At a recent BlogHer conference I attended, I met some people from Yahoo! Shine, which is the online destination for women looking for the latest information and advice from experts and the community. I picked up a handout about tips for writing a better blog. The information was very useful and I wanted to share it with you.
Blog about what you’re most passionate about - Good blogs require commitment. If you’re not passionate about a subject, you’re not going to be committed to it.
Read and comment on other blogs – Get in tune with your audience by reading other blogs. It’ll help you find your niche, and you’ll also build up a network of readers and fellow bloggers.
Create a blogging plan – Regular posting will make your blog attract more readers. Loyal readers will evangelize your stuff, and will grow your audience for you.
When picking a topic, be relevant and valuable to your readers – Choose topics that are timely, provocative, helpful, or responsive to your readers’ needs.
Write great headlines – It’s important to write compelling, grabby headlines that are also easy to understand. Clear headlines are more likely to show up in searches and easier to read in an RSS feed.
Be focused on one topic – Too many topics in one post confuses the reader, plus it makes your post too long. Break multiple topics into new posts.
Humanize your topic by relating it to you – Your point of view on a topic is what makes your blog worth reading, so insert your personality and be opinionated.
Don’t make a post all about you – Remember, a blog is a conversation between you and your readers, and no one likes being trapped in a conversation with someone who only talks about themselves.
Make sure your post is adding to the conversation – When writing about a topic everyone’s already writing about, make sure you’re not just recycling the story. Add your own spin to make it your own.
Craft posts that are easy to read and scan – Write clean copy – typos and bad grammar ruin your credibility. Second, break up big paragraphs with subheads, images, and video, so it’s easier to skim.
Entrepreneurs find many benefits in personalizing their online presence. (By Traci Bisson, as seen in NH Mirror, August 2008)
”Does a blog have something to do with a computer?”
Even though the concept of blogs and blogging has been around for nearly 10 years, small business owners still ask this question. Many entrepreneurs are unaware of what blogs are and how their businesses can benefit from this versatile marketing tool.
Blogs can provide commentary or news on a particular subject, while others function more as a personal online diary with which readers can interact by posting comments. Bloggers, the people who write and maintain blogs, have the responsibility to deliver valuable content on subjects of interest to their target markets and, much like a magazine or a newspaper, readers can subscribe to blogs via feed readers or e-mail.
People blog for many reasons. Some blog to “have a voice,” while others blog to invite comments and discussions from readers. Many blog to build a large community of readers, which allows them to solicit advertisers and sponsors and make money with their blog.
Many entrepreneurs choose blogging as a way to interact with readers who might have questions about a company and its products or services. Whatever your reason is, blogging in today’s fast-paced world allows you to hang on to the coattails of the ever-changing technology industry.
Ready to start your blog? Follow these eight simple steps:
Choose a blogging service. Blogger.com is a great place to start. The service is free and easy to use. Once you decide you enjoy blogging, the blog can be upgraded and migrated to a traditional hosting service.
Choose a name for your blog. The name should have meaning to your target market (i.e. “name of your company”.blogspot.com).
Write a description. What is your blog about? Write a brief description so readers will understand your blog’s mission.
Offer a complete profile. In the bio section of Blogger, create a complete profile for yourself so readers can get to know you.
Syndicate your blog. Use a program such as FeedBurner to syndicate your content so readers can easily subscribe via a feed reader or e-mail.
Post content. Begin posting information to your blog that your target market will find interesting and valuable. Be diligent and post once a week at a minimum.
Notify your network. To begin building your community of readers, e-mail everyone in your network about your new blog and ask them to subscribe as well as spread the word.
Experiment. This is the fun part. Add widgets to your blog to add interest and generate revenue. If you see a widget on a blog that you like, you can grab it by simply clicking on it.
I was surfing YouTube.com and came across Jeff Crilley's tip on marketing through blogs. Bisson Barcelona along with Spiral Media is hosting blogging clinics beginning April 2008. Jeff offers some great stats on the number of people using and reading blogs. If you do not have a blog or if you are not maximizing exposure of your blog, then you need to check out our blogging clinics taking place in Barrington, New Hampshire. Visit http://www.bissonbarcelona.com/ for all the details.
Barrington, NH — Starting on April 8 and running for four sessions, Bisson Barcelona will be offering hands-on instructional clinics for building blogs and RSS feeds.
The clinics, which will continue on April 15, April 29 and May 1, will be taught by Ben Adams, owner of Spiral Media. They will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Barrington Middle School in Barrington, NH.
Each clinic will offer participants the opportunity to build a blog using Blogger, or a blogsite using the WordPress publishing platform, as well as an integrated RSS feed that will allow attendees to publicize their blog or blogsite throughout the online community.
Adams, an online promotion and search marketing expert, will explain blogs and RSS feeds in simple, layman terms. Participants will be taken through the process of building their own blogs and RSS feeds, and will be taught how to integrate the two facets to gain subscribers.
Bisson Barcelona is an independent, high-visibility public relations firm located in Barrington, NH. The company specializes in publicity and image management services for authors and entrepreneurs.
Each clinic is $125 per person and seating is limited to 24 participants per clinic. For more information, please contact Traci Bisson at (603) 664-5776 or visit our website.
Name: Traci Bisson Location: Barrington, New Hampshire, United States
Traci Bisson is President and Senior Publicist of Bisson Barcelona. She has over 12 years experience in marketing
and public relations, and has worked with individuals and companies in all stages of growth.
Traci earned her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of New Hampshire.
Traci is a popular blogger who supports other mom entrepreneurs through her online support group and blog,
The Mom Entrepreneur. She also advocates for family life in the state of NH through her blog, Kids in NH, which
highlights the reasons why families with young children should consider making New Hampshire their home. As a
creative employer, Traci has been recognized by many publications, including the National Federation of Independent
Business (NFIB), The Oregonian and the Associated Press, for her innovative employee benefits package. In 2008, she
was voted a Top 10 Boss by Women’s Business Boston Journal.
