Sometimes, I wonder if 50 years ago people considered what
the future would hold. Individuals wrote books and articles in magazines, but
was it ever a thought that one day anyone (and everyone) could be an author on
their own personal page?
Today, that thought is a reality. Anyone and everyone can be
their own author posting their ideas, thoughts, and experiences. While there
are some excellent blogs, there are also some blogs that are poorly done. So
what should a blog be or not be? What are the best practices?
Susan Gunelius wrote an article listing five tips on writing
a blog. Of all my research, I believe her few tips, while brief, are the best
tips to apply to any blog whether a corporate blog or a personal blog.
She begins by suggesting an appropriate tone. From my own
experience, this will dictate a lot of who comes through to read the blog and
who will continue to follow it. Figure out the audience you are attempting to
reach and create a tone that will build the blog.
Next she suggest being honest. Honesty is one thing we often
times don’t do enough. We attempt to create a picture about ourselves or our
organizations to make them appear to be something that might only be somewhat
true. This doesn’t mean we should air our dirty laundry, but there is a balance
and a reason to be genuine with those who will follow us.
Thirdly, she says, “Don’t Just List Links.” Gunelius
explains that, “Blogging is time-consuming, and sometimes it can be very
tempting to just list links to other online content for your readers to follow.
Don’t fall into that trap. Readers don’t want to have to follow a breadcrumb
trail to find something interesting to read.” I know for me, I’m not impressed
when I have to go to one place to go to another place, what makes us think our
readers and followers would want to do that either. Make their life easier by
putting in the time and creating a well-thought out blog post.
Next, Gunelius notes that providing attribution is key.
Obviously, our goal is to be honest, genuine, and not a stealer or plagiarizer.
That being said, offer credit where credit is due. It is easy to do and will
lead to more respect. If it wasn’t your idea, offer some attribution to
whomever it should go to.
Lastly, Gunelius encourages bloggers to “write in short
paragraphs.” I have been to so many blogs where the paragraphs and posts are
like reading a novel. It is cumbersome and difficult to get through. I often
miss a lot of key elements because there is so much detail. The blogs I love
the most are from individuals who share a little snippet here and there about
what they’re up to or enjoying or working on as an organization. They throw a
few pictures in and keep their post short and sweet.
I believe that if bloggers keep to these guidelines in
general, they’ll find they are able to do well and maintain a strong following
if they promote their blog well.
Reference:
Gunelius, Susan. 2014. 5 Tips to Write Blog Posts: How to
Write Posts that Get Noticed and Keep Readers Interested. March 1, 2014. http://weblogs.about.com/od/bloggingtips/tp/TipsWriteBlogPosts.htm
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