9 rules for writing a *good* blog entry

Well, it’s obvious, ain’t it? Just pick a subject and say everything you have on the matter, be it a complain or praise. However, it’s not always this simple, especially not when you have to keep up with your online visitors, who don’t really mind weather they would read YOUR blog, or someone else’s, as long as they get access to the information they want. So, how to write a blog entry that would guarantee you will not lose your reader after a few lines and moreover this reader will come back?

Basically, it’s not what you say, it’s HOW you say it. How many times you ended up reading something you have no particular interest in, yet the story was so fascinating and thrilling that you just had to finish reading? I bet at least once it happened to all of us. This happens only when the storyteller not only knows what he is talking about, but also knows how to present his story in the utmost effective way. Your information is a diamond in a rough – know how to polish it til it sparkles and present it like a real jewel.

If you were a good student in your literature class, probably you were taught how to build a written topic. The best way to arise interest in the subject from point zero is to start off by asking a question. By asking a question you automatically force the reader to think of an answer, and if he does not have the answer, what will he do? Exactly, he will read what you have to say about it! On this occasion I’d add that you should avoid banal questions on casual subjects, because if the issue has been milled over hundreds of times before you, no one will have interest in your blog entry. Another good idea for starting a post could be a famous quote (sort of prologue)

So, let’s say you have a killer title and intro, and grabbed the reader by the neck, what’s next? Next, you have to make him keep reading… until the end. This is tricky because from now on it fully depends on your writing skills and writing style. Some people have a talent here, others have to follow simple rules to ensure the blog post is going to be perfect, and believe me, everything is “learnable”, writing skills included.

Start off by avoiding rude blogging mistakes such as spelling errors, slang, grammatically incorrect sentences and too long sentences, where both writer and reader lose the train of thought.

Adding images to a long post is a brilliant idea, they don’t have to be directly related (Askimet’s photo of a field with fluffy clouds as a header for anti-spam software is a perfect example of indirect illustration). Big masses of text are boring, and remember, internet is an interactive world, it’s not a book, it’s more like a magazine, ever seen a non-illustrated popular magazine?

Next step, while you keep writing, is not to hesitate saying what you think even if your opinion is rather “alternative”. I am not encouraging anyone to preach for crazy ideas, but staying “within the limits” is often what makes a blog posts boring. Take for instance the famous blog posts that got hundreds of diggs – “Complete ownage of a woman” (7,100 diggs) or “No sex tonight” (5,198 diggs). Everyone knows about these subjects in life, but one talks about them, at least not in such a manner – as a result – edgy, but nice read.

Another important component of a blog post is giving examples. First of all, no one will trust your disputation and would always prefer some live models. Secondly, it will add interactive illustration to your words, which is always good to break a boring article with.

How else can you make the reading experience more pleasant? A very good rule is not to use same words repeatedly. While using same keyword over and over again could help your result in SEO and Adsense, it definitely will not improve the topic’s flow. For example, don’t say “topic” all the time if you’re talking about a topic, because mentioning the word topic repeatedly will annoy the visitor and might make him lose the interest in your topic. Use Thesaurus database while writing to enrich your vocabulary with synonyms.

Don’t take advantage of your reader. He is here to read, don’t ask him to donate, buy your awesome products or click the ads – leave it to his decision. Allow him to finish reading first and if he will decide to explore your site, click on adverts, buy something from you or even donate – he will do it out of free will. Of course this advice might hurt your pocket, but it will help building readers community in the long run.

When making an educational or highly informative post that teaches the visitor something new, remember to break your speech to paragraphs, preferably giving each sub-subject a number or finishing your post with a mini-resume of all the themes you touched in your article.

Lastly, remember you asked a question in the beginning on your post? Did you answer it? Just imagine how frustrated will your reader be if you thrown a provocative idea, made him read all your beautiful philosophy on the subjects and while you got so deep in the jungles of high-level writing – you forgot to answer your own initial question, and left the reader empty handed. Ideally end your post connecting it to the initial question, quote, or the first paragraph (assuming you really had a killer start).

So, these were my 9 advices, and now it’s time for a… Resume:

1. Start with a question or a well-known author’s quote.
2. Add illustrations and pictures to your post.
3. Run a spell check, break long sentences into 2 short ones, correct grammar errors, if you can.
4. Provide links and examples to your words as a “proof”.
5. Don’t be afraid to say what you really think.
6. Enrich your speech with various words and synonyms.
7. Break your topic into sub-subject with numbers or summarize it in the end of the writing.
8. Don’t use the readers for the purpose of selling your products or donations, this is their decision and you must not push.
9. Remember to answer your own question(s).