These days nearly everyone has a blog if not two. Some people just use them for personal issues like a journal, some try to be entertaining and some even try to make money off of them, but whatever the case may be, blogging is its own art form. Here are some guidelines.
First of all, you need to be able to differentiate between a blog entry and an article because there is a huge difference. If you are writing an informative piece for another website you are probably more likely to be writing an article instead. An article is much longer then a blog (usually) and should be written in a more journalistic and neutral voice. An article should be anywhere between 400-700 words, but you don’t want to go to long, when people read on the internet they have short attention spans.
Now for your actual blog entry. Generally speaking, a blog entry should be short and concise, 250- 400 words is good rule of thumb. Think of blogs as sort of a daily or weekly quick hit. It can be funny or serious, but it is a small blurb of information posted periodically. Sure you can go longer. If you are dealing with a personal issue and want to blog three pages about your feelings go ahead but don’t be surprised when nobody wants to read it.
Find Your Voice
Another thing to remember is your voice. While an article is more neutral, a blog should let your voice come through. Use stronger or harsher language. Work some sarcasm into it as well. One of the best ways to get people’s attention is with humor. You may be telling an anecdote about something that happened to you the other day or just making fun of something dumb in society but humor is always one of the best salesmen.
Find Your Niche
Blog’s are all about a niche group of people networking through the internet. Keep your blog in the same genre. If one entry is about online university degrees and the next is about comic books you won’t build a consistent following. If you want to write about multiple topics then start a separate blog for each topic. The point is to stay focused and on topic.
Find Your Friends
Use social media to meet like-minded bloggers with similar interest. Twitter is one of the best ways for reaching out to other bloggers. Have them read your blog and you read theirs. Build links to each other’s blogs on your websites. A great way to get readers is to ask for guest blogs! They will be flattered you asked and they will also broadcast the blog they wrote for you to all of their followers.
A good blog takes time and consistency. It takes dedication and regular updates. It also takes networking and social media management. Fortunately, with the way the internet is today, this is more than doable.
Jeff Gorden writes from the amazing North West Coast. He writes about wed design, blogging and creative content. Many companies like Jazel Auto benefit from regular blog updates.