as equals. Expect to be humble, and to share
foibles that each of us experiences in daily
life. A sense of humor and humility are always
important for a good blogger.
Political blogs can easily become bogged
down in angry rants or intolerant tirades if
you wear your heart on sleeve without
involving your head. Seek to maintain a
serious tone in such blogs without resorting
to name-calling and deprecating comments.
Be very careful when cursing. If your blog fits
cursing and the occasional "eff" word makes
great sense in the context, then fine, go
ahead and use it. But a blog peppered with
abusive commentary and little else than
cursing will put readers off. Letting off steam
is one thing, being a swear-o-holic is quite
another. And cursing all of a sudden when
you've never done so before will lose some of
your readership.
6
Think about your blog's layout carefully. Do
a lot of research on this to find what works best.
Use the lessons others have already learned;
some key things to get you started include:
Genre: Generally it pays to stick to one genre
per blog if you're an individual. For example,
unless you have an amazing knack, readers
are less enthused by a blog that combines
political opinions, recipes, an examination of
existential angst literature, your latest movie
reviews, and how to sew clothes for kids all in
the one blog. The exception is for
instructional sites that put themselves out
into the blogosphere with a cadre of writers
writing across different fields. If you want to
spread yourself more broadly, there are two
avenues - either have a variety of blogs if you
have the time to maintain them, or dedicate
one blog to the "self-introspective" stuff for a
hobby and maintain another serious single
genre or topic blog separately, with an eye to
making it popular with readers.
Length of posts: There is no hard and fast
rule because it depends on the content, the
quality, the message, and the audience.
Certainly, a lot has been written about brevity
being important but so is getting the full
picture where this is warranted. Keeping in
mind that most online readers have fleeting
attention spans, judge length by how your
readers respond, the utility of your
information, and the subject matter. Consider
mixing up lengths of posts, to give readers a
break in between the more lengthy and
"erudite" ones!
Layout: Headers are useful; subheadings help
break up large topics and pictures and give
the eyes a rest. Block quotes can work well,
and leaving space allows the reader to feel
relaxed, not rushed or overwhelmed. Try to
use short paragraphs, no matter the length
of the post. Use bolding to draw out
important points and to capture the attention
of the reader (bolding also interests the
search engine but that's another matter).
Frequency: Too few posts and people will
think you've wandered off; and so too will
they. Too many and you'll wear readers out –
remember that they have other things to
read and do! Reader and writer burnout is a
real issue when you over-post, so think
through carefully what works best for you.
Keep in mind the reality that search engines
like a good frequency of regular posts.
Editing: Check your spelling and your
grammar. Never underestimate the
importance of this. Your expertise in the blog
content won't shine if your spelling is
questionable.
Revise, revise, revise: Cut it out if in doubt
and say it with less. The polishing aspect can
sometimes take longer than the original
write-up but it's worth the effort to ensure
that your readers remain captivated.
7
Be creative. Even if you're a brilliant author,
words alone won't make a blog. Most readers
expect the blog to look impressive, and to be
accompanied by at least one photo or image.
Visuals add sparkle and capture people's
attention. As with anything, don't overuse them
– just seek to get the balance right.
Use your common sense when assessing how
much is too much – if you're adding a
photography, how-to, or recipe post, you'll be
able to get away with more photos than say,
a political or opinion piece blog post.
8
Think about what you're going to title your
blog posts . You could have the most relevant
information on the topic, but if it has a boring
title, it won't be read. Use headlines that draw in
readers and that search engines latch onto. The
search engine element is an art in and of itself
which you'll eventually find yourself learning
more about. For now, however, some key
pointers to bear in mind include:
Use words that marketers use to capture
attention. There are several "Top 10 English
Words" lists available online used by
marketers to grab attention (do a search for
one). Adding words like "you" to the title may
sound banal but according to marketing
research, strategic use of the top 10 words
can bring readers to open links to your post.
Ask questions in headings or create dangling
information that has the reader wondering
what the next piece of information will be.
Make your heading tantalizing so that it prods
the reader into wanting to read more - if your
heading speaks to a need in a reader, then
they'll love it. Top of the list is "How to..."!
Keep the title simple. The simpler, the better,
and try to keep the title less than 40
characters and the search engine will also
love your blog!
9
Encourage comments. People will read your
words of wisdom but they won't tell you what
they think because the majority of people (and
that means around 99 percent) won't unless
prompted. You'll get a significantly larger
number of comments if you ask for them.
Don't close down your comments feature. It's
important not to fear comments - they're a
pulse on your blog, letting you know that
people are responding to your blogging,
whether negatively or positively. If your blog
is really good, you'll get both sides of the
responses, which is ideal!
Make it easy for your readers to comment.
Readers don't want to jump through hoops.
Balance making them sign in and using
CAPTCHA fixes before they can say a single
line with the fact that this will cause many of
them to not bother at all. The fewer hurdles,
the better, especially where personal
information is concerned.
Always end your blog posts encouraging
comments by asking questions, or asking for
experiences and suggestions from the reader.
Without fail, respond to your commenters.
Not only is that polite to the person who took
the time to comment but it lets other readers
know that you care and engage with them.
They are looking! An obvious exception is
spamming or flaming, in which case, either
remove the comment (spam) as soon as
possible, or let it stand on its own lack of
merits ( flaming) unless you have a witty and
kind response.
Remove spam as soon as you can. It looks
unprofessional. Invest in a way of keeping
spam off - there are plenty of programs
available. Find good ways to clean up spam
that don't involve chasing off your genuine
readers.
10
Spread the word about your blog and new
posts . Use today's social media to the max.
There are many platforms to choose from. Use
one, or preferably, many of them. Twitter,
Facebook, Digg, and Tumblr are just a few.
Take time to visit other blogger's blogs and
leave comments with your name and link in
them. Get known as someone who cares
about what other bloggers are saying and
creating, and they'll repay the favor.
11
Encourage others to guest post on your
blog . Guest posting is an excellent means for
getting well-known, quality bloggers to increase
the profile of your blog. Offer guest posts in
return, so as to get your blog's link into other
people's blogs.
Guest posts increase variety for your readers.
And if you get well-known bloggers on your
blog, this will help your readers to connect
you with the guest poster, which will increase
your profile.
12
Love your readers and give back to them.
Show your readers that you appreciate them.
Give back to them by:
Responding to your reader's comments
promptly.
Visiting your reader's blogs if they have them.
Leave supportive comments and even
suggest they guest blog for you now and
then.
Facilitating your readers' interaction through
quizzes, competitions, surveys, featuring your
readers, etc.
Always provide a quality read that is of
interest.
Tips
Tag your articles. Learn about tagging and use
it. Tags make a huge difference in your
readership.
32 Helpful? 1
This article is an overview of what a good
blogger practices. It is a good launching point
for you to realize you never stop learning. There
are many new avenues that you will go down as
you increase your readership and improve your
blog.
18 Helpful? 2
Consider how your blog connects with and
supports your other online activities, as well as
your offline business. Plan in advance so that
you can make the most of the linkages. Update
the purpose of your blog, as needed, and
evaluate the support role on a routine basis.
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