5 Rules for Blogging
I’ve written hundreds of blog posts over the last few years (both personally and professionally), and have read many tens-of-thousands more. This does not make me an expert on blogging (or anything else for that matter). In fact, I enjoy that I am a connoisseur of many things, but expert of none. I get to dabble in more things in life this way.
So here’s what I find in blogs that I enjoy, and strive for in putting together in my own blog posts:
- Brevity – With so many blogs, and so many interesting things in this digital age, I’m looking for the most interesting stories, in as concise a format as possible. ‘Nuff said.
- Imagery – A picture paints a thousand words. Use them for brevity and to keep your posts visually appealing. Bad imagery can also turn off readers.
- Originality – I don’t want to read something that someone else has already said. That’s what RTs (re-tweets) are for in Twitter. (See “Tweets” in sidebar for my RTs). And if you build on another’s idea…. give due credit.
- Passion – Show your readers that you care or have passion for what you’re writing. I am more interested in reading about topics that you are a novice or hobbyist about, rather than a cocky expert.
- Frequency – Now this is a fine balance. I don’t want to dilute my words, so I try to keep blogging to once or twice a day at most. On the other hand, if I don’t blog for a week or two, even a month at a time, I’ve lost the attention of readers. Five to seven posts a week is a good amount.
Blogging here is my hobby, not my job. So I only put into it as much as it is fun for me.
Endnote: Proper grammar and spelling goes without saying on blogs because you’re not limited to 140 characters!!
This entry was posted on Thursday, January 8th, 2009 at 22:25 and is filed under Communications, New Media, Web 2.0, incuLink. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
6 Responses to “5 Rules for Blogging”
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January 8th, 2009 at 23:22
YO! nice post! good points and i’ve learned a lot from how you blog.
check out permalinks in wordpress. it makes it so the hyperlink of your posts is by name/date rather than something random. good for linking to things and checking your blog stats.
by the way, love ur point on the 140 characters. man, after using twitter, so easy to misspell words
January 8th, 2009 at 23:24
oh one more thing
check our scribefire add on for firefox. SO EASY to post to your blog from searching the internet. saves a lot of time and you can post info you find quickly!
January 9th, 2009 at 00:22
@adam Scribefire. NICE! Thanks. And I’m learning TONS from you
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August 17th, 2009 at 02:12
Agreed and duely noted. Although, frequency is a delicate matter indeed, so that rule of five to seven posts a week might work for you, but not for another blogger.
What’s your opinion on using lots of apps on blogs (widgets, stat counters, weather forecast boxes, lists …)? Does it make a blog more interesting or oversaturated?
August 17th, 2009 at 02:28
@F – Great point on the frequency. I’ve found out since I wrote this post (through personal experience and conversations with others) that the frequency is indeed personal preference. The busier I have gotten, the less realistic 5-7 posts are.
With regards to widgets and apps on a blog, I think there’s a fine balance, and it really depends on what the purpose of the apps you choose are. For example, a stat counter is great for you to monitor (i.e. Statpress) from the back end, but adds no value to your followers (unless you want to prove how popular your blog is).
It also depends on your audience. If you have readers mostly from your area, then a weather widget would be great and informative!
I’ve learned that adding too many widgets not only oversaturates the look of your page, but also dilutes the quality of the content because of information overload. It will also tend to slow down the time it takes to load your blog when there is too much information.
But do add apps and widgets that engage your readers… if you think about each app you’re considering strategically, there can be a lot of value in it for you and your community.
Good luck!
December 5th, 2009 at 12:03
Sherry,
Solid points. The same thing goes for your twitter do’s and dont’s. I’m glad to see someone so dedicated to making the web a more reader-friendly place.
One question – where did you get that amazing tagcloud? I’m working on something similar for a new design of http://www.leaftoronto.org – except shaped as a growing tree – if that makes sense.
Please let me know.
@mjwhigginson or @leaf_to