Why should I blog? Would anybody read
my blog? I have asked myself these same questions. With almost 3 million blog
posts a day on over 150 million blogs, it's hard not to think about how I would
gain and keep interest. Why would anyone be interested in what I have to say?
For my writing class, I decided to learn more about blogging and to create a
blog about women's soccer. I consider myself an "expert" in women's
soccer, so I knew it would be easy for me to research and write about recent
news and upcoming games. When creating a blog, it's important to write what you
know. Your readers will be interested in your blog when they can tell that you
are interested in what you are writing. A blogger on howtostartablog.net has created
a list of reasons they believe anybody should and could create a blog even though
millions of blogs and blog posts are created every day.
5. Building your resume
Here are some of the reasons:
1. Helping you learn new things
Blogging gives you, the writer, the
chance to write about what you already know and what you want to learn about. When
choosing a topic you know, it will give you the motivation to find new information
so you can write about fresh and new ideas. For my women's soccer blog, I am
learning more about players and teams to get more ideas for blog posts.
2. Building confidence and becoming a better writer
With anything, practice makes perfect.
The more you write, the better your writing will be. The more you write, the better
you will be able to express yourself. The confidence gained from practicing and
writing what you know will help you be comfortable in your topics so you can
converse with other soccer fans. The confidence and skills gained can also help
lead you to new jobs or other opportunities.
3. You don't need to be a pro
With the growth of technology and the
web, you can find so many different blogs and websites to learn how to create a
blog. When thinking about creating a blog, I was worried about needing to be a
professional before I even started. You should pick a topic that you are
already a professional in which is why I chose women's soccer for my blog. Every
website has step-by-step instructions on what to do to get started and what to
do to keep interest in your blog. You don't need to know technical terms, like
HTML, to get started.
4. Giving you the ability to help people and stand up for good causes
Blogs can be used to promote great
causes like charity work and raising donations for other countries. You can use
this platform to explain your causes and why people should donate. You can use
your blog to help people in their every-day challenges, including relationships
and work-related issues. You can create an inspirational blog to inspire people
to be better or give them the courage to make changes.
5. Building your resume
Your blog can help you stand out from
other candidates for a job. It can also be the reason an employer found you and
is offering you a job. Your blog can be great tool in showcasing what you can
do for an employer. You might also get offers for speaking engagements or
freelance writing gigs.
To blog or not to blog-What comes next?
Once
you decide to start a blog, you need to start planning your website and
deciding what to write about. I decided to start a blog because I thought it
would be the best genre of writing for what I wanted to create. I wanted a
genre that would allow me to express opinions but also report facts. I am also
in a web usability class this semester, and I have to create a website. I
thought creating a blogging website would help get me started. "A
Practical Guide to Plan Your Blog" by Jo and Dale Reardon has great steps
for creating and planning your blog. The authors describe the crucial steps to
creating a blog. They believe careful planning will help prevent costly errors.
Steps can be done in different orders and you can go back at any time. The
authors include a diagram to help readers navigate the process. The diagram is
found below:
Jo and Dale Reardon developed these steps as a guide for creating a website and blog:
1. Define Your
Goals
The first step for planning and creating a blog and
website is to define your goals. You should be as specific as possible. You can
use your blog to educate -or inspire your audience. You can sell products or
services. You can use your blog to share photos, experiences or ideas. You can
also use your blog to attract attention to a current business. After you have defined
your goals, rank them from most to least important. Explain how you are going
measure and meet each goal. My goal is to make sure I update my blog often and
encourage readers give suggestions for what they want to see.
2. Choose Your
Site Name
Now that you have your goals and focus, you need to
choose a site name. If you are creating a blog for a business, the authors
encourage you to think about creating a site name beyond the business name. Use
keywords you think someone would be searching with to find your product to
create a site name. They think that because most online users have never heard
of your business, your site name should be something to attract them to your
business and product. You can be creative with the name but try not to be too
catchy or quirky because it can be confusing for visitors. Search blogs in your
topic to see what attracts visitors to the popular sites. Make a list of names
and narrow it. Do the same process for a slogan for your site.
3. Manage Your
Technology
Choose the technology to host your blog. The authors
recommend using wordpress.com. They describe it as being ideal for posting
content and communicating with customers. The website has free layouts that are
easy to navigate and look professional. I am using wordpress.com for my women's
soccer blog.
Here are a few of the best options:
·
wordpress.com
·
weebly.com
·
sitebuilder.com
·
ehost.com
4. Define Your
Target Audience
The next step is to define your target audience. You need
to know demographics, what your audience needs and wants, and what they can
expect from your blog. Try to picture the person you are trying to communicate
with. What kind of information is he or she looking for? What problems will
your blog help solve? What type of content do you need to produce? Are there
geographical factors? Are there other factors like occupation or relationship
status? How will you find these demographics? If you don't have a way to find
accurate information about your target audience, start with your "best
guess" using experience. The target audience for my blog is females ages
20 to 30 years old. Females in this age range are the ones who have the most
social media presence and the ability to travel.
5. Identify
Your Keyword Phrases
Keywords are phrases and words that you want people and
search engines to associate with your blog. This will help search engines
connect your blog to your target audience. You want to create phrases that have
low competition and attract people who are browsing or researching products.
Make a list of keywords you would like your blog to rank high for in search
engines. Use the keywords naturally in your blog posts. You can use tools to
see what keywords are attracting the most visitors and use that to rearrange
your ranking of keywords. A couple of keyword searching tools include Google
AdWords Keyword Planner and UberSuggest.
6. Define Your
Blog Categories
Decide on the specific areas that your readers will be
attracted to. The authors recommend making a list of about five to eight
categories. These categories can help readers find your site and allows search
engines to discover the theme of your blog. Categories can also help keep your
content organized. If you have a travel blog, your categories could be cruises,
hotels, business travel, family packages and travel accessories.
7. Create Your
Content Strategy
Create a content strategy for your blog posts and pages. Before
you start building your website, you need content that is ready to publish. This
will help avoid delays and unpreparedness. Create a list of topics you want or
plan to write about. Use your keywords for topic ideas.
8. Create Your
Blog Publishing Schedule
To get your blog to grow, you need to publish content
regularly. You need to create a schedule for creating and publishing content.
Updating your blog consistently will help build your audience, and search
engines will get you more visitors. You should try to write a blog post every
week. Choose a day of the work and commit to writing a post every week on that
day. This will help get you in the habit of creating content.
9. Decide What
Type of Content to Publish
Decide what type of content you want to create. Do you
want to create videos? Do you want to write reports? Do you want to create
audio files? These questions will help you figure out what you want to create
and what additional resources you will need (i.e. software). Depending on the
content you create, you may need other technologies and resources. For example,
if you want to create videos, you might need a camera and software. It is best
to remember that eyes are drawn to images.
10. Decide Who
Will Do What
The final step is to determine who will be responsible
for the different areas of your website. If you have others helping you, you
can assign each person a task to work on for the website.
Tips for Creating a Blog
The
first couple sections of this post, I gave some reasons for why a person should
create a blog and some steps on how to get the website started. The remaining
portion of this blog is going to focus on the tips for writing and creating a
blog. I found these tips from a few websites and authors who have experience
with creating content for blogs. These tips are based on their experiences and
what has worked and has not worked for them and their blogs. These tips are
perfect for beginners and great reminders for veterans. These tips were helpful
when I began writing for my women's soccer blog.
Here are some tips for creating a blog:
1. Find Your
Focus
The first thing you want to do before creating a blog is
to find your focus. You want to choose a topic that you are interested in. What
are your interests or hobbies? It makes it easier to write if it is something
you already have knowledge about and are willing to read and research more. You
want to be an "expert" on your topic. When choosing a topic, you also
need to think about your target audience. Who do you want to appeal to? You
need to understand your audience to know what they need and want from your blog. For me, finding my focus was the easy part. I
have always loved sports, especially women's soccer. I am constantly checking
for updates. I have always wanted to write my opinions about recent news with
more than 140 characters.
2. Create
Content
The key to creating a good blog is to create good
content. You don't want to promote your blog or name/business if you don't have
anything for your readers to read when they get to your blog. You want to
create content that will attract and retain readers, but you also need to write
for yourself. It is important that you keep your ideas and opinions the primary
focus of your blog. Your audience can give you ideas on what they want to read.
Allow readers to comment on your posts so they can give you ideas for blog
topics. Create original content; don't copy. Once you have a good following,
you can get other bloggers or "experts" on the topic to contribute
and do guests posts. You can also include interviews. Don't be afraid to write
what you know and to be different. I have already been writing and
incorporating a lot of pictures to interest readers. I want to incorporate
video.
3. Develop a
Writing Style and Tone
You need to develop a writing style that is interesting
and readable. Your writing should also be personal and relatable. Don't be
afraid to be true to your voice. People follow people more than they follow
your blog. Don’t be afraid to state your opinions, and don’t be afraid to admit
when you are wrong. Janine Warner, a write for dummies.com, has a few
suggestions for developing your own style and voice. First, you need to
remember that a blog post is a conversation. You should try to write the way
you would speak. You should avoid clichés and jargon. If you are having trouble
writing, write like you are talking to a friend. Second, as a way to relax your
writing, write your blog with a specific friend for family member in mind.
Thinking of that person will help relax your writing and help you write as you
would speak. You don't want your writing to sound like an essay. Lastly, use
other blogs as a model for your blog. You can look at length of posts, writing
styles, topics, and frequency of posts. You can use these models to see what is
attracting and retaining readers. I still struggle with this tip. My blog posts
tend to have journalistic feel to them. Remember to write as you would speak.
This has been a struggle for me. My writing tends to sound more journalistic
than a conversation.
4. Call to
Action
To get readers to gain readers and get activity to your
page, you need to create a call to action on every post. A call to action is a
request or question that gets the reader to share a post, follow you on social
media, purchase a product, or answer the questions you put at the end of your
post. A call to action gets readers to leave their mark on your blog. A call to
action can help you gain readers. The more traffic to your blog, the better. Another
way to attract readers is to do a giveaway or invite them to subscribe to a
newsletter. Some blogging experts say that building your email list should be
at the top of your priorities. A call to action can help build your email list.
Make sure your call to action is clear and readers are able to find all the
ways they can connect with you on social media. Be careful of advertisement
banners on the sides of your blog. It can cover up social media icons. Never
underestimate the power of networking. I make sure to encourage readers to like,
share and follow me and my content after every post.
5. Consistency
and Update Often
Consistency is one of the most important things bloggers
forget. It's easier to lose readers than it is to gain readers. You need to
make sure you set a schedule and stick to it. You should choose a day to write
every week. You don't always have to publish what you write, but it will get
you into a rhythm and give you practice to help you become a better writer. The
blogs that are frequently updated will attract the most readers. You need to
make sure you are constantly brainstorming new ideas. When an idea hits, stop
and write about it. Bloggers should not be afraid to write about every day
activities. Make sure you are writing about your thoughts and feelings in your
blog posts. I have been trying to keep to my schedule. Some weeks are harder
than others to post new content.
6. Create Your
Brand
You want to create a brand and stick to it, especially
when you start to gain readers. You need consistency throughout your process
and all of your platforms. To find consistency, find your "niche" and
keep all of your content related to the niche. You want to keep your logo and
website consistent with your content and social media posts. You want readers
to know what your content is without having to make sure it's your content.
Inconsistent branding will confuse your audience. You want to build trust with
your readers. I make sure I have all the facts before I write a blog post.
7. Length
The first thing people notice when they
go to your posts is the headline. You want to have catch but appropriate
headlines. Corey Wainwright, on blog.hubspot.com, created a method for writing
catchy titles and headlines. First, you want to start with a working title. A
working title is specific and guides the creation of a single blog post. Corey
says that people often confuse working titles with topics. Topics are very
general and could form several different blog posts. Second, you need to stay
accurate. Accuracy sets clear expectations for your readers. One way to ensure
accuracy is to add clarification. That way, readers know exactly what they are
getting themselves into before they click the headline. Third, make it sexy.
Find ways to make your title pop out. You can use alliteration or strong
language. You can make it visual. Focus on the “who” not “why”. Fourth, keep it
short. Focus on keeping your headlines under 70 characters so it doesn’t get
cut off in search engines. Fifth, try to optimize for search and social. Focus
on the keywords that you know your audience is searching for. Finally, brainstorm
with someone else. Once you have completed the other steps, work with someone
to finalize the headline. Make sure your headlines are accurate, sexy, concise,
and search engine friendly. This has been a little bit of a struggle. Along
with journalistic writing, my headlines have sounded a little too professional.
I need to practice making my headlines "sexy" and concise.
9. Give it Time
If you are expecting to get recognition
really fast, then blogging is not for you. You should expect to see results
after a long-period of time. The web is a big place, and you need to invest in
blogging for a long time before you will see anything in return. If you can
stick it out and continue to learn and improve, you can achieve something great.
It's important to remember that you won't get results fast. With social media,
I think we focus too much on "likes" and results. Blogging results
take time.
10. Have Fun
The most important step of creating a
blog is to remember to have fun. If you are not having fun, your readers will
see that. Make sure your topic is something that you are interested so you can
have fun with it and will enjoy researching and learning more. If blogging is
not for you, don’t be afraid to try different kinds of writing. Don’t stick
with it if you’re not having fun.
Conclusion
I hope this blog post
will give you great reasons on why to blog and how to get started. I have read
these tips multiple times through my process of creating my blog. These tips
are perfect for veterans and beginners. Just remember to pick a topic that you
are interested in. Remember to be patient and have fun. Don’t focus too much on
the stats, and always keep your audience in mind. If you have any other
suggestions or questions, feel free to contact me or connect with me on social
media.
Twitter: @bminnoch
Instagram: @bmin4
Facebook: Brooke Minnoch
Tips from local blogger Emily Firestone Ashmead
Emily is the author of "Finding Inner
Awesome." Her blog focuses on the honesty of real life, including the ups
and downs. She focuses on finding the positives even when you are at your
worst. "But even in the worst of times, there's got to be something to
make you smile." -Emily
These are some of her tips:
1- Know your audience. Understanding the
demographic you're targeting is key to developing a writing style/brand.
2- Quantity is almost as important as
quality. The more you write, the higher up your blog will be in the search
engine cue.
3- Make your voice unique. Allow yourself
time to think about your word choice and overall personality.
4- Do not forget social media! It's the top
driver of blog traffic and best way to interact with viewers.
Check out Emily's
blog here: www.findinginnerawesome.wordpress.com
About the Author
Brooke Minnoch is a full-time graduate
student at Weber State University. Brooke is enrolled in the Master of
Professional Communication program while working full-time for the Weber County
Assessor's Office as an appraiser. When she is not working or doing homework,
she is traveling the world to support women's soccer or go to concerts. Brooke
was born and raised in Utah. She is the oldest of three daughters. Brooke
received a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication with an emphasis in
Digital Media from Weber State University. Brooke was the first person in her
family to graduate from college with a degree of any kind.
Sources
http://www.lifehack.org/articles/work/25-blogging-tips-for-new-bloggers.html
https://goinswriter.com/blogging-tips/
https://www.google.com/amp/s/blog.bufferapp.com/blogging-advice-for-beginners-from-16-experts/amp?client=safari
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/39-blogging-tips/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gabrielle-pfeiffer/simple-tips-for-new-blogg_b_10062332.html
http://www.dummies.com/education/internet-basics/writing-a-good-blog/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140602121530-3161863-20-quick-tips-on-writing-great-blog-posts
http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/the-12-dos-and-donts-of-writing-a-blog
Blogging: A Practical Guide to Plan Your Blog: Start Your
Profitable Home-Based Business with a Successful Blog (Create Your Amazing
Blog: Your How-To Series Book 1) Kindle Edition by Dale Reardon (Author), Jo
Reardon (Author)
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