Try kick off your blog with something MUCH more engaging than this sentence!
And a picture that engages the reader straight up!
However it is also vital to NOT use too many exclamation marks, or TOO MANY CAPITALS!!!!
(People don't like being shouted at... in real life or virtually).
It's also important to break up lots and lots of text with some images ...
People like to scan ahead when reading online, and through huge, uninterrupted blocks of text to see if something interesting is coming up.
It can be a:
photo or a
diagram or a
cartoon or
anything VISUAL.
Try to make your posts conversational - you are quite literally 'talking' to individuals - ones who can respond back to you. This can be intimidating but it is also the real beauty of blogging - you are not talking AT readers, but WITH them.
This is your chance to engage - to draw in new readers, to inform them, to build empathy, to begin a conversation.
With this in mind, it's also a great idea to always, ALWAYS read your post back to yourself (maybe even out loud). Ask yourself these questions:
- Does it draw me in?
- Does it make sense?
- Would it offend/anger me? (And if so, is it worthwhile?)
- Is your grammar correct...
- Will I learn anything?
- Does it entertain me?
You don't HAVE to answer yes to all these things ... but you SHOULD think about them.
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| Image source: LifeHacker |
Never, EVER PLAGIARISE... just because it's EASY to 'steal' (copy and paste, download-upload) doesn't mean it's right. If you want credibility (and you do because people visit blogs they trust) you need to follow simple editorial rules.
If you have borrowed it from somewhere, do your best to acknowledge this (and where possible, get permission from the source).
Provide LINKS to original material, events or discussions you are referring to, even if it's within your own blog.
If you are like me, you'll find it never hurts to have some cuteness to break up the serious stuff...
Baby anythings work EVERY time.
But the MOST important rule of all is to be TRUE to yourself.
YOUR unique outlook and experience will be what sets you apart.
There is only one Pioneer Woman, or Dooce, or even Bush Babe. (Thank heavens!)
Oh, one more thing...
It never hurts to ask a PERTINET QUESTION at the end of the post.
So if you could ask me ANY one question, what would it be?
;-)
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