A)Learned the hard way
B)Learned off of other blogs and
C)Used my good ol’ common sense
The first thing I’ve learned is keep it short and sweet. Get to the point and don’t dawdle while you get there. Some writers can ramble and it’s fun to follow along but those are few and far between. More than that, ask anyone who frequents blogs, most won’t read to the end of a Looooong post. So cut it off when you find yourself contemplating the meaning of life in a free flow form of writing. I try to keep it under 400 words if possible.
Use catchy titles. (This goes for your novels too of course. Think "Skinny Bitch".) Catchy titles get people’s attention and that will get them reading your blog. Hence the oh -so -snazzy header of this post.
Using pictures is great, but not thirty per post. One or two will suffice. Again, short, sweet and pertinent will rock it.
Controversy can be fun and make for great debates, but only if you truly believe in what you are writing about. Don’t dive into a trendy topic JUST BECAUSE. That’s just dang irritating.
Finally, try to keep it interesting. (This could get tough for me over the next thirty days) If you’re writing the same type of posts (Woe is me is another no-no) over and over and over and over again, people tend to notice. Mix it up a little. If you only write about writing, tell a story about your childhood and how you came to be a writer. Only talk about yourself? Do an interview with a new author, editor or agent.
A last thought. One thing that’s good to do is to ask your readers a question at the end of your blog to try to engage them and start a dialogue. That one I learned from Creepy Query Girl. Hence the next line! These are only the things I try to avoid, what have you learned either by reading posts or blogging yourself?
6 comments:
Great tips! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the great advice! =) I started blogging a few years ago, but just now feel like I'm learning how it all works.
Something I've noticed in reading other people's blogs--and I'm completely guilty of it myself--is after a long stretch of no posts most bloggers feel the need to apologize for not posting, or explain themselves. =) Not saying there's anything wrong with it...I've done it more than once one more than one blog since I'm a very sporadic blogger...but it makes me wonder why we have that that tendency. ;o)
Cheryly- Happy to help wherever I can, I think back to all the mistakes I've made . . oy vay!
Shannon- First off, love the name ;P Second, that is a great point. I think that everyone gets busy, that's life and we shouldn't apologize as bloggers because the real world has kept us out of the social media world for a while. And that is okay, we just have to remember that.
Hi Shannon! Thanks for the summary. I've been trying to keep up with a blog for ages now. It's even one of my New Year's resolutions. I've found I try to do too much on top of my work schedule so instead of trying to post daily, or even every other day, I've been trying to post at least twice a week on the same days each week. I think a lot of the blogs I read succeed because of their consistency (or attempts at it anyway!).
I've also been debating starting a writing specific blog this week since, after the fourth draft of this novel, I've decided I probably won't be giving up any time soon. :) Good luck with your blogging and writing!
Love the question idea. I have lots of people visiting and few comments so I know you have a great point. Thanks!
sounds like some great tips! THanks for the shout out- I musta learned the question thing from some of the great blogs I follow too. Looking forward to your posts!
Post a Comment