Thursday, August 12, 2010

Blog Writing 101

In hindsight, my last entry looks like a mini essay, not a blog entry. It’s pretty awkward and boring, an obvious first attempt. There is a definite style and approach necessary to write an interesting, popular blog. Certain skills us digital natives need to acquire

I thought I would cover some basic ground rules on how to write a great blog post.
Many of you clearly have a good idea but hopefully this will provide some extra insight (other than just for me)
  1. Write with your reader in mind
  2. Keep it short and snazzy Don’t repress your personality. Use colloquialisms and slang if you like. This will make your post more interesting
  3. Get in touch with the medium
    Links and visuals are key
  4. Write clearly
    Grammar and spelling
    How irritating is it to come across a violation of primary school English? Make sure you edit!
    Use clear formatting
    Your post must be easy to read, otherwise it won’t be. Make the most of bold lettering, Italics and sizing
  5. Be opinionated
    No one wants to read a boring reiteration of facts. Provide some of your own insight to engage the reader.

I hope this was helpful!

2 comments:

  1. I agree with number 4 in particular. I've seen a few too many examples of "there" instead of "their". It makes blog entries plain irritating to read.

    Not to mention apostrophes in plurals. (Or plural's, as some University level students seem to think.)

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  2. I like these tips. We had an interesting debate in one tutorial about just how important/unimportant grammar and punctuation are. Many people believe it is strongly tied impression management. In other words, as soon as you see poor grammar, the author's credibility is undermined before you even process the substance of his/her words. Others were strongly of the belief that it's irrelevant whether or not you can control an apostrophe so long as the reader can understand your point. It was quite a polarizing issue. (Personally, misplaced apostrophes bug me too!)

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