Six blogging tips to help you become a star blogger
By John Pospisil
Want to improve your blog writing style? Here are six tips that will help you write sharper, more compelling, and easier-to-read blogs.
As a much as blogging is new genre of writing, there is much that bloggers can learn from journalists.
Many of the concepts I learnt in News Writing 1 can be very easily used by bloggers to write better blogs. Here I present what I think are six of the most useful concepts.
1. Look for the conflict or tension in an issue to create interest
My journalism lecturer pointed out that conflict is often at the heart of what makes news interesting. My experience of writing blogs for BLORGE.com shows that this is also true when it comes to blogging. For example, in the world of games consoles there are a never ending stream of commentators and analysts attacking or supporting various console platforms. Whenever I do a report based around one of these commentators, I’m always sure to get many readers, and a good stream of comments. I know this might not help create a better world, but it will certainly help create interest in your blog posts.
2. Come up with a headline that sells
Often when potential readers come across your story on a search engine or social news site, all they’ve got to go on is the headline. All you get is one fleeting chance to get the reader interested. This is why you really need to come up with a headline that will sell your story. It needs to be sharp,to the point, and enticing.
3. Keep your sentences short and simple
Generally, newspapers are written so that a person with a reading age of about 12 can understand them. The rationale is simple – the more people who can read your paper the bigger the potential market for your paper. Exactly the same idea applies to blogging.
The longer, and more convoluted your sentences, the more likely that people won’t understand what you’re talking about. As a general rule, try to keep your sentences simple and straight to point. Good writing isn’t about using big words; it’s about making yourself understood.
4. Get to the point quickly
Some bloggers write paragraph after paragraph of puff before they get to the point they’re trying to make. Most people won’t read past the first or second paragraph if they don’t find what you’re saying interesting. In traditional journalism the rule is to present the most important or interesting news point first, and then the second most important point, and so on.
Using this principle in your own blog posts can help you interest and engage your reader quickly.
Also, as I pointed out earlier, you really need to work hard to sell your story, and putting the most important and interesting information first, can help you do this.
5. Name your sources (and link to them)
Journalists are required to attribute and name their sources. The blogosphere is all about discussing news and talking about other people’s ideas, but it’s important to make it clear when you’re talking about your own ideas and when you’re talking about other people’s ideas. I’ve seen bloggers get in a lot of trouble by taking concepts from other bloggers and not properly attributing them. Besides, it’s only fair that you name and link those sources. Hell knows no fury like an unattributed blogger.
6. Check your facts
Editors pound this over and over into new greenhorn journalists.There’s nothing more embarrassing than getting something wrong or half right. In one recent case, a blogger wrote about an amazing new initiative being run by a major company, not realizing that the blog post he was basing his story on was a work of fiction (that was actually labeled as a work of fiction).
If something sounds outrageous or unlikely, your best best is to go to the original source to check whether it’s true. If that’s not possible, try to cross check your information against other authoritative sources.
I also find that Wikipedia is a great way of quickly checking fact (yes I know it’s not infallible, but it gets most things right). It’s also a great way of finding additional information if you want to add some background to your story..
These tips, I hope, will help you make your posts interesting and punchy, so that you cut through the noise of the millions of other bloggers.
If you have any tips of your own, please go ahead and add them as a comment.
Related:
Entry was posted
on Wednesday, May 2nd, 2007 at 5:40 pm
under
Read more entries by John Pospisil.
Stumble It!
May 3rd, 2007
Not only are these excellent tips for print news stories and blogging but I find them pretty good tips for writing and publishing flash fiction.
May 12th, 2007
Great tips. Found one or two I will definitely start using. Way back when, newspapers were written to be read and understand by 10th graders. You mean Bush’s plan is working?