Starting a new blog page whether it be on your Facebook or website or even in your shopping cart like Shopify! is ALWAYS a daunting time for a beginner! I mean, what do you write about? What do you say? How much do you write? These questions all scramble in your mind and so, you end up not doing anything! Time ticks by, weeks accumulate and still – nada!
They say you MUST write every day at least. They say you can write about ANYTHING! They say its the only way to build your business. You ask your friends, colleagues and family who make suggestions like “blog about your actual day there n’ then” or, “upload a video of Boris (your dog!) doing something funny!” All positively great but really? Is that what’s required? Are viewers REALLY that interested?! Am I going to make matters worse for my blog site by posting what I feel could be perceived as uninteresting?
Well, having carried out a brief research with our adorable and informative tin-ter-net (as I call it!), it’s amazing what blog articles I found on this exact subject – how to write a blog.
Taken from the articles I read, I can honestly clarify for those in need of some light to their blogging tunnel, five valuable steps to follow to kick off a bad ass blogging page!
1. PLAN your blog
Yep, I know! That’s the difficult part for you. I mean you don’t know WHAT to write so how the heck are you going to PLAN too?! Well, start off with choosing a topic that interests you. If you write about a topic that interests you, you will write more easily. Remember though if you use facts in your blog piece make sure it’s true (to the best of your abilities). Take timeout to think and take timeout to actually write it too. This will naturally provide quality to your blog; if it’s rushed and thrown together, your reader WILL notice! If your blog is going to be lengthy then prepare an outline so that you stay tuned on subject, rambling on only brings a yawn followed by a ‘click’ – the viewer has gone!
2. Give your blog a catching HEADLINE
The headline will be the first that your viewer will see. It must relate entirely to what your blog is about but it also needs to entice your viewer in further. You can be clever or even funny with the wording as long as we all can understand it. Not everyone around the world has your slang, your humor, your spelling! I personally, write my headline AFTER I’ve written the piece as I can usually then find a link between the two, with a little twist. In saying that your heading doesn’t always have to be artfully designed either. A straight forward “How to….” is an eye-catcher all on its own!
3. WRITE your blog
Now here comes the big, tricky bit. Writing the blog. Well, by now, you have thought up an interesting topic and you have a headline and maybe an outline too. So, just start typing. Don’t worry about punctuation, order of flow or even staying on subject. Just write about your topic; your piece. Once you’ve chucked out all that you have onto paper (screen!). Save and walk away. Go and have that slice of cake you’ve been keen to have; you’ve earned it!
4. Include IMAGES/PHOTOS
In today’s society, we have moved on from reading books and are now insisting on information, knowledge and entertainment by video and image formats! Crazy I know! Personally, I love curling up on a puffy couch, cozy and warm with a glass of wine and the smell of a new book; opening new crisp pages to read – complete and utter bliss!
Nowadays? …. I feel like we are heading back to reading a kiddies book where learning was by picture format like, A for Apple. B for Baby. C for Cat. Scrolling has become a complete art-form for some! We all scroll; we don’t buy newspapers and magazines; we don’t buy books. We scroll. Images are a great way to (a) reflect what you are trying to get across to your viewers and (b) it’s a stopping mechanism for your viewer as they scroll. Add a great punchline to the image and, boy! it’s Christmas all over again – you have their attention!
5. EDIT and POST
Now that your blog has been written and it’s there waiting for a once-over. This is the time to edit it by reading it out aloud – yep, that’s right! …. READ IT OUT ALOUD! Hearing enhances errors, punctuation and grammar. You will hear if you have too much slang. You will hear if you have flow to your story. You will hear if you have too much waffling or repetition. So much easier to edit by hearing – guaranteed!
So, there you have it! My tips to blogging. Now that I’ve written my first blog – here – and I have learned a formula, I’m looking forward to my next blog to write! Amazing what a few words can do for morale!
Looking forward to your feedback below and/or whether any of it helped you with your blogging. And I’ll finish with a quote from our well known Star Trek phenomenon era: