Beginner’s Guide to Blogging
- What interests you? Kathryn Wright
The term blog is short for web log – a web based record which could cover almost any subject.
Some people write about their cats; their hobbies and interests; short stories and poems; offer advice; discuss topical issues and news stories and some people blog on behalf of a corporation.
You can blog about almost any subject you can think of!
And you can blog on your own or in a group. Sometimes people set up blogs on their own and then invite guest submissions!
Choosing a platform
The platform is the lovely piece of internet software that allows you to blog.
Free and popular platforms include Blogspot and Wordpress which let you upload text, pictures, videos and links with minimum fuss. There’s no requirement for technical knowledge but you do have the option to add your own html code.
To explore other platform options just google the word ‘blog’ or ‘blogging platform’ and sit back in amazement!
Before you write
Why
Why are you writing? Is it just for fun? Is it to drive consumer interest in your business/charity/organisation or school? Sometimes this will drive your content and you may need to think about how your writing reflects a brand image.
What
Deciding what to write can be tricky but if you have one or two subjects in mind why not try searching online for blogs that post on the same subjects.
If you can’t find any you have a niche! (Or possibly a subject no one else is interested in.)
If you find some, read a couple of posts and see what you think. Do you like it? Is it the kind of thing you’d like to write yourself? If not, what didn’t you like? How would you make it better? This will help you plan the content and style of your blog posts.
Who
Sometimes people write blogs that are just for them. They don’t think about who the audience might be or what experience they want to give them.
That’s fine, but if you are writing with the intention of getting other people to read your blog posts you need to think about who might be interested and what they want to read.
This can affect your grammar, style, content and use of other media like pictures and video links.
Top Tips for great content!
- As with any writing good spelling and grammar are a must! Read through your post before publishing it and don’t rely on the spell check function.
- People tend to scan through articles when they’re online. Keep sentences and paragraphs short and to the point and use sub heads and graphics to break up the page and aid navigation.
- Make your content useful or interesting – but ideally both! Remember you need to attract your readers. Most blogs have lots of competition so you need to give people a reason to read and return to your blog.
- Feel free to build relationships with other bloggers and blog readers. Post comments on other blogs, reply to people who comment on your posts and reference the blogs that inspire you. Bloggers can make a friendly community and it’s often useful to share experiences and form networks for like-minded bloggers.
- Be part of a blogging community! Kathryn Wright
