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July 17th, 2007 — humour, top 10 tips
Problogger is suggesting we kickstart our blog by writing some list posts. But I think writing in lists is for dummies, so here’s my top 10 reasons why lists are rubbish.
1. They are for the lazy, who can’t be bothered to write a proper article
2. Did William Shakespeare write in lists?
not quite the same ring to it somehow…
July 16th, 2007 — Blogroll
“good quality content is very important”
If I had a dollar for everytime I came across the advice for bloggers, I’d be a rich man. However, I’m not a rich man, which shows its easier to give advice than make it work for yourself.
At times, it is a bit of cliche to say your blog needs good content. It is one of those mantras repeated so often that it hardly offers anything new. However, why settle for average to good content? Why not aim at exceptional or outstanding content? Anybody can write average content; the internet is awash with it. If you really want to stand out from the crowd, take that extra step to create compelling quality rather than just good.
Tips for Writing Outstanding posts
1. Never Give Up
If at first you don’t succeed try again. Don’t expect to automatically hit the big time with your first article. Your writing will improve the more you practise.
2. Comprehensive List.
One way to stand out is to write on a topic which becomes a comprehensive guide. The success of Smashing magazine, is due to the fact that they always create very detailed articles. E.g. why stop at a top 10? check out this: Top 53 CSS techniques, at Smashing Magazine. .
3. Be Innovative.
If you don’t see of yourself as a natural writer, remember successful blog posts don’t always have to be long. The key is innovation, something new or memorable. This post about 3 pigs caught the eye of quite a few bloggers
4. Stand Out from the Crowd.
Look at how your article can stand out from the crowd with careful attention to eye catching titles and innovative ideas. see: how to stand out from the crowd
July 16th, 2007 — Blogroll
I think a very useful way for new bloggers to gain exposure is to write for established bloggers. Recently, John Wesley invited readers to submit articles for inclusion in his blog Pick the Brain. As it was a self improvement blog I though I would write on meditation.
As the article was about meditation, it was more appropriate for the link to me to my blog about meditation and spirituality - Sri Chinmoy Inspiration.
However, I think I will work on writing more articles for other blogs and submit it for possible inclusion. When writing for other blogs, we are motivated to try and write the best article we can. Other bloggers benefit from free, high quality content; we benefit from a high PR link and greater exposure. It is a good example of how bloggers can mutually benefit.
July 16th, 2007 — copywriter
Continuing the theme of important keyphrases, I though it would be interesting to consider originality. After all, if we want our blog to be unique, we should be able to display a wide range of interesting phrases for our originality
What keywords could we use to convey ideas of uniqueness and originality?
July 16th, 2007 — copywriter
I came across an interesting book in Blackwells coffee shop. “Words that Sell - Richard Bayan“. The point of the book is that it is good to have an extensive repertoire of key words. This enables you to say the same thing in many different ways, so that you can avoid saying the same phrase every time. Even so, I quite often groan when I come across the ones below:
A few days ago I wrote about a site which appeared to receive a google 950 penalty
What did I do to get the penalty removed?
Well, to be honest - nothing.
But, to be fair, I can’t think what I did to get it in the first place. Here is a screen shot from StatCounter
What I would advise for Getting Rid Or Avoiding Google Penalties
July 11th, 2007 — blogs
Apparently, there is a book coming out on July 21st, “Harry Trotter and the earthly shallows” or something like that. Anyway, people who have been living on planet earth, say this will be the best selling book since Chairman Mao’s little red book was made “highly recommended” reading for China’s 1 billion proletariat, back in 1965.
What is the reason behind the extraordinary success of Harry potter and could we apply a little of this magic to our blogs?
1. Don’t give up - if at first you don’t succeed.
Do you know how many times Harry Potter was rejected by major publishers? Nor do I, but I know it was rejected at least several times by famous publishers. How they must have suffered through all this Potter Mania. In the beginning, you may get discouraged because not many people are reading your blog. However, if you keep writing captivating content, you will eventually get the audience you deserve.
2. Have faith in your blog
Early efforts at blogging might not give the results you want / expect. When this occurs there is a temptation to give in. However, you need to believe that your blog is worthwhile and not get discouraged. J.K.Rowling got published because she really believed her book was good. When she got rejected she kept trying until she hit the big time. If she had given up after a few months of failure, things would have been very different.
3. Be innovative.
One attraction of the Harry Potter Series is that it is new, fresh and original. It was like nothing that has occurred before. When you blog, you need to make sure you stand out from the crowd. Look for a new angle to your blog. Don’t regurgitate old ideas and old concepts - be innovative. Look for a fresh angle.
July 9th, 2007 — top 10 tips
One problem of the internet is that there are countless people blogging about the same topics. It can be difficult to provide a distinctive voice, and offer a unique viewpoint. However, if you are unable to stand out from the rest of the blogosphere, your blog will remain another “nearly blog” - good, solid content but not dynamic.
There are various different approaches that you can take to stand out from the crowd; but it is worth noting that some are more useful than others.
1. Your Personality
The easiest and most logical way to offer a distinctive voice is by injecting your own personality into the blog. This does not mean you need your name in the URL like stevepavlina.com. I would recommend choosing a url with good keywords in. However, a personal approach means that you offer your own experiences, viewpoints and explain what works for you. Injecting your personality into a blog doesn’t mean you share upswings in your personal life. It is advisable to avoid this. What you should work on is developing a distinctive writing style, that does not appear bland and an imitation of others.
2. Humour.
Don’t take yourself too seriously. Feel able be self depreciating. If it is practical, every now and then, to inject humour into your bog then this will provide light relief for any topic. People like to be entertained on the internet. Top 10 reasons not to write another blog post.
3. Don’t sit on the Fence.
On some posts, at least, it is good to offer a strong opinion. Say why something works for you and why it doesn’t work for you. Look at J.Chow’s why not amazon affiliate vs. D.Rowse’s why I am an amazon affiliate. Taking an opinion doesn’t mean you have to be controversial for the sake of it. Nor is a good idea to do it every time; if you do, you risk alienating your loyal readers. However, you should be able and willing to express opinions where necessary.
4. Bold Titles.
There is a very good post at Copyblogger about the benefits of bold titles. Go Big or Go Home. Never underestimate the importance of titles. It is the titles of a post that determine the success of a blog post on Social networking sites. It is titles that determine whether people will ever read your post. Titles of posts in a way define your blog post. Therefore, don’t be afraid to consider using unusual, eye catching titles. Again, like anything don’t overdo it.
July 9th, 2007 — blogs
My Entry: 3 Tips for Improving writing
I haven’t had time to read all entries, but these entries caught my eye as being worth reading:
Will hope to add more entries after time spent reading.
July 8th, 2007 — blogs
www or not www
I Installed Enforce www preference on my blogs. The main motivation was that for many websites I used www.website.com. Wordpress by default uses http://websites.com. It is best to have either www. or not. It is not good practice to have both, this is because your website will look to have 2 different URLs which can split your link count. It doesn’t matter which one you choose, but once you have chosen stick with it.
All in One Seo Blog
I disliked the Page titles I was seeing on Google search results. By default wordpress puts title of the blog first (Blogger does as well) so you got something like Net Writing // Blog Archive // Quick Tips for Blogs. Now with the SEO plugin, the title of the post is put first. This makes it more attractive to click Quick Tips for Blogs | Net writing. With the All in one seo plugin you can also give keywords to the post. All in one SEO plugin
