I’m at the point where I feel comfortable listing a few tips I have collected from various sources on producing a blog.
Of course, as soon as I began this entry, I saw an error on my website caused by editing on the fly on my phone. That leads me not to another tip but a gentle warning. Don’t beat yourself up over mistakes. Everything is a process, and the best writing is fluid and transformational for both the reader and the writer. Don’t discourage yourself; plenty of naysayers on the web are happy to do that for you.
Now on to some tips I’ve picked up over the last year:
- Create a catchy title
Catch and keep readers’ attention with a title that draws them in. Incorporate a keyword for searches, but at all costs, avoid clickbait. Fooling and disappointing your audience is never a good idea.
- Have a purpose for the piece
The 5 Ws: Who, What, Where, When, and Why. Read and confirm you are continuing to write to the point you are trying to make. Digression can lose readers. Wrap up the point in the final paragraph, and give the reader a satisfying and thought-provoking ending. You want to be memorable whenever you can.
- Write about things you are passionate about
Your interest in a subject will show in your writing and become the spark that invites readers continue that piece and view additional postings.
- Credit your sources
Always credit your source when citing or using photos, news articles, or any written quotation. Always perform constant research and be careful not to plagiarize or regurgitate something someone else has already written.
- Utilize internal links and external links
With an internal link, you link to your other blog posts. This supplies information for a reader and keeps them on your website longer. Insert an external link to websites that aren’t your own. But make sure you make external links open in a new browser to keep your reader on your website.
- Aim for a minimum 300-word goal
Search engines rank posts with a word count of 300 or higher you can increase your word count by providing valuable details by expanding your base. Don’t, however, add fluff to increase word count.
- Utilize images
incorporating images into your blog makes your articles visually pleasing. You’ll need to go beyond simply randomly placing photos. Add your keywords to the title and describe what the image is about. Even if no one sees the file name of the image, Google search bots will see the file name and increase SEO. In particular, this is on my list for personal improvement.
- Perform SEO research
Decide the primary keyword you’re trying to rank for with the blog post. Using a site such as Seobility can assist you in analyzing a site’s keywords and SEO. Place the keyword in the title and the body of the post itself.
- Set up social media sharing
Have share buttons on your social media accounts. Add a reblog button to allow other writers to share individual posts on their websites.
- Proofread, Revise, and Repeat
Revisions can happen at any point you choose. If the piece is already published, and the change makes a difference in the information, noting the edit at the end of the post can provide clarity and transparency to your writing. Using editing programs for grammar checks, such as Grammarly, can polish your work and save hours of revision time. Understand that using these programs should not change your natural writing voice,
An essential core in branding your work. Always ignore any suggestions that change your unique writing style.