I've been passionately blogging for a number of years now-long enough now, that when I first started I had to explain to people what a blog was.
Now, pretty much everybody and their dog has one, but not necessarily everybody knows how to do a good job at it.
So, here are some writing tips I'd like to submit to you for consideration.
Below is a list of things to consider in no particular order whatsoever, and some of them may overlap.
This is geared more towards writers, and I'll provide some more geeky how-to links at the end.
1) Know What It Is You Have To Say If you're reading this because you have decided to start a blog site, the first thing I'd ask you is why?What is the reason you want to blog or write-if you're passionate about doing so and don't care if only 5 people read what you write or 5000, then go for it-especially if you have something to say.
I'd advise that you write what you're passionate about, and what you want to write about-and your audience will find you themselves.
If you just need to express yourself through writing, then that's OK too, and I encourage you to take advantage of the free avenue blogging provides the writer as an outlet for that gifting and passion you have.
2) Be Yourself Don't try to be all things to all people and write so as to get people to read your site.
As a writer, if you start one because you want to be getting a lot of hits to your site, that's putting the cart before the horse and your writings will suffer as a result.
Besides, people can tell if you're really passionate about what you're talking or writing about.
So don't insult them by trying to lure them into your blog.
If you are spreading yourself a mile wide you'll only be an inch deep.
Focus on your niche and write till your heart's content, people will find you eventually and share it with their friends and eventually--whether slowly or rapidly--your site will grow.
3) Consistency You will find if you write short posts, often, instead of long posts every once in a blue moon that this helps keep your readers coming back for more if they know there's frequent updates and not sporadic ones.
Also, you will find that it's easier as a writer if you're just keeping it up as a habit and hobby and you will find this to be easier to do once you hit your stride and find your own groove.
I find I don't really follow peoples' blogs who only write sporadically, because I get tired of checking to see if there's anything new.
But I DO keep checking the ones that update "too often" because I know there's going to be something new when I check.
Also, think of when you see a post on Facebook or a link on Twitter-which one do you read all the way through - the long one or short one? Exactly.
4) Length This is a long term investment on your part, and like marketing-if you want people to know about it, you have to provide the product-people won't automatically just know you've got a blog the day after you've started it, but over time its following will snowball on its own.
I once heard a professor of mine I had in Bible college say he'd only write a blog if he knew people were going to read it.
Bad approach, I told him; that's like saying you're not going to open a grocery store unless there's a line-up around the block first.
You need to provide the goods first.
Like the line from the old Kevin Costner movie-if you build it they will come.
Also, like I mentioned in the previous point, it's better to write shorter and more often, instead of longer and more sporadic.
This will help you personally as a writer, and also it's better for your blog in the search engine rankings if there's regularly new content being updated consistently.
But this will also take a bit of time to build credibility.
5) Domain Name My number one tip would be that instead of starting a free one at Blogger, TypePad or WordPress-which are both good and have their highlights, I'd buy a domain name (average $10/year), and get a cheap hosting plan (as little as $4/month depending on how many files and photos and stuff you want to host).
If you go this route, and have no idea what to do or how to get started, I use Cleverdot.
com a lot for sites I make for people as a way of tentmaking on the mission field here in Peru.
They are easy to use, but if you'd like you can forward me the email you get from them if you'd like me to set up a blog with them.
The reason I say go with a domain name, is because even though many high profile men of God use WordPress or what not and have a large following, and content is more important than appearance, BUT there's something that sets you out from the pack and gives you an appearance of credibility if you have your own domain name that doesn't have "WordPress" or "blogspot" in the title.
This also helps search engines start indexing you better over the months to follow and look like you're more of an expert in your niche.
So that being said, if you want to start a domain name and install a small hosting plan, you'll find a LOT more freedom to do things with your site than you can with a free one.
6) Hosting If you go the route of creating your own domain name, then you will have to host your files somewhere.
This can cost you anywhere between $3-10 a month, depending on how much storage space you will need.
If you just want to write and post pictures in your articles, a cheap monthly hosting plan will suit your needs.
If you plan on posting media such as large photo files, audios or videos, this will cost you a bit more, but is still affordable if you really want to make a great blog site.
7) Spell Checker and Facts This is not too important since most people on the internet are going to be forgiving and overlook typos here and there, and maybe don't even notice, but if you want to stand out and make your site excellent and go the domain name route, nothing destroys your credibility like poor grammar and spelling, even if you're an expert in your field or niche.
WordPress, Blogger and many other free blogging sites all have spell checker provided in the writing panel, and sometimes even offer to automatically spell check before you publish.
So there's really no reason or excuse to neglect this in your site.
We all make typos from time to time and often I notice a badly formed sentence in my posts after I've hit the publish button.
But if you don't know the difference between their/there/they're, or your/you're, then you might not want to post your articles until someone else has proof read them for you.
These are the basics, the rest is details like how to install your themes and plugins if you go the hosting route.
Now, pretty much everybody and their dog has one, but not necessarily everybody knows how to do a good job at it.
So, here are some writing tips I'd like to submit to you for consideration.
Below is a list of things to consider in no particular order whatsoever, and some of them may overlap.
This is geared more towards writers, and I'll provide some more geeky how-to links at the end.
1) Know What It Is You Have To Say If you're reading this because you have decided to start a blog site, the first thing I'd ask you is why?What is the reason you want to blog or write-if you're passionate about doing so and don't care if only 5 people read what you write or 5000, then go for it-especially if you have something to say.
I'd advise that you write what you're passionate about, and what you want to write about-and your audience will find you themselves.
If you just need to express yourself through writing, then that's OK too, and I encourage you to take advantage of the free avenue blogging provides the writer as an outlet for that gifting and passion you have.
2) Be Yourself Don't try to be all things to all people and write so as to get people to read your site.
As a writer, if you start one because you want to be getting a lot of hits to your site, that's putting the cart before the horse and your writings will suffer as a result.
Besides, people can tell if you're really passionate about what you're talking or writing about.
So don't insult them by trying to lure them into your blog.
If you are spreading yourself a mile wide you'll only be an inch deep.
Focus on your niche and write till your heart's content, people will find you eventually and share it with their friends and eventually--whether slowly or rapidly--your site will grow.
3) Consistency You will find if you write short posts, often, instead of long posts every once in a blue moon that this helps keep your readers coming back for more if they know there's frequent updates and not sporadic ones.
Also, you will find that it's easier as a writer if you're just keeping it up as a habit and hobby and you will find this to be easier to do once you hit your stride and find your own groove.
I find I don't really follow peoples' blogs who only write sporadically, because I get tired of checking to see if there's anything new.
But I DO keep checking the ones that update "too often" because I know there's going to be something new when I check.
Also, think of when you see a post on Facebook or a link on Twitter-which one do you read all the way through - the long one or short one? Exactly.
4) Length This is a long term investment on your part, and like marketing-if you want people to know about it, you have to provide the product-people won't automatically just know you've got a blog the day after you've started it, but over time its following will snowball on its own.
I once heard a professor of mine I had in Bible college say he'd only write a blog if he knew people were going to read it.
Bad approach, I told him; that's like saying you're not going to open a grocery store unless there's a line-up around the block first.
You need to provide the goods first.
Like the line from the old Kevin Costner movie-if you build it they will come.
Also, like I mentioned in the previous point, it's better to write shorter and more often, instead of longer and more sporadic.
This will help you personally as a writer, and also it's better for your blog in the search engine rankings if there's regularly new content being updated consistently.
But this will also take a bit of time to build credibility.
5) Domain Name My number one tip would be that instead of starting a free one at Blogger, TypePad or WordPress-which are both good and have their highlights, I'd buy a domain name (average $10/year), and get a cheap hosting plan (as little as $4/month depending on how many files and photos and stuff you want to host).
If you go this route, and have no idea what to do or how to get started, I use Cleverdot.
com a lot for sites I make for people as a way of tentmaking on the mission field here in Peru.
They are easy to use, but if you'd like you can forward me the email you get from them if you'd like me to set up a blog with them.
The reason I say go with a domain name, is because even though many high profile men of God use WordPress or what not and have a large following, and content is more important than appearance, BUT there's something that sets you out from the pack and gives you an appearance of credibility if you have your own domain name that doesn't have "WordPress" or "blogspot" in the title.
This also helps search engines start indexing you better over the months to follow and look like you're more of an expert in your niche.
So that being said, if you want to start a domain name and install a small hosting plan, you'll find a LOT more freedom to do things with your site than you can with a free one.
6) Hosting If you go the route of creating your own domain name, then you will have to host your files somewhere.
This can cost you anywhere between $3-10 a month, depending on how much storage space you will need.
If you just want to write and post pictures in your articles, a cheap monthly hosting plan will suit your needs.
If you plan on posting media such as large photo files, audios or videos, this will cost you a bit more, but is still affordable if you really want to make a great blog site.
7) Spell Checker and Facts This is not too important since most people on the internet are going to be forgiving and overlook typos here and there, and maybe don't even notice, but if you want to stand out and make your site excellent and go the domain name route, nothing destroys your credibility like poor grammar and spelling, even if you're an expert in your field or niche.
WordPress, Blogger and many other free blogging sites all have spell checker provided in the writing panel, and sometimes even offer to automatically spell check before you publish.
So there's really no reason or excuse to neglect this in your site.
We all make typos from time to time and often I notice a badly formed sentence in my posts after I've hit the publish button.
But if you don't know the difference between their/there/they're, or your/you're, then you might not want to post your articles until someone else has proof read them for you.
These are the basics, the rest is details like how to install your themes and plugins if you go the hosting route.
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