is that a lot of people, most particularly myself, tend to say too much.
I know better. I absolutely know that if a blog is more than a few short paragraphs, maybe 3, then I’m going to say “I’ll look at that later” when what I really mean is, “too much information, I’m going to set this aside then forget to ever come back.” A blog has to have something I’m seriously in need of to catch my interest longer than about 1/2 a screen.
So why do we fall into the trap of thinking we don’t have enough time to blog, or we don’t have enough to say? If you have a topic you’re interested, anything really, then you probably have enough to say. So here’s a few things to keep in mind when starting to blog:
- Keep it short. One complete thought per post. If you have more than one thought about a particular topic, make a series of posts rather than one really long one.
- Post often. You’ll get a better readership if you post regularly. If your blogging software won’t let you write today and schedule it for tomorrow, look into a better blogging engine.
- Be conversational. Most audiences expect blogs to be personal and conversational rather than strictly formal. It can depend on your topic, but if people are looking for dry facts, they probably aren’t going to trust a blog post as their source anyway.
- Reread before posting. Posting a great article that’s full of errors and typos and incomplete thoughts isn’t going to build your readership.
- Don’t revise. If you’ve changed your mind about a stance, write a new post, don’t go back and fix the old one.
I have some more, but that’s enough for one post. I know you’re all watching the clock to see how much longer this is going to take. Off you go.